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Knowledge (Part III)

Continued from Knowledge (Part II) 

In discussing about knowledge, we cannot ignore the contributions of Aristotle. Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, had a different view of knowledge compared to his teacher, Plato. Aristotle believed that knowledge is not just a matter of understanding the eternal truths of the world, but it is also a matter of understanding the natural world through empirical observation and investigation.

Aristotle believed that knowledge is derived from experience and acquired through a process of observation, classification, and analysis. To him, all knowledge begins with sensory experience, and only through that experience, people get to know of the particular qualities of things in this world.

Yet, Aristotle also believed that true knowledge involves more than just observations of individual instances; knowledge requires the identification of general principles or universal truths that underlie the particular instances. This process of generalization is what allows us to move beyond mere opinion and arrive at genuine knowledge. Knowledge, to Aristotle, was not simply a passive process of observation, but requires an active engagement with the world and also the ability to reason.

Aristotle's view of knowledge emphasized the importance of empirical observation, logical reasoning, and the ability to generalize from particular instances to arrive at universal truths.



Distinctions of Knowledge by Aristotle


In his Book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle begins with the rational soul (to te logon echon) which is divided into the calculating part (to logistikon) and the scientific part (to epistêmonikon). Applying the concepts of calculating part and scientific part, Aristotle then described that there are five intellectual virtues, beginning with the definitions of techne (art) and episteme (scientific knowledge). Then he moved on to describe phronesis (practical wisdom), and later sophia (philosophic wisdom) and also nous (intuitive reason). Aristotle did not include judgment and opinion as they could cause mistakes.





Aristotle stressed that the object of scientific knowledge, or what he refers to as episteme is necessity. Necessity in philosophical term comes from the idea that everything that has ever happened and ever will happen is necessary and cannot be otherwise. Necessity is often opposed to chance and contingency. Therefore, being necessity, scientific knowledge is eternal, un-generated and imperishable. Episteme or scientific knowledge can be taught and can be learned.


Meanwhile, techne or art is about getting things done. Aristotle described art as a reasoned state of capacity to make things. Every art is concerned with bringing something into being, and the practice of an art is the study of how to bring into being something that is capable either of being or of not being.


Phronesis or practical wisdom is a true and reasoned state of capacity to act on the things that are either good or bad to human. It is concerned with how human makes ethical judgment and acts on certain situations.


While phronesis is more of a practical type of wisdom, sophia or  philosophic wisdom is more general and abstract. Sophia is the combination of episteme (scientific wisdom) and nous (intuitive understanding). Nous or intuitive understanding provides practical reasonings. 


In one article in a series related to the 12th Global Peter Drucker Forum, Martin, Straub and Kirby (2020) described that current leaders need facilities to apply the different types of knowledge.


Many of today's problems are techne problems. For example, when the leaders work to adopt effective methods and tools in their operations. The leaders also face epistemic challenges; such as optimization problem, like doing a marketing mix or manufacturing scheduling, assuming that there is one absolutely right answer. In the realm of phronesis, leaders face strategic matters, like decisions on mergers and new product launches. With such a multifaceted organization, leaders need to make sure that the right kinds of thinking are being marshaled to make those different kinds of decisions. This means that leaders need to have some facility with all the different modes of thinking.




 

Bibliography

Martin, R. L., Straub, R., & Kirby, J. (2020). Leaders Need to Harness Aristotle's 3 Types of Knowledge. Leadership. Harvard Business Review, October 2, 2020. Available at: https://hbr. org/2020/10/leaders-need-to-harness-aristotles-3-types-of-knowledge.            


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