ABSTRACT
The idealist conception of knowledge, with its corollary that the production of knowledge is a disinterested and individual endeavor, originates in the numerous theories that describe knowledge as stored in various types of categorial and mental structures, and views the learning process in terms of the transmission, circulation, and appropriation of information and knowledge. In this way “knowledge” is equated to a substance that can be sent, received, circulated, transferred, accumulated, converted, and stored. From this perspective, learning is treated as the acquisition of the body of data, facts, and practical wisdom accumulated by all the generations that have preceded us, a view similar to the “brick laying” model of scientific discovery criticized by Kuhn (1970). This knowledge, whether tacit or explicit, is “out there,” stored in some form of memory. By implication, the main effort of the learner is to acquire it and store it in the proper compartment of his/her mind for future use.
