Abstract
Social work is an ‘applied discipline’ in the sense that relevant knowledge acquired is for direct use in the pursuit of its objectives. The application of knowledge is, however, obviously far from being a mechanistic or simple process. As Stevenson reminds us,1 knowledge is not synonymous with understanding or truth. The definition of wisdom by Socrates as ‘knowledge of what it is one does not know’ is echoed in modern times by Popper’s assertion that our ignorance grows with our knowledge.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
O. Stevenson, ‘Knowledge for Social Work’, British Journal of Social Work, vol. 1, no. 2 (Summer 1971).
B. Magee, Popper (London: Fontana, 1973) p. 72.
D. Emmett, Rules, Roles and Relations (London: Macmillan, 1966).
Warnock, The Object of Morality.
Downie and Telfer, Respect for Persons.
Campbell, Moral Dilemmas in Medicine.
C. H. Waddington, The Scientific Attitude (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1941).
Ibid. p. 9.
Magee, Popper, p. 68.
Emmett, ‘Ethics and the Social Worker’, p. 11.
Stevenson, ‘Knowledge for Social Work’, p. 225.
Quoted by Bone in S. Arieti (ed.), American Handbook of Psychiatry (New York: Basic Books, 1959) p. 94.
Quoted in C. R. Rogers, ‘Toward a Science of the Person’, in Behaviourism and Phenomenology, ed. T. W. Wann (University of Chicago Press, 1964) p. 128.
Stevenson, ‘Knowledge for Social Work’, p. 226.
Bartlett, The Common Base of Social Work Practice, p. 223.
Goldstein, ‘A Unitary Approach: Its Rationale and Structure’, p. 36.
E. H. Gombrich, The Tradition of General Knowledge (London School of Economics, 1962) p. 16.
Bartlett, The Common Base of Social Work Practice.
Ibid. p. 78.
Quoted in N. Timms, Casework in the Child Care Service (London: Butterworths, 1962) p. 20.
N. Timms, The Language of Social Casework (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968) pp. 27–8.
Ibid. pp. 28, 29–30.
D. V. Donnison, The Development of Social Administration: An Inaugural Lecture (London: Bell & Sons, 1962) pp. 20–1.
Ibid. p. 21.
Emmett, Ethics and the Social Worker, p. 21.
E. M. Goldberg, Helping the Aged (London: Allen & Unwin, 1970).
E. M. Goldberg and J. E. Neil, Social Work in General Practice (London: Allen & Unwin, 1972).
Bartlett, The Common Base of Social Work Practice.
M. Davies, ‘The Current Status of Social Work Research’, British Journal of Social Work, vol. 4, no. 3 (Autumn 1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1976 Zofia T. Butrym
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Butrym, Z.T. (1976). The Place of Knowledge in Social Work. In: The Nature of Social Work. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15685-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15685-6_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-19703-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-15685-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)