Philosopher in Residence in Construction Companies

该研究将哲学思想应用于改善建筑公司的实践，从而提供经济、社会和文化效益。建筑是一个丰富的环境，在非常紧张和独特的情况下，在不同的层次上展示专业知识的使用。该研究将探索哲学的治疗或诊断作用及其对实践的有用性，通过放松先入为主的观念，暴露未经检验的假设和结果，这些假设和结果基于知识作为活动过程（个人或社会）的概念，而不是可以积累的抽象商品。Mouchel、Pettifer construction和Rider Levett Bucknall三家建筑公司已同意参与其中。该项目将包括与这些公司的从业人员在现场进行小组研讨会，分析他们工作中的哲学困境，以便他们敏感地认识到在背景下清晰思考的好处，以便他们可以修改他们的实践和公司流程，从而提供经济效益。有三个阶段。第一阶段将使用一系列体现建筑行业哲学困境的故事，以便与参与者一起发展实践专业知识的语言和概念。例如，浪费的概念具有上下文相关的含义，因此对于建筑物的活动和装饰之间的缓冲时间是否应该这样描述可能会产生混淆。这些技能将在第二阶段使用，包括小组讨论，利用个人的实际实践经验，帮助他们揭露关于知识的错误和不充分的假设，并识别组织结构和流程中的矛盾。第三阶段将包括一些参与者自己将这项活动带入他们的组织，并探索如何以长期可持续的方式将更严格的思维嵌入公司结构和流程中。参与的个人将更清楚地了解和重视他们的技能，认识到他们的专业知识，包括诊断他们的知识和工作环境的局限性，他们将能够与更广泛的公众沟通。这将为个人和公司提供立竿见影的好处，但也展示了一个更好的行业形象，以吸引新的进入者。该活动将提高建筑从业者对哲学的文化意识，项目的宣传将在整个行业中广泛传播。同时，该项目将挑战哲学，提供一个可以在非学术环境中欣赏的表达。从长远来看，这将使员工能够改变公司的结构和流程，从而使他们与实践中的改进保持一致，并帮助同事进行治疗和诊断思维，从而为有效的变革创造一个关键的员工群体。这些过程促进了内部的可持续进化变化。

The research applies philosophical ideas about expertise-in-context to improving practice in construction companies thus providing economic, social and cultural benefits. Construction is a rich environment displaying the use of expertise-in-context at a variety of levels in very intense and unique situations. The research will explore the therapeutic or diagnostic role of philosophy and its usefulness to practice, through the loosening of preconceptions and the exposure of unexamined assumptions and consequences based on a conception of knowledge as a process of activity (individual or social) rather than an abstract commodity that can be accumulated. Three construction companies, Mouchel, Pettifer Construction, and Rider Levett Bucknall, have agreed to be involved. The project will involve small group workshops with practitioners on site in these companies analysing the philosophical dilemmas in their work in order to sensitise them to the benefits of clear thinking in context so that they can revise their practice and company processes thus providing economic benefit. There are three stages. The first stage will use a series of stories, embodying philosophical dilemmas, from the construction industry in order to develop language and concepts of expertise-in-practice with participants. For example, the concept of waste has a context dependent meaning so there may be confusion over whether buffer time between activities and adornment on a building should be so described. These skills will be used in the second stage involving small group discussion taking individual's actual experiences of practice and helping them to expose faulty and inadequate assumptions about knowledge and to identify organisational contradictions in structure and processes. The third stage will involve a number of participants taking this activity themselves into their organisations, and an exploration of how more rigorous thinking can be embedded in company structure and processes in a long term sustainable way.Individuals involved will understand and value their skills more clearly recognising their expertise-in-context including diagnosing limitations to their knowledge and work context which they will be able to communicate to a wider public. This will provide immediate benefit to the individuals and company, however, also demonstrating a better image of the industry to attract new entrants. The activity will raise the cultural awareness of construction practitioners towards philosophy and the resultant publicity from the project will broadcast this generally across the industry. At the same time, the project will challenge philosophy to provide an articulation which can be appreciated in non academic environments. In the long term, this will enable staff to change company structures and processes so they are aligned with improvements in practice, and to assist colleagues in therapeutic and diagnostic thinking thereby creating a critical mass of staff for effective change. These processes facilitate sustainable evolutionary change from within.