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Knowing How: an Empirical, Functionalist Approach

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Knowing How: an Empirical, Functionalist Approach Syracuse University SURFACE Philosophy - Dissertations College of Arts and Sciences 5-2013 Knowing How: An Empirical, Functionalist Approach David Joseph Bzdak Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/phi_etd Recommended Citation Bzdak, David Joseph, "Knowing How: An Empirical, Functionalist Approach" (2013). Philosophy - Dissertations. 74. https://surface.syr.edu/phi_etd/74 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts and Sciences at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact surface@syr.edu. Abstract Only very recently has the subject of knowledge how and its relation to propositional knowledge, or knowledge that, been given much attention by philosophers. In recent debates on the subject, positions tend to divide around the question: is knowledge how (KH) reducible to, or a kind of, knowledge that (KT), or are they fundamentally distinct categories of knowledge? I argue for the latter view, and I base my argument on the claim that KH and KT mental states serve fundamentally different functional roles – specifically, KT is representational, while KH is practical. I develop my positive, Functionalist account of KH in Chapter 6. Earlier chapters deal with background and methodological issues. In Chapter 1, I consider why philosophers, until recently, have tended to ignore the study of KH and have focused almost exclusively on KT. I argue that the omission is due to unexamined, tacit assumptions about the relation between mind and body, and the relation between knowledge and representation. In Chapter 2, I argue for an empirical approach to the debate, and develop a folk theory of KH to use as a starting point for the investigation. In Chapters 3 and 4, I consider specific empirical domains – neuroscience and experimental psychology – and examine some ways in which they inform the KH/KT debate. In Chapter 5, I critically consider an account of KH put forward by Jason Stanley and Timothy Williamson in a 2001 article, “Knowing How”, since theirs is the most prominent view opposed to my conclusion. Knowing How: An Empirical, Functionalist Approach By David Joseph Bzdak B.A., Bloomsburg University, 1995 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy in the Graduate School of Syracuse University. Syracuse University May 2013 © 2013 David Joseph Bzdak All rights reserved. Acknowledgements This dissertation arose out of research into a much broader topic that I got interested in while taking philosophy of science courses with Brent Mundy. Convinced that something like Thomas Kuhn’s picture of theoretical scientific knowledge (as modified by Mundy) is correct, I began to wonder if a similar model might be applied to technological knowledge. In comparing and contrasting the two types of knowledge, it struck me that it might be useful to look into what had been said about the knowledge-how/knowledge-that distinction. I was prepared for a vast literature on the topic, and so was surprised to discover how little had actually been written about the subject by philosophers. I have much to say about that surprising discovery in the dissertation itself; before proceeding, let me express my gratitude to some of those who helped me, both philosophically and personally, over the years of working on this project, and the years leading up to it. Brent Mundy, mentioned above, had a huge impact on my knowledge of, and approach to, philosophy and he was the person who made the original suggestion to look into the topic of technological knowledge. Many other professors, both graduate and undergraduate, had strong influences on me as well including William Alston, Jose Benardete, Jonathan Bennett, Richard Brook, Tamar Gendler, Steven Hales, Wendy Lee, and Scott Lowe. I also had a influential colleagues as a graduate student at Syracuse, including Jason Clark, John Draeger, Eric Funkhouser, Jeff McDonough, and Erik Schmidt. My clarification for this dissertation was in 2005, and due to a number of factors (including adjunct teaching at as many as four different local colleges per semester) its completion has taken longer than usual. As such, I owe a great debt of gratitude to committee members who have worked with me and accommodated my irregular schedule over those years iv (which generally consisted of a flurry of chapter submissions in the summer, followed by long months of silence, followed by another flurry the next summer, etc.). Ishani Maitra has been extraordinary in this respect. Her guidance has been incredibly constructive and I’m not sure I would’ve ever finished this project without her help. Committee members Mark Heller and Andre Gallois have also been around for the long haul. Mark was good enough to take over as my dissertation advisor after Ishani left, and both have provided lots of constructive advice along the way. Linda Alcoff, Bence Nanay and Robert Van Gulick have given me comments on particular chapters, and Larry Hardin helped give the project some shape at the beginning. Hille Paakkunainen was incredibly helpful in the home stretch. I approached her, a new faculty member, because some of her papers had some connections to my topic, and before I knew it she (well, we) had done a complete critical review of the dissertation. Her comments were uniformly valuable. Over the course of writing this dissertation, my life has changed rather dramatically. Meeting and marrying my wife, Farhana, turned my life around in more ways than I can mention. Without her inspiration, I don’t think I would’ve had the spirit to finish, and without her patience, encouragement, and love I wouldn’t have had the ability. She has been an ideal partner, and watching her defend her dissertation last year, a few weeks before giving birth to our third child, was a great source of motivation. Our children, Sophia, Eli and Zak, are also great sources of motivation as well, not to mention sources of philosophical inspiration. Watching them grow up and acquire all sorts of know-how has made the importance of this dissertation subject more than just academic to me. And their energy and good cheer is the perfect complement to days (and years) of sustained, concentrated philosophical work. v My mother and father, Bridget and William Bzdak, have always emphasized the value of education, and have been a constant source of help and support over the years. My brothers, Brian and Patrick, have also been supportive, and our variety of aptitudes with respect to the different types of knowledge have no doubt affected my thinking on this subject. Finally, my in-laws, the Syeds of Pune, India, have been astonishingly kind and welcoming to me, and enthusiastic boosters of my career. In 2010, I was hired as an assistant professor at Onondaga Community College. To have such a job at all in this job market is a blessing, but I have the additional good fortune to have Patrick Kenny as a colleague. His help as both a co-worker and a philosopher has been invaluable. He and others who teach philosophy at OCC, including Alex Krantz, Ben Hassman, Jeremy Dickinson, and Jeremy Pierce, have kept my interest in the discipline alive and growing. At OCC, the discipline of philosophy is housed in the Social Sciences Department, and all of my colleagues in the department have been enthusiastic, motivational and great to work with. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgments …………………………………………………….. iv Introduction: Knowing-How ………………………………………… … 1 Chapter 1: The Puzzle of Knowledge How ………………………… … 22 Chapter 2: A Folk Theory of KH …………………………………… …. 59 Chapter 3: Neuroscience and Knowing-How …………………………… 103 Chapter 4: Intelligence and Knowing-How …………………………….. 136 Chapter 5: Stanley and Williamson on Knowing-How …………………. 185 Chapter 6: A Functionalist Account of Knowing-How ………………… 225 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………. 271 Biographical Data ………………………………………………………. 281 vii 1 Introduction: Knowing How Sam: Does anyone here know anything about plumbing? Cliff: Well, Sam, the Romans had an elaborate system of aqueducts… Sam: No, no, Cliff…what I mean is does anyone here know how to fix plumbing? Cliff: Ah, no – sorry Sammy…strictly theory.1 I.1 The Sounds of Silence As the above exchange illustrates, we typically distinguish between at least two kinds of knowledge2: knowledge-that and knowledge-how. Knowledge-that is also sometimes referred to as propositional knowledge, declarative knowledge, or descriptive knowledge. Paradigmatic instances of knowledge-that include: (a) knowing that Albany is the capital of New York; (b) knowing that 2 + 2 = 4; and (c) knowing that the Romans had an elaborate system of aqueducts. Knowledge-how, on the other hand, is generally associated with abilities or skills. Knowledge- how is sometimes referred to as applied knowledge, practical knowledge, procedural knowledge or simply know-how. Typical examples of knowing-how include: (d) knowing how to ride a bicycle; (e) knowing how to speak a language; and (f) knowing how to fix the plumbing. Philosophers in the analytic tradition have devoted most of their epistemological attention to studying and analyzing knowledge-that (hereafter KT), and significantly less time and effort in consideration of knowledge-how (hereafter KH). While it is true that philosophical recognition and awareness of KH as a (possibly) distinct category of knowledge goes back to the ancient Greeks,3 analysis of the nature of KH and its relation to KT has barely begun. Given the preeminent philosophical role that epistemology has played since (at least) Descartes, this lack of 1 From a 1985 episode of the sitcom Cheers. 2 Philosophers have argued that other kinds of knowledge exist as well – e.g. knowledge by acquaintance, moral knowledge, etc. And of course, these kinds of knowledge are often further subdivided into finer categories such as a priori, a posteriori, etc.
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