Abstract

The article explores the descriptive knowledge/prescriptive knowledge distinction with regard to tacit knowledge. It suggests the existence of an important body of tacit knowledge which is prescriptive in its nature, concerning what ought to be done rather than what is. It also highlights some peculiar difficulties in separating the descriptive and prescriptive dimension with regard to tacit knowledge: in the absence of critical, reflective thinking, what we tacitly know about the world and how to operate in it is perceived as something natural and necessary.