This represents an inquiry in itself and I think that in some ways that it will be a major aspect of my own inquiry. I think it is important to distinguish between knowing (which implies an ongoing process) and knowledge. I am far more comfortable considering knowing - probably because I feel I am lead by the evolution of understanding rather than accumulation what I do not know.
Some of the ways of knowing I prefer to use (and that drive the evolution of my understanding):
- interconnected - how can the new be interpreted through my internalised understandings? What are the disconnects with these understandings?
- collaborative - how do my interpretations and understandings compare with others' when in dialogue with texts and people?
- utilitarian - is it useful for practice, furthering my or others' understanding etc?
- aesthetic - eg. does it take a form which embodies both its own understandings and paradoxes? Is it elegant?
- propositional - is my questioning flowing feely? Is the questioning forming eddies? Is it turbulent or chaotic? etc. Each of these have value - what might a state of questioning mean? How can we open possibility without losing integrity of what has come before?
These are not in any particular order or definitive and are just a start to reflecting on my understanding and raise further questions such as how do these ways of knowing manifest themselves and/or are chosen?
What account can I give of my ways of knowing?
When I reflect on my ways of knowing I tend to gravitate towards ways of knowing as being, rather than, for example, knowing as conformation knowledge or knowledge annexed. Again in my self referential, and possibly obsessive, way playfulness (moving between ways of knowing) appears to be useful. Sometimes I feel the freedom of moving between ways of knowing and sometimes this is not the case. I use this freedom (or lack of it) as an indicator for me about my ways of knowing. Thinking of playfulness as a state-of-mind disclosing itself as freedom appears to be useful here. My ways of knowing are one way my being prefers to disclose itself and it would seem a likely place to glimpse manifestations of my authentic being.
What images do I hold of myself as a researcher? What images do I aspire to? Why?
The notion of 'images' is at first distracting for me - automatically I picture photographs, films and other ways we share imagery - which tend to flatten out my reflections. So I will take images as related to imagination - how do I imagine myself as a researcher? What do I imagine that I could aspire to? Why?
One throw away answer is that I am a researcher waiting to happen. This has some resonance here and it makes me smile. Is that the limit of such a statement? On reflection, I reckon everybody is a researcher waiting to happen - so there is a limit applied through its universality. As a researcher I see myself as trying to fulfil the five points I outlined in response to the first question above. How I imagine myself now and in the future seems to be relatively stable. I imagine myself with understanding that is enhanced and enriched with greater:
- interconnectedness
- collaboration
- usefulness
- beauty
- possibility
Questions: (c) Pugh, R & Yaxley, B. 2005
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