Ontological not-knowing to contribute attaining practical wisdom: Insights from a not-knowing experience in ‘samba-de-gafieira’ dance to the value of being and responding from within our practical experience and practical knowledge

Abstract

This study is about one of the foundational conditions for attaining practical wisdom in work practices: not-knowing, from an ontological position, namely not-knowing as a way of being from within the practical experience being lived and from tacit and practical knowledge, rather than from representations of reality, generalizations and an intellectualized approach. Ontological not-knowing is relevant because practical wisdom (phronesis) is concerned with particulars of a situation and a refined and pristine perception of such. However, our craving for generality, our often unreflective and uncritical clinging on representations of reality, our overwhelming urge for closure, dependence on conceptual categories, and our privileging of the representational knowledge distort and de-sensitize our perception and discernment of what actually goes on in a situation, its particulars, and unfolding solicitations and potential. Practical wisdom cannot be attained by such an overreliance on generalizations and abstractions. An experience of not-knowing in dancing samba-de-gafieira is analogically explored to derive insights towards practical wisdom in work. It contributes to theorizing practical wisdom, tacit knowing, knowing-in-practice and practical knowledge, and to the development of not-knowing as an ontological skill, its situational sensitivities, refined perception and judgment towards wiser responding in an increasingly complex, technical-oriented and ever-changing work context.