Figure It Out!

Abstract

This article pushes forward a critical dialogue about the value of visualization as a method of sociological theorizing. Building on a nascent literature, I argue theory diagrams may operate not only conjunctively but also disjunctively, independent from empirics; that their theoretical value lies not only in capturing sociological problems but also in the inferential procedures they embody; that their creative use spans not only deduction and abduction but also induction; that abduction may be pursued with diagrams not only in conjunction with deduction or in the production of visual sketches but also in visual exercises in theoretical play geared primarily toward getting new ideas; and that theory visuals often feature metaphorical aspects that, like their linguistic cousins, transfer thought patterns from one domain to another, thereby providing a major avenue for visual theoretical creativity. Taken together, pursuing these lines of thought helps to build a better understanding of how visualization contributes to the creative intellectual practice of sociological theorizing.