ABSTRACT
Different issues arise concerning the polemics surrounding theories of communication, among which are the various uses of both the expressions ‘theory’ and ‘communication.’ Thus, one may not mean the same when one uses ‘theory’ in the context of a discipline in the humanities, say literary criticism, as when one uses it in the context of, say, the study of arthropods. It seems reasonable to think that if these different practices were made clear, controversies should die out or, at least, diminish, and yet, despite the efforts for clarification, they appear to thrive. What are these controversies about? Do they concern merely nominal issues or are they about some deeper disagreements?
