The ancient Greeks held that there were three basic activities of man: theoria (theory and watching), poiesis (poetry and creation), and praxis (practice and experience).
Praxis refers to the process of putting knowledge into practice, of attaining wisdom through direct personal experience.
Matthew Fox explained it this way: “Wisdom is always taste — in both Latin and Hebrew, the word for wisdom comes from the word for taste — so it’s something to taste, not something to theorize about… That’s wisdom: tasting life. No one can do it for us. Wisdom is about tasting and trusting experience, before institution or dogma.”
When an physician practices their profession, they are in the process of praxis. When a person is experienced and active in their field, they are said to be a practitioner – that’s what praxis is all about.
In a democracy, the practitioner has a civic obligation to inform and educate the citizenry. Experienced air traffic controllers have insights that the public needs, but does not necessarily have access to.
The Praxis Foundation hopes to focus on the understanding gained through practical experience, rather than a theoretical or poetical perspective, and we hope to illuminate the differences between eupraxia (good praxis) and dyspraxia (bad praxis).
Essential Reading 2.0 to 3.0
Although I am not a blogger, my ATC website covers a good deal of ATC history and experience from the late ’60s through the late ’90s from the perspective of one who lived it. I wouldn’t mind if you listed it as a resource (which I think it is), even though I’m not technically a blogger and it may not cover recent events very well.
LRod
ZJX, ORD, ZAU retired