Joys of theory

Some run away from theory, others find it dense and limited in its utility. But theory is unavoidable. And it can be fun.

Hello readers—subscribers, wayfarers and loiterers of the mind.

These are early days for IR Wire and I’m trying to figure out the format and frequency of posts. Thoughts welcome.

Meanwhile, another theory post.

My first theory column at India’s World magazine set out a simple definition of theory. It also walked the readers through the terrain of theoretical thinking. The idea was to show that theory is as important to our intellectual being as blood is to our biology. And that it can be fun.

Sharing that column below.

[Two corrections in the text below:

• the 1st sentence of the 3rd para in the section on theorisation should read as follows: ‘To theorise is also to abstract.’ The ‘to’ is missing from the original copy, which is scanned and made available below.

• Also, there’s a blurb that starts with ‘Amore’. It should be ‘A more’. {Love is hard to find in India-Pakistan equations.}]

Happy reading. Thoughts welcome.