#7 The Wise Practitioner | James McGuirk

ResponsAbility - Dialogues on Practical Knowledge and Bildung in Professional Studies

The guest of this episode is professor James McGuirk, Director of the Center for Diaconia and Professional Practice at VID Specialized University and professor II at Nord University, both in Norway. As a philosopher, James gives account of what he means by the notion of “the wise practitioner” and how students of professional studies can develop towards becoming wise practitioners. In order to do so, he explicates the three forms of knowledge of Aristotle and brings forth arguments why using one’s own experiences is as legitimate as using others’ in practice research.

00:00:44 – What are characteristics of a wise practitioner?

00:02:06 – What is the role of habit in practical wisdom?

00:04:59 – What is the role of reason in practical wisdom?

00:06:42 – On the three knowledge forms of Aristotle

00:10:38 – What is phronesis?

00:14:03 – On values in institutions

00:18:54 – How can students of professional studies become wise practitioners?

00:24:28 – On the role of stories and experiences in practice research and developing practical knowledge

00:28:04 – Are there any differences in researching narratives phenomenologically or hermeneutically?

00:30:46 – Is using one’s own experiences as legitimate as using others’ in practice research?

00:36:17 – Is developing phronesis, or responsAbility, rather a matter of research than of teaching?

Further literature:

McGuirk, J. (2021): Den kloke praktikeren. In: Fuglseth, K.S. & Halås, C.T. (eds.): Innføring i Praktisk Kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

McGuirk, J. 2017. Experience and the story. I: Catrine Thorbjørnsen Halås, Ingjerd Gåre Kymre and Kari Steinsvik: Humanistiske forskningstilnærminger til profesjonspraksis.

McGuirk, J. og Jan Selmer Methi. (2014); Praktisk kunnskap som profesjonsforskning: antologi over yrkeserfaringen som utgangspunkt for forståelse av kunnskapsutvikling i praksis. Fagbokforlaget.

McGuirk, J. 2016. Phenomenological considerations of habit: Reason, knowing and self-presence in habitual action. Phenomenology and Mind, (6), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-19556

McGuirk, J. 2021. Embedded rationality and the contextualization of critical thinking. Journal of Philosophy of Education, (55), 606-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12563

McGuirk, J. 2023. Paying attention alone and together: The role of attention in the formation and cultivation of habits. Knowing our ways about in the world: Philosophical perspectives on Practical knowledge, eds. B. Molander, M. Solli, & T. Netland. Oslo. Scandinavian University Press.https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/9788215069135-23-06

McGuirk, J. 2023. On the role of the ‘Call’ in professional work and practical knowledge. Exploring Practical Knowledge, eds. K. Fuglseth, C. Cederberg & E. van der Zande. Leiden. Brill

McGuirk, J. 2022.Perspectives on democracy, citizenship, and value education in the Norwegian school. Education in Europe: Contemporary approaches across the continent. New York. Routledge.