Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject: Thoughts On A Theory Of Knowledge
One of the four things Dr. Deming said were necessary for management was the theory of knowledge. He held that knowledge comes from theory; without theory there is no knowledge, only information.
I don’t see it that way. Others may disagree. Knowledge and theories are two different things, IMO. You can eat an apple and "know" it tastes tart, crisp, whatever. You can observe the sky and all colors of the rainbow. All without ever propounding a single theory. That doesn't mean that some knowledge, such as scientific knowledge, can't flow from theories. I just don't think this statement is true as a flat statement. Am I missing something?
Now principles may derive from theory, but that's a different animal.
ETA Your statement is amusing to me because there is something called "The fads and fashions of medicine." My mother has seen so many different pronouncements about what is true and what isn't true in medicine. It has become a standard joke. I won't even go into examples, there are so many.
Much of the accepted wisdom today is likely to be proven false a few years or decades from now. Human beings are fallible, and that includes their theories.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks, Chuck
Welcome to the forums. Thanks for posting a question.
The "Theory of knowledge" has a different definition than a plain 'theory' or theorm.
Part of the theory of knowledge is an understanding of how adults learn. There are different learning models, here is one: The Experiential Learning Cycle. Briefly stated, it says that adults learn by one of 5 primary means; lecture, demonstration, hands-on doing it, reading about it, or by comparing something new to something they allready know.
Each adult is different, but simple testing you can do in your own business will quickly reveal how each person learns best, and will also reveal a secondary learning method. For instance, my best way of learning is to comparing new knowledge to old stuff. My worst method is being 'told' how to do something. Most techs are likely similar.
Ever wonder why you can tell somebody 5 times how to do something, like follow a computer program or use a new cash register system, and they still can't remember what you said? It is because you are using the worst means of teaching for that person's primary learning method.
In short, that is one reason why the theory of knowledge is important in business. Employees won't just show up and do what you want them to do; you have to train them. To train well you need to understand how adults actually learn.
Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 774 Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:58 pm Post subject: Re: Thoughts On A Theory Of Knowledge
Hi Chuck,
CapitolChuck wrote:
One of the four things Dr. Deming said were necessary for management was the theory of knowledge. He held that knowledge comes from theory; without theory there is no knowledge, only information.
I don’t see it that way. Others may disagree. Knowledge and theories are two different things, IMO. You can eat an apple and "know" it tastes tart, crisp, whatever. You can observe the sky and all colors of the rainbow. All without ever propounding a single theory. That doesn't mean that some knowledge, such as scientific knowledge, can't flow from theories. I just don't think this statement is true as a flat statement. Am I missing something?
I don't thing you're missing anything, maybe just not looking quite deeply enough. For instance, the tartness or crispness of an apple is information, not knowledge. To say all apples are tart would require theory, that all apples will taste like those you have tasted, only varying somewhat in tartness.
This is not something we normally think about. Since we can never taste all apples, we must devise a theory of how apples taste. This we do with little thought. The point is small but necessary, in my opinion. With more involved things, it becomes more important. For instance we hear a click when turning sharply to the right. We check the vehicle and find it to be a C.V. joint. We now know this C.V. joint makes a clicking when we turn. We can also formulate a theory that a clicking on turns can indicate a C.V. joint, this is knowledge. One day a car clicks, but the problem is not the C.V. joint, the theory is further revised to include the new information. This is a crude example but I hope illustrates a more complex point.
The ramifications in business are huge. A great deal of what people accept as knowledge is not based on fact, nor theory. Using theory and PDSA can greatly reduce this problem.
CapitolChuck wrote:
Now principles may derive from theory, but that's a different animal.
ETA Your statement is amusing to me because there is something called "The fads and fashions of medicine." My mother has seen so many different pronouncements about what is true and what isn't true in medicine. It has become a standard joke. I won't even go into examples, there are so many.
Much of the accepted wisdom today is likely to be proven false a few years or decades from now. Human beings are fallible, and that includes their theories.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks, Chuck
You are precisely right. All theory is subject to revision, because a million examples cannot prove it so, but a single exception disproves it. This does not keep theory from being useful. The theory of plane geometry has helped to build much of the world. Yet it does not apply to a sphere. Two parallel lines do meet on a sphere. This requires spherical geometry to solve. As long as we don't build roads that are too long, it is not a factor.
Wisdom is also something different from information or knowledge, in my opinion. The things you mention are simply information. With the information we can form a theory that can be tested. If the test show a degree of believability, usefulness and can be repeat by independent sources, they may be accepted as knowledge.
Merely accepting a theory without testing it is foolishness, and often done today, as you mention. Even with testing, it must be realised all theory is subject to revision. Dr. Deming's theory of management is not the best theory that will ever be known, it's simply the best available today, in my experience.
I believe wisdom is the ability to consistently put knowledge to useful purpose. Wisdom does not consist of knowledge rather the ability to utilize it.
Knowledge is useful within a certain context of time and application. Wisdom is more universal in it's application and far more rare, in my estimation.
There is a huge amount more to consider with the theory of knowledge, I hope these crude examples may have shed light on my point. Please let me know if not, I will be glad to try to explain further. Thanks Chuck, I appreciate your input.
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