The phrase "a certain theory of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a specific theory that is not named or is somewhat ambiguous, often in academic or analytical contexts.
Example: "In her research, she explores a certain theory of social behavior that challenges traditional views."
Alternatives: "a particular theory of" or "a specific theory of".
Brillo Box, unlike the pile of Brillo boxes in the supermarket storeroom, is transfigured by "a certain theory of art".
If you hold a certain theory of education, that answer is not as circular as it sounds.
Some add an extra layer of projection and interpretation; they adhere to a certain theory of compatibility, rooted in psychology or brain chemistry or genetic coding, or they define themselves by other, more readily obvious indicators of similitude, such as race, religion, sexual predilection, sense of humor, or musical taste.
I could have said, "You are reading these books because you're in college, and these are the kinds of books that people in college read". If you hold a certain theory of education, that answer is not as circular as it sounds.
What he built up to was a certain theory of civic moralism: We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which asks only what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
The metaphysical aspects of existentialist aesthetics imply a certain theory of the audience.
It was clearly a part of Russell's view in that in conducting an analysis of a domain such as mathematics, and reducing its primitive conceptual apparatus and unproven premises to a minimum, one is not merely reducing the vocabulary of a certain theory, but also showing a way of reducing the metaphysical commitments of the theory.
One begins with a certain theory, doctrine or collection of beliefs which is taken to be more or less correct, but is taken to be in certain regards vague, imprecise, disunified, overly complex or in some other way confused or puzzling.
Thus, here as in many other philosophical questions, the analytic method, while not capable of arriving at a demonstrative result, is nevertheless capable of showing that all the positive grounds in favour of a certain theory are fallacious and that a less unnatural theory is capable of accounting for the facts.
It will really help if you have some way to visualise your results, enabling you to literally see in the blink of an eye where you are heading, what the weak spots of a certain theory are, or how your fieldwork or experiments are progressing.
In fact, given certain theories of what constitutes an artwork, the sculptor doesn't even have to do that much.
