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How To Create Knowledge

What to know about knowledge.

Jerry Silfwer
by Jerry Silfwer

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

Reading time: Less than 1 min.

I’m obsess­ively inter­ested in how to cre­ate knowledge.

I love to learn about learn­ing. And I love to know about knowledge.

Of course, not every­one will find this inter­est­ing, but not all know­ledge is cre­ated equally. Understanding how know­ledge is cre­ated makes it easi­er to under­stand the strengths and weak­nesses of dif­fer­ent types of reasoning.

At least I think so.

Here we go:

Quicklinks 

How To Create Knowledge

How To Create Knowledge - Types of Reasoning - Doctor Spin
How to cre­ate knowledge.

How To Create Knowledge

“If you can­’t explain it simply, you don’t under­stand it well enough.”
— Albert Einstein

This list of how to cre­ate know­ledge presents aspects of reas­on­ing, meth­od­o­lo­gic­al approaches, data ana­lys­is per­spect­ives, and philo­soph­ic­al frame­works. It thor­oughly explains how know­ledge can be approached, ana­lysed, and interpreted.

Types of Reasoning and Logical Processes

  • Inductive reas­on­ing. Generalising from spe­cif­ic obser­va­tions to broad­er generalizations.
  • Deductive reas­on­ing. Starting with a gen­er­al state­ment or hypo­thes­is and reach­ing a spe­cif­ic conclusion.
  • Abductive reas­on­ing. Starting with an obser­va­tion and seek­ing the simplest and most likely explanation.
  • Probabilistic reas­on­ing. Making pre­dic­tions based on prob­ab­il­it­ies in uncer­tain situations.

Methodological Approaches

  • Empirical vs logic­al. Empirical—Deriving know­ledge from obser­va­tion or exper­i­ment­a­tion. Logical—Using struc­tured reas­on­ing and val­id argu­ments inde­pend­ent of empir­ic­al evidence.
  • Heuristic vs algorithmic. Heuristic—Applying prac­tic­al meth­ods or “rules of thumb” for imme­di­ate solu­tions. Algorithmic—Using sys­tem­at­ic pro­ced­ures for defin­it­ive, often optim­al solutions.

Data and Analysis Perspectives

  • Analytical vs syn­thet­ic. Analytical—Breaking down com­plex prob­lems into smal­ler com­pon­ents. Synthetic—Combining ele­ments to form a coher­ent whole.
  • Qualitative vs quant­it­at­ive. Qualitative—Focusing on non-stat­ist­ic­al aspects and qual­it­ies. Quantitative—Involving numer­ic­al data col­lec­tion and analysis.

Philosophical and Theoretical Frameworks

  • Rationalism vs empir­i­cism. Rationalism—Emphasising reas­on as the primary source of know­ledge. Empiricism—Stressing the import­ance of sens­ory exper­i­ence and evidence.
  • Positivism. Asserting that sci­entif­ic know­ledge is the true form of knowledge.
  • Hermeneutics. Focusing on the inter­pret­a­tion of texts, lan­guage, and symbols.
  • Phenomenology. Concentrating on the study of con­scious­ness and dir­ect experience.
  • Pragmatism. Considering prac­tic­al con­sequences as vital in mean­ing and truth.
  • Constructivism. Suggesting that know­ledge is con­struc­ted from exper­i­ences and ideas.
  • Deconstruction. Analysing philo­soph­ic­al and lit­er­ary lan­guage to uncov­er impli­cit assumptions.

Learn more: How To Create Knowledge

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Please sup­port my blog by shar­ing it with oth­er PR- and com­mu­nic­a­tion pro­fes­sion­als. For ques­tions or PR sup­port, con­tact me via jerry@​spinfactory.​com.

PR Resource: List of Logical Fallacies and Biases

Logical Fallacies and Cognitive Biases - Doctor Spin
Logical fal­la­cies and cog­nit­ive biases.

List of Logical Fallacies and Biases

As humans, we often fall for the tricks our own psy­cho­logy plays on us. These “think­ing errors” exist because they’ve often aided our sur­viv­al. However, know­ing and under­stand­ing vari­ous types of com­mon fal­la­cies and biases is help­ful in every­day life.

Here are a few examples of logic­al fal­la­cies and biases that I’ve come across while study­ing pub­lic rela­tions and linguistics:

  • Fallacy of Composition
  • Fallacy of Division
  • The Gambler’s Fallacy
  • Tu Quoque (Who Are You To Talk?)
  • Strawman
  • Ad Hominem
  • Genetic Fallacy (Fallacy of Origin or Fallacy of Virtue)
  • Fallacious Appeal to Authority
  • Red Herring
  • Appeal to Emotion
  • Appeal to Popularity (The Bandwagon Effect)
  • Appeal to Tradition
  • Appeal to Nature
  • Appeal to Ignorance
  • Begging the Question
  • Equivocation
  • False Dichotomy (Black or White)
  • Middle Ground Fallacy
  • Decision Point Fallacy (Sorites Paradox)
  • Slippery Slope Fallacy
  • Hasty Generalisations (Anecdotal Evidence)
  • Faulty Analogy
  • Burden of Proof
  • Affirming the Consequent
  • Denying the Antecedent (Fallacy of the Inverse)
  • Moving the Goalposts
  • No True Scotsman
  • Personal Incredulity
  • False Causality
  • Texas Sharpshooter
  • Loaded Question
  • Chesterton’s Fence
  • Survivorship Bias
  • Dunning-Kruger Effect
  • Confirmation Bias
  • Heuristic Anchoring
  • Curse of Knowledge
  • Optimism/​Pessimism Bias
  • Sunk Cost Fallacy
  • Negativity Bias
  • Declinism
  • Backfire Effect (Conversion Theory)
  • Fundamental Attribution Error
  • In-Group Bias
  • Forer Effect (Barnum Effect)
  • Cognitive Dissonance
  • Hostile Media Effect
  • Cherry-Picking (The Fallacy of Incomplete Evidence)
  • Spiral of Silence
  • Yes Ladder
  • Bystander Effect
  • Reciprocation Effect
  • Commitment and Consistency
  • Fallacy of Social Proof
  • Liking and Likeness
  • Appeal to Authority
  • Principle of Scarcity (FOMO)
  • Loss Aversion

Learn more: 58 Logical Fallacies and Biases

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Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at KIX Index and Spin Factory. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Cover Photo

The cover photo has nothing to do with public relations, of course. I share for no other reason that I happen to enjoy photography. Call it an “ornamental distraction”—and a subtle reminder to appreciate nature.

The cover photo has

Early morning by Dalälven, Sweden.

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