Philosophy in Construction: Understanding the development of expertise

Construction appears to have nothing to do with philosophy as it is a practical activity. This paper introduces a project funded by the UK, Arts and Humanities Research Council, that has supported a philosopher in residence in three construction companies. The project has taken up the challenge of the philosophy of practice focussing on the study of expertise. This philosophy has its conceptual roots in the work of Dreyfus, Heidegger and Aristotle but extends other work in the construction industry on knowledge management, experiential learning and radical education. This is of vital importance in an industry that is continually being directed theoretically to improve practice. Critical dialogue has been used as a therapeutic tool (in a Wittgensteinian sense) by seeking clarity in explanations of practice to value the actions of practitioners individually and in teams. The research has involved working in critical dialogue with trades-people, professionals and managers. The paper reports on early results exploring the development of expertise in novice through to experienced practitioners exposing issues for education to address around the handling of incomplete knowledge in contexts.