Theory compels us to act. At first blush, this statement may sound odd,
perhaps even counter-intuitive. But the plain truth is that theory construction
(including the antecedent assumptions that inform it) is an
invitation to be otherwise and to do differently. But being and doing are
situated exploits. And, as such, the actions to which we are directed by
way of our constructed theory – including the relationship between the
concepts that constitute the theory’s internal elements – are always and
already social in composition and, correspondingly, perspectival in their
effects. This logic obtains with respect to the physical and social sciences
in general and to criminology in particular. Thus, theory is not a tool for
generating categorical truths or providing absolute certainty; rather, it is
a typification or metaphor for how we make sense of the life-worlds that
we inhabit and the social persons that construct them, however incomplete,
fragmented, or circumscribed both of these may be. An example
here is warranted.