The phrase "think theoretically" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe the process of thinking about an abstract concept or idea in an analytical way. For example, "I was asked to think theoretically about the implications of artificial intelligence on our society."
I don't think theoretically.
To think about literature is to think theoretically.
He had a journalist's suspicion of abstractions, and he did not think theoretically.
Now, Kant was a philosopher: his job was to think theoretically.
"I have had few opportunities to think theoretically about issues before," he said.
The former tends to be less-than-precise at considering race, gender, and sexuality; the latter has done very little to think theoretically about religion and its histories, and particularly the capacity of religion to function as a technology of racial formation.
You'd think the theoretically one-dimensional approach of scoring almost exclusively from inside the area would make him easier to defend against, but the opposite was true.
So here is a special plea: We are keenly aware that the very nature of the modern scientific enterprise with its emphasis on grant-driven research has sharply cut back opportunities for thoughtful people to think more theoretically about the deeper implications of their work.
In his important commentary on Quine's discussion, Hilary Putnam (1962 [1975]) tried to rescue what he thought were theoretically innocuous examples of analytic truths by appeal to what he called "one-criterion" concepts, or concepts like, e.g., [bachelor], [widow], [ophthalmologist], where there seems to be only one "way to tell" whether they apply.
But do you think it's theoretically possible?
She said that despite her practical experience with magic, Dr. Hass got her to think about it theoretically and in a wider way.
