I Forgive You: Why Theories Always Ultimately Fall Apart

I'm not a fan of academic theories about why societies function the way they do/why they are unfair or fair or something else. 

I'm not a fan for numerous reasons--one reason is that the labels within these theories often take on a life of their own. Observed life is twisted to fit the theory. John Douglas discusses in one of his books on serial killers that labeling one particular serial killer unintentionally narrowed the investigation. The investigators began to look for the serial killer along the location where he was labeled to reside. They missed opportunities to look elsewhere. They weren't stupid, but they had bought into the label's presumptions.

One of those presumptions is that people will behave according to the theory rather than according to their experiences and characters--at the macro rather than micro level. 

My favorite example of how character overrides designated behavior occurs in Castle, Season 3. *Spoilers* In the search for her mother's killer, Beckett learns what her mother uncovered, which led to her death: that a group of police officers had kidnapped mobsters and held them for ransom. Inadvertently, they killed an FBI agent.

Beckett then discovers that her captain, Captain Montgomery, was one of the original officers. 

And she knows him. She knows what type of man he is. She knows what he has done for her. She knows how he has trained her. If one thinks deeply about their relationship, one could well-imagine that she would feel a deep sense of betrayal. But in the moment of his confession and her knowledge of what he plans to do, she reacts not according to some theory or pre-determined response. 

"I forgive you," she declares and pleads with him to remain alive.

Ultimately, the world is personal.