[2] While any sort of thesis or opinion may be termed a position, in analytic philosophy it is thought best to reserve the word "theory" for systematic, comprehensive attempts to solve problems.
[3] The elements that comprise a philosophical position consist of statements which are believed to be true by the thinkers who accept them, and which may or may not be empirical.
The sciences have a very clear idea of what a theory is; however in the arts such as philosophy, the definition is more hazy.
Philosophical positions are not necessarily scientific theories, although they may consist of both empirical and non-empirical statements.
Also included among philosophical positions are many principles, dogmas, doctrines, hypotheses, rules, paradoxes, laws, as well as 'ologies, 'isms, 'sis's, and effects.