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This chapter, like communication on any topic, necessarily reflects a universe of assumptions that must remain, like the physical universe, largely unexplored. Still, it will be useful to examine our main assumptions before pushing too far with our examination of the topic. If nothing else, looking at these will provide a useful general reminder of the limits of any one essay. It will also protect against overly ambitious aspirations or claims and foster subsequent alternative investigations. For these reasons, we will begin with the general considerations that have guided our more specific thinking on theory and theorizing in health communication scholarship.

Health communication studies frequently draw on and seek to inform communication scholarship in general. Hence, these studies necessarily reflect currents within the broader field. In the encompassing field, there are reasoned and often passionate calls for both …