Tacit and Explicit Knowledge

by Harry Collins

Much of what humans know we cannot say. And much of what we do we cannot describe. For example, how do we know how to ride a bike when we can’t explain how we do it? Abilities like this were called “tacit knowledge” by physical chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, but here Harry Collins analyzes the term, and the behavior, in much greater detail, often departing from Polanyi’s treatment.

In Tacit and Explicit Knowledge, Collins develops a common conceptual language to bridge the concept’s disparate domains by explaining explicit knowledge and classifying tacit knowledge. Collins then teases apart the three very different meanings, which, until now, all fell under the umbrella of Polanyi’s term: relational tacit knowledge (things we could describe in principle if someone put effort into describing them),  somatic tacit knowledge (things our bodies can do but we cannot describe how, like balancing on a bike), and collective tacit knowledge (knowledge we draw that is the property of society, such as the rules for language). Thus, bicycle riding consists of some somatic tacit knowledge and some collective tacit knowledge, such as the knowledge that allows us to navigate in traffic. The intermixing of the three kinds of tacit knowledge has led to confusion in the past; Collins’s book will at last unravel the complexities of the idea.

Tacit knowledge drives everything from language, science, education, and management to sport, bicycle riding, art, and our interaction with technology.  In Collins’s able hands, it also functions at last as a framework for understanding human behavior in a range of disciplines.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology, Sociology, Education

200 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt more like I was reading some dusty professors mangum opus on their specialty. It was written by academics for academics with questionable use.

It was useful to go over the different levels of how well something is known. If this book could be distilled down into a pop-psycology style book I could see it having use.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, if you read it closely. This guy, though, needs to read more linguistics theory. We are way ahead of him, I think.

Good food for thought. Oddly, when I got to the last chapter, I was almost crying. Reminds me of Lewis Thomas's essay analogizing ant-hill building and human languaging.

[Amy Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little less confused with the world of knowledge after reading this book.... a little!

[Theresa MacPhail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Harry Collins for the effort he puts into being as scientific about his terms and their interrelationship as possible. That being said, this example felt like overkill (i.e. a tad pedantic). Still, if you want to know more about how we know what we know - and you're looking for a creative extension of Polanyi's text - then this is a must.