Abstract
A quotation from Shakespeare's play King Lear, ‘I will teach you differences’, encapsulates the spirit of this paper. The distinction is introduced between three different categories of knowledge: i) propositional knowledge, ii) skill or practical knowledge and iii) knowledge of familiarity. In the present debate on ‘Information Society’, there is a clear tendency to overemphasise the theoretical knowledge at the expense of practical knowledge thereby completely ignoring the knowledge of familiarity. It is argued that different forms of theoretical knowledge are required for the design of current computer technology and the study of the practice of computer usage. The concept of dialogue and the concept of ‘To Follow a Rule’ therefore fundamental to the understanding of the practice of computer usage.
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An Annotated Bibliography
The introductory section on the Age of Enlightenment's paradoxical view of knowledge is a summary of an article by Bo Göranzon,Artificial Intelligence, or the Dream of the Exact Language, published in Dialoger magazine, No. 2 1986. The main references for this article are as follows: d'Alembert,Introduction to the Encyclopedia; Frängsmyr, T. (1974),Drömmen om det Exakta Spräket, Vetenskapens Träd, Stockholm; Lindborg, R. (1984),Maskinen, Människan och doktor La Mettrie, Doxa.
The concept of rules is a main theme in Wittgenstein'sPhilosophy of Language andOn Certainty and a manuscript by the Norwegian philosopher Kjell S. Johannesen entitled ‘Tyst Kunskap: Om regel och begrepp’. This is to be published as a research report in the spring of 1987 as part of the theme Education-Work-Technology at The Swedish Working Life Center.
The section ‘What is a computer?’ summarises the American philosopher Allan Janik's contribution, ‘Breaking the ground’ in Sundin, Bo (ed) (1980),Is the Computer a Tool?, Almquist & Wiksell International. The example of the boat-builder on the west coast is published in Tempte, T. (1981),Arbetets Ara, The Swedish Working Life Center. The example of light metering in photography is published in Göranzon, B. (1984),Datautvecklingens Filosofi, Carlssons Bokforlag.
A research report within the framework of the ILO project compares experience of the use of computers in thirteen industrial countries. The Swedish contribution is published in Göranzon, Bo et al (1982),Job Design and Automation in Sweden, The Swedish Working Life Center. The perspective in the section on Technology and Culture is from this study.
The example of error location in a computer program is published in Göranzon, Bo (1983), ‘Datorn som Verktyg’, Studentlitteratur.
The concluding section, An Epistemological error, contains a reference to the classic study by Kuhn, Thomas (1970),The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. The final comment on the importance of the concept of education was inspired by the following, among others: Bergendal, B. (1985), ‘Bildningens Villkor’, Studentlitteratur; Lindström, L. ‘Bildningsbegreppets rötter: det polyteknisks bildningsidealet’, published in the autumn of 1986, the Education-Work-Technology project at the Swedish Working Life Center; and Runeby, N. (1978),Teknikerna, Vetenskapen och Kulturen, Uppsala. Runeby's study covers the period from 1860 to 1890 and includes a documentation of the restructuring of the educational system in relation to the breakthrough of industrialism. There is a fruitful connection to the current debate on technological change and the demand on the educational system.
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Göranzon, B. The practice of the use of computers. AI & Soc 1, 25–36 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01905887
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01905887