In college, I took a course on epistemology and I remember getting all worked up about skill knowledge. It seemed there was a cottage industry of philosophers claiming that all “knowledge how” to do something is really just “knowledge that.”
Sometimes knowledge is defined as “justified true belief.” But that simply doesn’t apply to skill knowledge or “knowledge how.” Skills can’t be evaluated as true or false, like logical propositions. The value of skill knowledge is rather found in the ability of the skill to support success and wellbeing, that is, to promote the fitness of the organism. Even factual knowledge is practically a matter of coherence (Thagaard) and harmony (Rescher) more than a kind of axiomatic construction. That is, it’s more like building a raft out of floating debris than building a pyramid on bedrock.
I find this valuable because it is another reminder that philosophy—classically speaking— isn’t about truth but about living better. And, this is deeply relevant to design because the philosophical core of the discipline has yet to be established.
Thanks for sharing and an interesting discussion.
Derek
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