Learning is an important aspect of acquiring knowledge; people strive to gain knowledge because knowledge empowers individuals in the community setting. Knowledge includes all the facts, information, and relevant skills. Knowledge is acquired through experience or education experience gives an individual a practical understanding whereas education creates theoretical knowledge. Engberg-Pedersen, Troels assesses that practical and theoretical knowledge are interdependent. Most tasks require theoretical knowledge to practice them, the act of expressing knowledge regarding acts and skills is referred to as practical knowledge whereas the ability to have moral guidance and framework of how things should be carried out is known as theoretical knowledge.
Aristotle has different views on practical and theoretical knowledge; Aristotle had different ideas on how human beings think and solve their problems. Aristotle helps in understanding the difference between practical and theoretical knowledge. Practical knowledge according to Aristotle refers to the ability to have a particular skill. For instance, the knowledge to play flute. To acquire such knowledge, it is important for the learner to observe the teacher. The learner is also given the necessary theoretical knowledge about the flutes before they can be able to play it. Observation enables learners to acquire experience which is an important aspect of practical knowledge. According to Aristotle philosophy, practical knowledge can, therefore, be referred to as the knowledge required completing a particular activity.
Theoretical knowledge, on the other hand, teaches and deliberates to answer the why question. Theoretical knowledge helps us to assess why one technique works whereas another technique fails. Theory enables learners to set the direction for an activity; theory teaches through the experience of others. Theoretical knowledge is the proved standards and procedures that can be used to achieve precise results. Theoretical knowledge helps create a better understanding of a phenomenon.
Humans are thinkers and at the same time we are doers, establishing a theoretical platform is a means of acquiring the necessary skills to pool out a particular activity. When we act we are guided by theoretical knowledge to perform those tasks whereas the experience of the action can be referred to as the practical knowledge. Theoretical knowledge does not require the participation of the subject whereas practical experience is the actual process of using the skills to achieve certain predetermined results. Theoretical knowledge is, therefore, the active reflection and engaging individual rules of theory as guidance in a particular activity.
In contrast to theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge does not require prior experience since it is exercised automatically. For instance, a tennis player or a volleyball player does not reflect any particular instructions and theory before returning the ball. Besides, the fact that theoretical knowledge is possible under certain guidelines makes theoretical knowledge standard and universal and can be practiced by anybody with the instructions. On the contrary, practical experience does not require any form of reflection since it is spontaneous. Practical knowledge is therefore not consistent with any particular formula or rule (Van de Ven, Andrew H., and Paul E. Johnson 805).
It is difficult to differentiate theoretical and practical knowledge, both practical and theoretical knowledge are used to refer to the similar situations of both practical and intellectual ability (Eilertsen, Tor Vidar, and Rachel Jakhelln 15). When an individual acquires a practical skill one learns how to do something whereas when a person acquires a scientific formula is also an instance of learning. Happiness is much dependent on the contemplation of what is right and what is wrong. Contemplation bears the theoretical approach to issues, especially in times trials. Contemplation is a theoretical approach to understanding our deeds and actions. Happiness is the practical result of the reflection, for instance, to participate and achieve a particular goal. Contemplation can be described as living a complacent life where most objectives met guided by appropriate moral principles (Bredillet, Christophe, Stephane Tywoniak, and Ravikiran Dwivedula 244).
Conclusion
The line between practical and theoretical knowledge is thin and blurred; a theoretical approach involves procedures whereas practical approach to learning is the practical guidance to the activity and includes the assessment of the extent of happiness about living a contemplative life. Aristotle and other philosophers identify that it is hard to differentiate between practical and theoretical knowledge they are both interdependent, and sometimes they occur simultaneously.
Work Cited
Bredillet, Christophe, Stephane Tywoniak, and Ravikiran Dwivedula. "What is a good project manager? An Aristotelian perspective." International Journal of Project Management 33.2 (2015): 254-266.
Engberg-Pedersen, Troels. Aristotle's theory of moral insight. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983.
Eilertsen, Tor Vidar, and Rachel Jakhelln. "The Practical Knowledge Regime, Teachers’ Professionalism and Professional Development." Lost in Practice. SensePublishers, 2014. 13-30.
Van de Ven, Andrew H., and Paul E. Johnson. "Knowledge for theory and practice." Academy of management review 31.4 (2006): 802-821.
