Negative knowledge, expertise and organisations

Abstract

There has been a particular emphasis on knowledge and competence as increasingly important resources for successful enterprises. This notion of knowledge is based on 'positive knowledge', which considers knowing as merely a constructive, linear and accumulative process. We will introduce the notion of 'negative knowledge', which involves 'giving up' or 'bracketing' knowledge in certain situations. When experts encounter something that is incompatible with their knowledge, they should be sensitive enough to recognise a new situation by reconsidering or suspending their action. In addition to exploring the idea of 'unlearning', the paper introduces three other aspects of negative knowledge: 'to know what we do not know', 'to know what not to do' and 'the value of failure'. Negative knowledge seems to be possible, useful and even necessary in expert organisations because old ways of thinking or knowing something often prevent us from seeing new potentials.