Olav Eikeland – författare

Aristotle has been continuously at the frontier of philosophical reflection for almost 2400 years. Throughout the 20th century the influence of his practical philosophy has been growing. His «non-modernist» concept of phrónêsis or practical wisdom is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to both «modernism» and «post-modernism». This book is a meticulous study of Aristotle’s phrónêsis and its applications to the fields of personal development or character formation and of ethical virtues. It also relates phrónêsis to the wider context of Aristotle’s theoretical philosophy and of his different ways of knowing, and to both theoretical and practical concerns within modern social and action research. The whole of Aristotle’s thinking is radically practice-based and directed. However, it never loses its theoretical focus. His theoretical philosophy is fundamentally dialogical. Hence, the relevance of Aristotelian thinking is striking for the current reconfigurations in the social organisation of learning and knowledge production.

Since the turn of the millennium, various ways of «turning to practice» have resurfaced as major concerns of organisational researchers. And once again, the call is out for relevant and actionable knowledge among management and organisational researchers. This book shows how action research and related approaches have turned to practice by developing knowledge both from practice and for practice without giving up on theoretical and methodological ambitions. Contributions from Norway, Ireland, France, and the USA are included, relating action based approaches to other more mainstream methodological and theoretical approaches. How can practical alternatives to both explanatory and interpretative approaches be developed? How can we devise methods that actually support both practical change and creation of valid knowledge? How can we include local knowledge in the research process? The authors – all organisation researchers – present different answers but are united in addressing and discussing urgent questions like these.