User:EeveeLynn/sandbox

Social Theory Original Lead:
Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms used to study and interpret social phenomena.[1] A tool used by social scientists, social theories relate to historical debates over the validity and reliability of different methodologies (e.g. positivism and antipositivism), the primacy of either structure or agency, as well as the relationship between contingency and necessity.[2] Social theory as it is recognized today emerged in the 20th century as distinct discipline and was largely equated with an attitude of critical thinking and the desire for knowledge through a posteriori methods of discovery, rather than a priori methods of tradition.[citation needed]

Social Theory Edited Lead:
Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms that are used to study and interpret social phenomena. Social theories relate to historical debates over the validity and reliability of different methodologies (e.g. positivism and antipositivism), the primacy of either structure or agency, as well as the relationship between contingency and necessity.Social theory as it is recognized today emerged in the 20th century as a distinct discipline, and was largely equated with an attitude of critical thinking and the desire for knowledge through posteriori methods of discovery, rather than a priori method o tradition.

Social Theory "Definitions" Section Original:
Social thought provides general theories to explain actions and behavior of society as a whole, encompassing sociological, political, and philosophical ideas. Social theory is used to make distinctions and generalizations among different types of societies, and to analyze modernity as it has emerged in the past few centuries.[3]:10 Classical social theory has generally been presented from a perspective of Western philosophy, and often regarded as Eurocentric.

Social theory seeks to question why humans inhabit the world the way they do and how that came to be, looking at power relations, and social structures and norms.[4] To this aim, social theory examines: how humans relate to each other and the society they find themselves in, how this has changed over time and in different cultures[5], and the tools used to measure those things. As a matter of necessity, social theory looks to interdisciplinarity, combining knowledge from multiple academic disciplines in order to enlighten these complex issues,[4] and can draw on ideas from fields as diverse as anthropology and media studies.

Social theory of an informal nature, or authorship based outside of academic social and political science, may be referred to instead as "social criticism" or "social commentary". Similarly, "cultural criticism" may be associated both with formal cultural and literary scholarship, as well as other non-academic or journalistic forms of writing.[1]

Definitions
By definition, social thought provides general theories to explain actions and behavior of society as a whole; encompassing sociological, political, and philosophical ideas. Social theory is used to make distinctions and generalizations among different types of societies, and to analyze modernity as it has emerged in the past few centuries.

Social theory questions why humans inhabit the world the way they do, and how that came to by looking at power relations as well as social structures and norms, while also examining how humans relate to each other and the society they find themselves in, how this has changed over time and in different cultures[5], and the tools used to measure those things. Social theory looks to interdisciplinarity and draws from many fields of study ranging from anthropology to media studies.

In an informal nature, social theory may be referred to as "social criticism", "social commentary", or "cultural criticism" and may be associated both with formal cultural and literary scholarship, as well as other non-academic or journalistic forms of writing.

History
Classical social theory has generally been presented from a perspective of Western philosophy, and often regarded as Eurocentric.