A theory is a conceptual framework or a set of ideas that attempts to explain some aspect of experience.

On the path of knowledge, theories are understood as:

• Useful tools for organizing information and guiding inquiry

• Not to be confused with knowledge itself

• Subject to revision based on direct experience and logic

• Part of the means of ignorance if accepted as blind belief without verification

The path of knowledge does not rely on adopting theories. Instead, it uses the criteria for truth to examine all theories critically. Any theory must be verifiable through direct experience and logically consistent to be considered valid knowledge.

Theories that cannot be verified remain as beliefs or assumptions, which are forms of ignorance.