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Models of Knowledge Creation ProcessesAndrzej P. Wierzbicki, Yoshiteru Nakamori

JAIST, 21st Century COE Technology Creation Based on Knowledge Science,

and National Institute of TelecommunicationsSzachowa 11, 04-894 Warsaw, Poland

1. New approaches to the problem of knowledge and technology creation

2. The concept of Creative Space 3. Further dimensions of Creative Space 4. New spirals for creative processes; the Triple Helix

of normal knowledge creation 5. Models of knowledge creation processes: towards

Creative Environments 6. Conclusions: reason versus being or verbal versus

preverbal

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1. New approaches to the problem of knowledge and technology creation

Recall that since 1990 many quite new approaches to knowledge and technology creation appeared, most coming from systems or management science, outside of philosophy (except *):

Shinayakana Systems Approach of Sawaragi and Nakamori (1992)

SECI Spiral of Nonaka and Takeuchi, The Knowledge Creating Company (1995)

Rational Theory of Intuition by Wierzbicki (1997) * Process of Regress by Motycka (1998), using Collective

Unconscious of Jung (1953) I5 System by Nakamori (2000) The Management of Distributed Organizational Knowledge by

Gasson (2004), several others Debates with Z. Król: the distinction between macro-theories of

knowledge creation (philosophical, on grand historical scale) and micro-theories (patterns of action, needed for today and tomorrow)

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2. The concept of Creative Space

This concept represents a way of integrating known theories of knowledge creation

The basic assumptions are: Use at least three-valued logic (three levels of ontological

elements) Use the epistemological and the social (so-called

ontological) dimensions of SECI Spiral as basic, but add also other dimensions (as in I5 System);

Carefully define the nodes (ontological elements) of Creative Space and study possible transitions (not knowledge conversions) between the nodes.

Thus, create a network-like general model of creative processes

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2. The concept of Creative Space, 2

Fig. 1. The SECI spiral (Nonaka and Takeuchi)

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2. The concept of Creative Space, 3

Fig.2. Basic dimensions of Creative Space

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2. The concept of Creative Space, 4 The ontology of Creative Space: discussion of nodes and

transitions Example: the emotive heritage of humanity contains not

only tacit knowledge elements, also explicit knowledge: Music, movies, other art forms – all influence our

creativity However, their influence is indirect, through emotions,

even if we know them explicitly For example, you might have seen a movie thus you know

it explicitly; but its impact on your creative behavior is indirect, emotional

Thus the distinction emotive – intuitive – rational is more precise, than tacit – explicit

* Emotive heritage contains also an important tacit element – the collective unconscious of Jung

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2. The concept of Creative Space, 5

Another example: the intuitive heritage of humanity <=> the Kantian a priori synthetic judgements

Plato, later Kant have shown that there are true ideas that we have in our mind and they appear obvious to us (ideas of space, time, logic)

However, the concepts of non-Euclidean space, relative time, multivalued logic have shown that these ideas are not obvious and not necessarily true

The Rational Theory of Intuition suggests that they are our intuitive heritage of humanity – extremely valuable for civilization evolution, but mesocosmic, hence not necessarily true

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3. Further dimensions of Creative Space

Fig. 8. The I5 System (Pentagram of Nakamori)

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3. Further dimensions of Creative Space, 2 Dimension Imagination (necessary but not sufficient

for creativity)

Dimension Intervention (strong in Western culture: Kant, Western individualism)

Dimension Integration (interdisciplinary, requires systemic knowledge)

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3. Further dimensions of Creative Space, 3

Dimension Abstraction (the value of both intersubjective and experimental verification)

Dimension Objectivity (truth is necessary not as an absolute, but as a condition of human evolutionary cooperation and technology creation)

Dimension Reflection (necessary not only in hermeneutics)

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3. Further dimensions of Creative Space, 4

Dimension Cross-Cultural (relate to diverse cultures of organizational knowledge creation)

Dimension Organizational (knowledge networks of distributed knowledge in organizations)

Total: 10 dimensions, 3 levels each => 103 = 59,049 nodes and 59,049x59,048 = 3,486,725,352 possible transitions in the Creative Space; these numbers illustrate only that creative processes can be extremely diversified

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 1

* Motycka Regress Theory: In a time of crisis of a scientific discipline (e.g. physics

before quantum theory) a group of scientists comes intuitively to conclusion that they must find new concepts;

They seek such concepts in mathematical intuition, but cannot find them. Thus, they turn to collective unconscious of Jung in a process Motycka calls regress

Archetypes in collective unconscious provide them with sources of new ideas which they discuss on emotional level until by empathy they become part of their intuition;

If this is sufficient, mathematical intuition helps them to formalize their ideas. If not, the process of regress is repeated.

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 2

Fig. 3. ARME Spiral (Motycka)

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 3 Motycka presented her theory as a philosophical macro-

theory of knowledge creation; we present it as another spiral in the Creative Space, a pattern to use, thus as a micro-theory

* Kuhn argued that scientific revolutions are divided by long phases of normal science development; can we find a spiral in Creative Space that describes the old process of normal science and technology creation?

Yes, in the same nodes as SECI spiral, but with different transitions going in the opposite direction, a spiral representing typical discussions in academia: an intersubjective EDIS spiral (Enlightenment-Debate-Immersion-Selection).

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 4

Fig. 4. EDIS Spiral (Wierzbicki)

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 5:EDIS Spiral is not complete, must be augmented (Fig.5)

What is the economic value of the intellectual heritage of humanity?

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 6

EEIS Spiral using Objectivity dimension (Fig. 6):

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Fig. 7. Double EDISEIS Spiralof intersubjective and objective knowledge creation

and justification

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 8:hermeneutics not only for humanists

Fig. 9. Hermeneutic EAIR Spiral using Reflection dimensionNormal academic processes of knowledge creation are

characterized by triple EAIREDISEIS Spiral, Triple Helix

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4. New spirals: Triple Helix:of EAIR-EEIS-EDIS Spirals

Fig. 10 Triple Helix of normal processes of knowledge creation

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 10:Gasson OPEC Spiral versus SECI Spiral (Fig. 11)

Gasson OPEC Spiral SECI Spiral

Would not full privatization of knowledge result in pollution of intellectual heritage of humanity?

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4. New spirals for creative processes, 11:Brainstorming as a DCCV Spiral

Fig.12 Brainstorming as DCCV Spiral (Kunifuji)

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5. Models of knowledge creation processes: towards Creative Environments, 1

In the book Creative Space (Springer, 2005) the following models are described:

1) Three spirals of organizational knowledge creation, typical for market-oriented organizations: Oriental SECI Spiral (Nonaka and Takeuchi), Occidental OPEC Spiral (Gasson), and Brainstorming DCCV Spiral (Kunifuji);

2) Three spirals of normal academic knowledge creation, typical for normal scientific activities at universities and research institutes: Hermeneutic EAIR Spiral, Experimental EEIS Spiral, Intersubjective EDIS Spiral; these spirals can be represented together in the Triple Helix of Normal Knowledge Creation;

3) One spiral of revolutionary scientific creation processes: ARME Spiral (Motycka);

4) Two general systemic models of knowledge creation and integration: Shinayakana Systems Approach (Sawaragi and Nakamori) and I5

(Pentagram) System (Nakamori).

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5. Models of knowledge creation processes: towards Creative Environments, 2

These models are needed, particularly if we want to construct software systems that support specific creativity processes.

Some such software systems exists, such as those for architectural creativity, or for mind-mapping or for brainstorming support, the development of such systems should be intensified:

Firstly, there exists much experience in computerized decision support, and the lessons learned and approaches developed in this field might be usefully adapted to creativity support.

Secondly, the typical processes of knowledge creation described here might serve as structural models for creativity support.

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5. Models of knowledge creation processes: towards Creative Environments, 3

Several types of needed Creative Environments were identified, as possible subjects of a next book:

Web knowledge acquisition and EAIR Spiral, Debating (EDIS Spiral), experiment design and support (EEIS Spiral), virtual laboratories, road-mapping for scientific research, Brainstorming (DCCV Spiral), gaming, distance teaching and learning. Another need is special software aimed at supporting

innovations in modern small enterprises.

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6. ConclusionsDiverse; here only one general, philosophical conclusion:Philosophy of the 20th Century concentrated on language and

human communication. We have now compelling rational and empirical reasons to

consider also more powerful, older, preverbal aspects of intuitive human cognition. Together with the change from reduction principle to emergence principle, this would indicate that all the dichotomy of logical empiricism versus humanistic rationalism, the dichotomy:

Reason versus Being, called sometimes in other terms technical versus practical (or

a joke played by the Devil in revenge on the Creator), that was so pronounced in the history of philosophy of the industrial age, can be explained in the knowledge age in a different but simpler way:

Verbal versus Preverbal, Text versus Multimedia

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7. Conclusions: Creative Environments We conclude that there are diverse types of creative

processes that can be characterized in Creative Space Nonaka introduced the concept of Ba, the place and

environment where creativity is promoted; In computer science and telecommunications:

environment means a systemic platform; Combining these meanings we can postulate intensified

work on Creative Environments: computer systems to support selected transitions in Creative Space, phases of creative processes or entire creative processes of specific character (some already exists);

Since there exists large experience in constructing decision support systems and VEAM, it can be used for supporting creative processes;

We intend to write a new book Creative Environments as a follow-up to Creative Space.