The Structures of Practical Knowledge investigates the nature of
practical knowledge - why, how, when and by whom it is codified,
and once codified, how this knowledge is structured. The inquiry
unfolds in a series of fifteen case studies, which range in focus
from early modern Italy to eighteenth century China. At the heart
of each study is a shared definition of practical knowledge, that
is, knowledge needed to obtain a certain outcome, whether that be
an artistic or mechanical artifact, a healing practice, or a
mathematical result. While the content of practical knowledge is
widely variable, this study shows that all practical knowledge is
formally equivalent in following a defined workflow, as reflected
in a construction procedure, a recipe, or an algorithm. As explored
in the volume's fifteen contributions, there are three levels at
which structures of practical knowledge may be understood and
examined. At the most immediate level, there are the individual
workflows that encompasses practical knowledge itself. Probing
further, it is possible to examine the structure of practical
knowledge as it is externalized and codified in texts, drawings,
and artifacts such as models. Finally, practical knowledge is also
related to social structures, which fundamentally determine its
dissemination and evolution into new knowledge structures. The
social structures of professionals and institutions represent the
critical means by which practical knowledge takes form. These
actors are the agents of codification, and by means of selection,
appropriation, investment, and knowledge development, they
determine the formation of new structures of practical knowledge.
On a more abstract level, the creation of new knowledge structures
is understood as constituting the basis for the further development
of scientific knowledge. Rich in subject matter and incisive in the
theory it lays out, this volume represents an important
contribution to the history of science and epistemology.
Individually, the fifteen case studies - encompassing the history
of architecture, mining, brewing, glass production, printing,
ballistics, mechanics, cartography, cosmology and astronomy - are
replete with original research, and offer new insights into the
history of science. Taken together, the contributions remodel
historical epistemology as a whole, elucidating the underlining
knowledge structures that transcend disciplinary boundaries, and
that unite practitioners across time and space.
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