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|Prehistory=Prehistory here
|History=The original definition of the term was proposed by Barseghyan in 2015. It defined ''theory'' as any set of propositions that attempt to describe something.[[CiteRef::Barseghyan (2015)]] As such, this definition excluded normative propositions. It was eventually replaced by the definition suggested by Sebastien in 2016.
|Current View=Currently, ''theory'' is defined as a set of propositions that attempt to describe or prescribe something. Theories can be descriptive (e.g. natural, social, and formal science) or normative (e.g. methodology, ethics, and axiology)[[CiteRef::Sebastien (2016)]]. They may be empirical or formal. Theories can They may have different levels of complexity and elaboration; they may consist of thousands of interconnected propositions or, in an extreme, of one single proposition. Examples include Einstein's theory of general relativity, the standard model in particle physics, or the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution [[CiteRef::Sebastien Barseghyan (20162015)]|p. 3]
[[File:Theory_Sebastien_2016_Definition.png|center|390px]]
|Related Topics=Method, Scientific Mosaic
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