PRACTICE and/or PRAXIS?
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2598 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
W. Mc WHINNEY observes that these two concepts are quite different from each other.
He states: “Practice focuses on a habitual and systematic process of doing. I further stipulate that a practice follows an implicit set of rules or theories …”And “Practice …follows a program ”(1997, p. 80)
As to “Praxis”, it “is the study and practices of attaining goals . It focuses on the goal without the confines of a limiting set of rules”…and “Praxis is a way of working beyond theory and practice, getting results beyond those available within a single domain of work”(Ibid).
Practice would determine for example the correct way to use a screwdriver, while praxis would define the choice of a screwdriver among various ones or even some other tool in some specific situation.
While this may seem at first sight somewhat far fetched, McWinney makes his point very clearly in his paper.