[xmca] Aristotle's PRACTICAL philosophy as providing historical perspective

[christine schweighart <schweighartgate@hotmail.com>]

Dear Larry,
 I find the poeisis praxis distinction very helpful, especially when orienting to participative research. Many of my difficulties have arisen from being required to specify research outcomes- to a level of detail where data categories and procedure of analysis are required beforehand - quite common in the practice of gaining approval for  PhD proposals etc, but problematic in participative research. If 'participative' is taken beyond what I might call a superficial degree, to a collaborative status where the design of enquiry reaches collaboration with depth of working  upon research themes together- the' praxis' values arise in the process, and guide the relevance of categories etc around an emerging shared sense of 'good'.

 Lewin's 'search for laws' doesn't quite fit this praxis, it seems to me. Whilst not all participants might aspire to write research resumes, many do, and those that might not elaborate documented finding might still share a motive of improving social practices beyond their immediate work setting. Professional bodies have historically  been contexts for knowledge production beyond immediate work settings, however their 'good' in knowledge production and sharing is somewhat different to an academic one, often more self-serving, 

 In the paper contrasting Lewin ( for AR) the' experimental' ethos is one that contemporary AR has modified.

"(c) the main aim of social research (as conceived by Lewin)
is to formulate general laws about the dynamics of societal practices, with an eye to using these
laws as part of planning interventions into societal practice."

and principles  1 &2 of  figure 1

" 1. Improvement of societal practices is a direct consideration and
important orienting focus in forming research questions.
2. It is sometimes necessary to intervene into societal practices as part of
gaining basic knowledge, which makes it impossible to maintain a
separation of social science from social action."

Principle 1 assumes an a priori research question - this is not open to collaborative orientation to a sense of form of  'good life' emerging in praxis.
Yet in principle 2. an apparent contradiction of 'gaining basic knowledge' is open. What is 'basic knowledge' referring to here? It might be such that a meaning held in a 'research question' arises from such knowledge.

How can 'general laws' be sought to understand dynamics of social practices and yet an openess be maintained , principles of a mode of enquiry not contrained by previous meanings of 'general laws'? In this it seems that the shift to 'methodology' (or epistemological mode) is to enable an open stance against 'theoretical incursions', in 'practical philosophy' fashion .
However, whereas "practical philosophy was designed precisely to protect
practice against unwarranted theoretical incursions (Carr refers us to
Dunne, 1993) action research was DESIGNED  to provide research METHODOLOGY
that would INTEGRATE theory and practice by drawing on theoretical knowledge
FROM psychology, philosophy, sociology, and other fields of social science
in order to test its EXPLANATORY power and practical usefulness.Action research that I have encountered fashions an approach to enquiry upon reflection rather than 'by design' and a purpose is for ameliorative action - not the provision of methodology ( the two are intertwined). Practical usefulness yes, but not an  explanatory  that becomes predictive of future form.

Jack Whitehead uses this quote from Lyotard a lot to evoke an ethos of his educational action research:



"A postmodern artist or writer is in the position of a philosopher: the 
text he writes, the work he produces are not in principle governed by 
pre-established rules, and they cannot be judged according to a 
determining judgement, by applying familiar categories to the text or to
 the work. Those rules and categories are what the work of art itself is
 looking for. The artist and the writer, then, are working without rules
 in order to formulate the rules of what will have been done." (Lyotard, 
p. 81, 1986)

 
  
Lyotard, F. (1986) The Postmodern Condition: A report on Knowledge. Manchester; Manchester University Press.

 Jack Whitehead's  living theory perspective is  represented in:



Farren, M., Whitehead, J. & Bognar, B. (2011) Action Research in the Educational Workshop. Palo Alto; Academica Press.

Christine

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