Policy: Constructing a Definition

If "policies" are to serve as guides to real world actions and be subject to criticism and improvement out of human experience, they must have certain attributes and capacities - those requirements serve to define the meaning of the term. This article seeks (a) to demonstrate the substance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy sciences 1985-12, Vol.18 (4), p.291-311
Main Author: Meehan, Eugene J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child rearing
Collective action
Environmental policy
Epistemology
Ethical behavior
Foreign affairs
Government performance
Methodological Problems
Normative ethics
Normativity
Policy analysis
Policy Making
Policy sciences
Public policy
Social sciences
Theory
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Summary:If "policies" are to serve as guides to real world actions and be subject to criticism and improvement out of human experience, they must have certain attributes and capacities - those requirements serve to define the meaning of the term. This article seeks (a) to demonstrate the substance of those requirements through a systematic analysis of the structures and processes involved in reasoned, corrigible actions, (b) to sketch the basic assumptions of a theory of knowledge able to show how those requirements can be fulfilled within the limits of human capacity, and (c) to examine the implications of that conception of "policy," and its companion concept "theory," for those involved in collective policymaking and policy studies.
ISSN:0032-2687
1573-0891
DOI:10.1007/BF00135916