Epistemic Horizons

Embracing Tacit Understanding and Generative Potential in the Appraisal of Knowledge

Abstract

This paper explores the appraisal of knowledge in architecture and its role shaping architectural thought, design, and production. Building on Michael Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge—knowing more than we can tell—the paper proposes to address the challenge of assessing such knowledge by the appraisal of its generative potential. It argues that tacit knowledge can be valued by the possibilities it creates within specific social and material environments. Through an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from cognitive psychology, anthropology, and information theory, the paper identifies three modes of comprehension—correspondence, adaptation, and poetic. Emphasizing the interplay of knowledge, cognition, and imagination, it proposes that knowledge should be appraised based on its generative potential, rather than merely codified information. The paper concludes by suggesting that architectural knowledge, exemplified in the work of Eduard van Steenbergen, can be evaluated by its capacity to "objectify abstract space" and manipulate spatial relations, integrating skill, knowledge, and agency. Opening up new avenues for epistemological inquiry within architectural research, the paper invites scholars to reconsider their approaches to knowledge appraisal and to embrace a more inclusive understanding of knowledge production in the discipline.