<\/a>\u201cEpisteme\u201d can be translated as \u201cknowledge\u201d \u201cunderstanding\u201d or \u201cacquaintance\u201d, while \u201clogos\u201d can be translated as \u201caccount\u201d \u201cargument\u201d or \u201creason\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\nEpistemology, then, is the study of how we \u201cknow\u201d things.<\/span><\/p>\nLet’s consider a simple, everyday object like a table.<\/span><\/p>\nHow do we know it\u2019s a table? Well, we can measure its dimensions, and we can identify the materials it was made from. We can weigh the table and identify its colour. Underlying our thinking in this case is a scientific view of knowledge and the world. We can then go and statistically enumerate many tables and derive hypotheses about the shape and size of tables in general. We might even predict how future tables might look.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOur approach here is positivist and we rely on quantitative data. Positivism is an approach that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true as in mathematical formulae or derived from sensory experience such as measuring or weighing an object.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThere is a \u201cdistance\u201d between us and the table. We are objective and we regard ourselves as being impartial and unattached. In a positivist mindset, we want to generalise our findings to a larger population of all tables. We are obtaining hard, indisputable data. Other people can measure and weigh the table and come to the same conclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut there are other ways in which we can \u201cknow\u201d our table. We can ask a different set of questions. Is it being used as a desk or a dining table? Or is it used as both at different times of the day? Is it in a home or an office? Is it placed in a certain position because of its aesthetic attributes?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDoes it tell us about the lifestyle or social class of the owner? Here we are looking at the table, not as a separate object but within a social context, of which we are also a part. This is the Interpretivist approach to knowledge. The observer is an inseparable part of the object under study. The observer must decide what data to capture and how to interpret it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHere we are not looking at tables in general, but at a particular table in, for example, the dining room of a suburban home. Here the observer becomes part of the object of study. Other observers may look at the same table and come up with a different set of observations, equally valid, but based on different assumptions about and interpretations of the social context.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe different world views and life experiences of observers, when brought together, brings a richer understanding of \u201ctableness.\u201d And we are obliged to consider different views, based on different views of the world.<\/span><\/p>\nThese are not the only approaches to \u201cknowing\u201d something, but they provide us with a basis on which to reflect on the nature of knowledge. Another major branch of epistemology is Pragmatism which focuses on the usefulness and application of applied research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRealism on the other hand is the view that something may exist independently of whether we think about it or not. You can easily see why a conversation about epistemology becomes very complicated, very quickly.<\/span><\/p>\nBut let’s keep our analysis simple here, and return to Positivism and Interpretivism. Invariably the question arises: \u201dWhich one is better?\u201d And the answer, of course, is neither. Both are valid and useful ways of creating knowledge. For leaders, it’s important to appreciate the strengths of both approaches to understanding the context of the world of work.<\/span><\/p>\nToo much emphasis on an objective, numbers-driven, Positivist approach will create a cold, dispassionate understanding of the work reality. On the other hand, a subjective, Interpretivist view, based on many different assumptions, will create a chaotic understanding of the work context.<\/span><\/p>\nWe can see this at play in the stereotypes we use in organisations. The engineers and accountants are obsessed with the numbers \u2013 and the numbers don\u2019t lie. The marketing and human resources folks are concerned with perceptions and recognising diversity in different points of view.<\/span><\/p>\nThe challenge is for each one of us to embrace both a Positivist structuring of knowledge along with an Interpretivist understanding of the social context. To be able to hold both approaches in our minds at the same time gives us a richer grasp of the issues and leads to unique strategic solutions. It is these unique solutions that may just give your business the edge over the opposition. It is worth the effort.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd what is more, you will never look at a table in the same way again.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you come to do advanced studies at a tertiary institution such as Regenesys, you are bound to bump up against the philosophical concept of epistemology. Epistemology is useful because it involves understanding how we, as unique individuals, shape our understanding of the world around us.\u00a0 And we use this \u201cconceived\u201d understanding of the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":143958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"country":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-143956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leadership-human-capital-development"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Leadership and Epistemology | RegInsights<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n