The Future of the Professions by Susskind Richard;Susskind Daniel; & Daniel Susskind

Author:Susskind, Richard;Susskind, Daniel; & Daniel Susskind [Susskind, Richard & Susskind, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2022-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

5

Production and Distribution of Knowledge

We arrive now at the theoretical heart of the book. In Chapters 2 and 3 we describe how the professions are changing. In Chapter 4 we explain these changes by reference to the information substructure and developments in technology. In this chapter we draw these observations and arguments together. First we develop a model to show how professional work is evolving. Then, building on all we have said and done so far, we step away from the professions and describe the people and systems that will replace them in the future.

In broad terms, our focus in this chapter is on the way that we handle a particular type of ‘knowledge’ in society. We are, of course, not alone in exploring this concept. All manner of scholars have applied their minds to ‘knowledge’ over the centuries. Philosophers, for example, who specialize in epistemology ask such fundamental questions as ‘what is knowledge?’ and ‘how can we know anything?’, or again, ‘of what knowledge can we be certain?’ Sociologists study the connections between knowledge and power, culture, and class. Lawyers handle questions about the ownership, protection, and sharing of knowledge. Information theorists consider the relationships between knowledge, information, and data. We are fascinated by each of these perspectives, but for the most part they fall beyond the scope of our work.

Instead, the particular type of knowledge that is our preoccupation is what we introduce in Chapter 1 as ‘practical expertise’. Now we explore this concept in greater detail, looking at how we currently create and share it, and how we might handle it differently in the future. We seek to show, in economic terms, that knowledge has special characteristics that make its widespread and low-cost production and distribution both possible, and desirable, in a technology-based Internet society.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.