Knowing and the Known

Knowing and the Known

"Knowing and the Known" is a 1949 book by John Dewey and Arthur Bentley. A full version of the book in pdf is available from the American Institute for Economic Research. [http://www.aier.org/aier/otherpublications/KnowingKnown/KnowingKnownFullText.pdf]

Overview

As well as a Preface, an Introduction and an Index, the book consists of 12 chapters, or papers, as the authors call them in their introduction. [http://www.aier.org/aier/otherpublications/KnowingKnown/KnowingKnownFullText.pdf] Chapters 1 (Vagueness in Logic), 8 (Logic in an Age of Science) and 9 (A Confused "Semiotic") were written by Bentley; Chapter 10 (Common Sense and Science) by Dewey, while the remainder were signed jointly.

The terminology problem in the fields of epistemology and logic is partially due, according to Dewey and Bentley, [John Dewey, Arthur Bentley, (1949). "Knowing and the Known". Beacon Press, Boston.] to inefficient and imprecise use of words and concepts that reflect three historic levels of organization and presentation. [ibid. p107-109] In the order of chronological appearance, these are :

*Self-Action: Prescientific concepts regarded humans, animals, and things as possessing powers of their own which initiated or caused their actions.

*Interaction: as described by Newton, where things, living and inorganic, are balanced against something in a system of interaction, for example, the third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

*Transaction: where modern systems of descriptions and naming are employed to deal with multiple aspects and phases of action without any attribution to ultimate, final, or independent entities, essences, or realities.

Chapters

Vagueness in Logic

The Terminological Problem

Postulations

Interaction and Transaction

Transactions as Known and Named

Transactions

A series of characterizations of Transactions indicate the wide range of considerations involved. [ibid. p121-139]

*Transaction is inquiry in which existing descriptions of events are accepted only as tentative and preliminary. New descriptions of the aspects and phases of events based on inquiry may be made at any time.

*Transaction is inquiry characterized by primary observation that may range across all subject matters that present themselves, and may proceed with freedom to re-determine and re-name the objects comprised in the system.

*Transaction is Fact such that no one of the constituents can be adequately specified as apart from the specification of all the other constituents of the full subject matter.

*Transaction develops and widens the phases of knowledge, and broadens the system within the limits of observation and report.

*Transaction regards the extension in time to be comparable to the extension in space, so that “thing” is in action, and “action” is observable in things.

*Transaction assumes no pre-knowledge of either organism or environment alone as adequate, but requires their primary acceptance in a common system.

*Transaction is the procedure which observes men talking and writing, using language and other representational activities to present their perceptions and manipulations. This permits a full treatment, descriptive and functional, of the whole process inclusive of all its contents, and with the newer techniques of inquiry required.

*Transactional Observation insists on the right to freely proceed to investigate any subject matter in whatever way seems appropriate, under reasonable hypothesis.

Illustration of differences between self-action, interaction, and transaction, as well as the different facets of transactional inquiry are provided by statements of positions that Dewey and Bentley definitely did "not" hold and which "never should be read" into their work. [ibid. p119-121]

# They do not use any basic differentiation of subject vs. object; of soul vs. body; of mind vs. matter; or self vs. nonself.
# They do not support the introduction of any ultimate knower from a different or superior realm to account for what is known.
# Similarly, they do not tolerate "entities" or "realities" of any kind intruding as if from behind or beyond the knowing-known events, with power to interfere.
# They exclude the introduction of "faculties" or other "operators" of an organism’s behaviors, and require for all investigations the direct observation and contemporaneous report of findings and results.
# Especially, they recognize no names that are offered as expressions of “inner” thoughts, nor of names that reflect compulsions by outer objects.
# They reject imaginary words and terms said to lie between the organism and its environmental objects, and require the direct location and source for all observations relevant to the investigation.
# They tolerate no meanings offered as "ultimate" truth or "absolute" knowledge.
# Since they are concerned with what is inquired into, and the process of knowings, they have no interest in any underpinning. Any statement that is or can be made about a knower, self, mind, or subject, or about a known thing, an object, or a cosmos must be made on the basis of, and in the language applicable to the specific investigation.

In summary, all of human knowledge consists of actions and products of acts in which men and women participate with other human beings, with animals and plants, as well as objects of all types, in any environment. Men and women have, are, and will present their acts of knowing and known in language. Generic people, and specific men and women, are known to be vulnerable to error. Consequently, all knowledge (knowing and known) whether commonsensical or scientific; past, present, or future; is subject to further inquiry, examination, review, and revision.

pecification

The Case of Definition

Logic in an Age of Science

A Confused "Semiotic"

Common Sense and Science

A Trial Group of Names

ummary of Progress Made

Appendix: A Letter from John Dewey

See also

List of publications by John Dewey

References

External links

* [http://www.aier.org/research/ American Institute for Economic Research for full copy in PDF format]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Young and the Restless minor characters — The following are characters from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless who are notable for their actions or relationships, but who do not warrant their own articles. Contents 1 Current Characters 1.1 Genevieve …   Wikipedia

  • The Bold and the Beautiful — Genre Soap opera Created by William J. Bell Lee Philip Bell …   Wikipedia

  • The Emperor and the Golem — Directed by Martin Frič, Jiří Krejčík Written by Jan Werich Jiří Brdečka Starring Jan Werich, Jiří Plachý, Zdeněk Štěpánek, Bohuš Záhorský, František Filipovský, Marie Vášová …   Wikipedia

  • The Witch and the Saint — by Steven Reineke is a one movement symphonic band piece describing the lives of Helena and Sibylla; twin sisters born in Germany at the end of the 1500s. The piece has five distinct parts and has become a favorite among audiences and bands… …   Wikipedia

  • The Deer and the Cauldron — Lu Ding Ji redirects here. For other uses, see Lu Ding Ji (disambiguation). The Deer and the Cauldron   Author(s) Jin Yong …   Wikipedia

  • The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) — Infobox Film name = The Pit and the Pendulum image size = caption = Original 1961 theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown director = Roger Corman producer = Roger Corman James H. Nicholson (Exec Prod) Samuel Z. Arkoff (Exec Prod) writer =… …   Wikipedia

  • Evolution and the Roman Catholic Church — The position of the Catholic Church on the theory of evolution has moved over the last two centuries from a large period of no official mention, to a statement of neutrality in the 1950s, to a more explicit acceptance in recent years. Today, the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of The Deer and the Cauldron characters — The following is a list of characters from Jin Yong s wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron. Contents 1 Wei Xiaobao and his family 2 Qing Dynasty 3 Anti Qing organisations …   Wikipedia

  • Biblical narratives and the Qur'an — The Qur an, the central religious text of Islam, contains references to over fifty people also found in the Bible, typically in the same or similar narratives.Western secular scholars have tended to analyze such similarities as evidence for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Oggy and the Cockroaches — Title Format Animated Comedy Created by Jean Yves Raimbaud Terry Klassen Country of orig …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”