Practical knowledge: challenges of the heritage from Francis Bacon: between truth, utility, and goodness

The chapter aims to develop conceptions of practical knowledge, relevant to skills and Bildung in engineering science. The starting point is Francis Bacon’s ideas of new science, developed 400 years ago. It is argued that Bacon’s vision has become dogmatized during the course of history, whereas his critical attitude has become superseded. A critical discussion on the heritage from Bacon leads to a focus on the concepts of truth, utility, and goodness. Unification of skills and Bildung, it is stated, should imply the ability to deal explicitly with these concepts and their interrelations. Furthermore, and still with reference to truth, utility, and goodness, it is claimed that unification of skills and Bildung should include the ability to deal with complexity. A second-order complexity challenges the search for adequacy between; a) the complexity of knowledge-creation; and b) the complexity of the challenge of situations dealt with in practical professions such as engineering. Essential points of the argumentation are emphasized by postulates. Implications for the education and practice of engineers are accentuated.