feltknow

Feltknow is a term used to describe knowledge that is primarily felt, embodied, and tacit, acquired through direct experience rather than explicit instruction. It denotes knowledge that resists articulation in propositional form yet guides perception and action across contexts.

Origin and usage: Feltknow is a relatively recent coinage in discussions of cognition and pedagogy; its precise origin is uncertain and its use is not standardized. In practice, it functions as an umbrella label for non-propositional understanding that emerges from practice, habit, and affect.

Theoretical basis: Proponents situate feltknow alongside tacit knowledge, as described by Michael Polanyi, and within embodied cognition and phenomenology, drawing on the idea that knowing is inseparable from sensation, action, and context rather than purely mental representation.

Characteristics and examples: Feltknow emphasizes the felt, affective, and bodily dimensions of knowing. Examples include motor skills learned by doing, social intuition during interaction, and aesthetic or environmental judgments that cannot be fully spelled out in rules.

Applications and reception: Some scholars use feltknow to frame learning design, user experience, and human-computer interaction around embodied understanding. Critics note that the term can be vague and difficult to operationalize, limiting its usefulness in empirical research.

See also: Tacit knowledge; Know-how; Embodied cognition; Phenomenology.