A First Look at Communication Theory (6th edition)

CHAPTER 36
ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
Outline
I. Introduction.
A. However useful, the one-chapter-one-theory organization of the book
compartmentalizes communication theory.
B. This chapter seeks to integrate the material.
C. This text has used the objective/interpretive dichotomy to classify theories, but some
theorists resist being pigeonholed.
D. In light of these problems, James Anderson locates theories on a worldview
continuum anchored by the terms “objective” and “hermeneutic” (or “interpretive”).
E. This continuum places theories based on how their authors view the nature of the
phenomenal world.
II.
III.
Plotting theories on an objective-interpretive scale.
A. Objective theorists believe in the unity of science.
B. Interpretive theorists believe in multiple domains.
C. Anderson catalogs other differences between worldviews.
1. Whereas objective theorists hold to a singular, independent, autonomous social
reality, interpretive scholars assume that reality is a conferred status.
2. Whereas objective scholars posit a timeless social reality, interpretive scholars
see knowledge as contextually based.
3. Whereas objective scholars treat language as referential, interpretive scholars
question its representational nature.
D. Figure 36.1 places each theory along the objective-interpretive continuum.
1. Some theories fit easily into categories, but others are hard to categorize.
2. The continuum is a work-in-progress.
E. The entire text has worked toward this synthesis.
F. Scholars consulted about the continuum did not always agree on the placement of
individual theories, but such disagreements are enlightening.
“On the one hand . . . on the other.”
A. The worldview of semiotics and relational dialectics are difficult to place because
they have shifted steadily toward interpretivism.
B. Although Harding and Wood have a strong postmodern influence, their belief that
there is a truth that can be partially apprehended inserts some objectivity into their
theory and therefore, their theory is located in column 4.
C. Some scholars such as Delia, McLuhan, and Aristotle are difficult to place because of
apparent discrepancies between their stated philosophical commitments and their
research methodologies.
D. The lack of critical consensus allows readers a chance to join the debate.
E. Excluding the midscale range, there is a 50/50 split between objective and
interpretive theories, which parallel the ratio in the field of communication.
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