[MD] Know-how

[Steven Peterson]

Hi Matt, John,

Steve said:
>> I like this distinction between knowledge-that and knowledge-how and
>> not just because it has to do with beavers. Do you think that
>> knowledge-that versus knowledge-how can be used to distinquish between
>> intellectual patterns and other types of patterns? Is knowledge-how
>> ever intellectual or always biological or social? Is knowledge-that
>> ever other than intellectual?

Matt:
> I think if we follow the Turner letter definition of intellectual
> patterns as manipulation of symbols, then that's pretty
> much coextensive with propositional knowing-that.  And
> that, I think, would mean that bio and social are
> know-how--you can't articulate what you are doing, but
> you get things done successfully nevertheless.  The trouble,
> as always, in the schematic is how to describe DQ's place.


Steve:
I was hoping this distinction might be helpful in understanding
Pirsig's intellectual level from a different angle than symbol
manipulation, and I think it does help. For example, John has been
saying that intelligence is not only something that applies to
intellectual patterns but also to biological patterns as well. I
disagree, but I would at this point say that knowledge-how occurs at
all levels but knowledge-that is what we mean by Pirsig's intellect.
Of course knowledge-that is a sort of knowledge-how because it enables
new behaviors, so we don't need to distinguish between knowledge-how
and knowledge that within the intellectual level. But if we are taking
about knowledge-that we are definitely talking about the  intellectual
level. (As I've said many times before, if we are talking about
rationales for behavior rather than about a behavior itself, we are
also most definitely talking about intellect even though rationalizing
is itself a behavior.)



Matt:
> I remember reading a transcript of a lecture Pirsig gave
> once where (if memory serves) he used Bertrand Russell's
> distinction between knowledge by appearance and
> knowledge by description to catch hold of the same thing.


Steve:
Are you talking about SODV? If not, I don't think I ever read that one.

Best,
Steve