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A Post-Critical Science of Administration: Toward a Society of Explorers

Wickstrom, Craig M
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0266-5009
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1513694390316079

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.
What is meant by "science" and whether it is an appropriate model for public administration has been a subject of debate since Woodrow Wilson called for a science of administration in 1887. This dissertation introduces another voice into that debate, the voice of a world-renowned physical chemist named Michael Polanyi. Polanyi's sharp criticism of positivism reinforces the arguments of those questioning the legitimacy of an administrative science, but instead of rejecting it, he constructed an alternative definition of science that recognizes the indeterminacy of reality, the personal nature of knowledge, and the centrality of "the logic of tacit knowing." Because all knowledge is tacit or rooted in tacit knowing, we can know more than we can tell, and tacit knowing becomes evident in the dynamic order of polycentric entities and in their reliance on tradition and the person, constrained by community, and morally responsible for discovery and practice.
Michael Spicer, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Helen Liggett, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Walter Gulick, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
221 p.
Epistemology; Philosophy of Science; Public Administration
Michael Polanyi post-critical science public administration tacit knowing personal knowledge intuition faith heuristic meaning discovery responsible practice community tradition dynamic spontaneous order public liberty free society indeterminate reality

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wickstrom, C. M. (2017). A Post-Critical Science of Administration: Toward a Society of Explorers [Doctoral dissertation, Cleveland State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1513694390316079

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wickstrom, Craig. A Post-Critical Science of Administration: Toward a Society of Explorers. 2017. Cleveland State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1513694390316079.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wickstrom, Craig. "A Post-Critical Science of Administration: Toward a Society of Explorers." Doctoral dissertation, Cleveland State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1513694390316079

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

csu1513694390316079
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© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License A Post-Critical Science of Administration: Toward a Society of Explorers by Craig M Wickstrom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Cleveland State University and OhioLINK.