Acting to understand and understanding to act

Abstract

Purpose

To establish the essential centrality of a circular relationship between acting and understanding, and a role learning plays in this circularity, with special reference to Aristotle's phronesis and sophia. The purpose of this paper is to establish a position.

Design/methodology/approach

The argument is made through critical, cybernetic analysis and argument.

Findings

The argument reconceptualises key relationships in the approach to understanding the world, and in education.

Research limitations/implications

Research implications are not explored: the argument attempts to lay groundwork for other and later work.

Originality/value

The argument establishes a cybernetic circular causality to replace the currently preferred linear causality.

Citation

Glanville, R. (2014), "Acting to understand and understanding to act", Kybernetes, Vol. 43 No. 9/10, pp. 1293-1300. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-07-2014-0147