History is descriptive. Epistemology is conceived as normative. It appears, then, that a historical approach to epistemology, like historical epistemology, might not be epistemically normative. In our context here, epistemology is not a systematic theory of knowledge, truth, or justification. In this thesis I approach epistemic justification through the vantage point of practice of science. Practice is about reasoning. Reasoning, conceived as the human propensity to order perceptions, beliefs, memories, etc., in ways that permit us to have understanding, is not only about thinking. Reasoning has to do with our actions, too: In the ordering of reasoning we take into account the desires of ourselves and others. Reasoning has to do with tinkering with stuff, physical or abstract. Practice is primarily about skills. Practices are not mere groping. They have a form. Performing according to a practice is an activity with a lot of plasticity. The skilled performer retains the form of the practice in many different situations. Finally, practices are not static in time. Practices develop. People try new things, some of which may work out, others not. The technology involved in how to go about doing things in a particular practice changes, and the concepts concerning understanding what one is doing also may change. This is the point where history enters the picture. In this thesis I explore the interactions between history, reasoning, and skills from the viewpoint of a particular type of epistemic justification: a priori justification. An a priori justified proposition is a proposition which is evident independent of experience. Such propositions are self-evident. We will make sense of a priori justification in a context of regarding science as practice, so that we will be able to demonstrate that the latter accommodates the normative character of science.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Linguistics, Language and Communication) / The world is becoming increasingly visual (Kress, 2009:1).The visually literate viewer should be able to gather data, place it in context, and determine its validity. A huge visual world opened up for the users of new technology. It is therefore no surprise that definitions of literacy have placed a huge premium on the reader to be able to interpret visual cues. Even in its simplest definition, the ability to read and write, the understanding of the concept of literacy is based on the visual. Although new literacies and recent orthographies also emphasise the role of context and the interaction of different modalities and learning history, like the social practice approach, it also focus on literacy events in which the written word is still the fundamental focus. In other words, (visual) texts remain the point of departure rather than seeing the written word as one part of a larger 'material ecology' of signs and meanings. This means that the majority of studies in the field of literacy focus on the individual's ability to interpret the visual and neglects how other senses permute in literacy events.

Dans cette recherche, nous nous intéressons aux dynamiques du savoir dans le contexte d’une organisation hybride. Dans ce cadre, nous nous appuyons sur l’approche du savoir en pratique (Gherardi, 2000, 2006 ; Nicolini et al., 2003) et sur la littérature de l’hybridité organisationnelle (Battilana et Dorado, 2010 ; Pache et Santos, 2010 ; Battilana et Lee, 2014). Ainsi, à travers l’étude de cas unique au sein d’un syndicat professionnel (la Fnaim), nous étudions la manière dont le contexte hybride de la Fnaim, représenté par une logique de marché et une logique professionnelle, influence le savoir en pratique des permanents. Nous basons notre recherche sur le service juridique de l’organisation où l’hybridité est présente de manière très soutenue. Nous avons recueilli nos données à travers 12 entretiens semi-directifs approfondis (dont 7 juristes, ce qui constitue la moitié du service juridique) combinés à des observations de juristes en situation de travail et des documents d’archives. Nos résultats nous montrent que le contexte hybride s’exprime dans le travail des juristes par trois aspects: 1) par la manière dont ils hiérarchisent les différentes demandes; 2) par les outils matériels mobilisés dans leur travail et 3) par le développement d’un répertoire spécifique. / In our research, we focus on the dynamics of knowing in the context of a hybrid organization. We base our research on the knowing in practice approach (Gherardi, 2000, 2006; Nicolini et al., 2003) and the literature of hybrid organizations (Battilana and Dorado, 2010; Pache and Santos, 2010; Battilana and Lee, 2014). Thus, through the case study of a professional association (Fnaim), we study how the hybrid context of Fnaim, represented by a market logic and a professional logic, influences the knowing of workers. We base our research on the legal department of this association where the hybridity is strongest. We collected our data through 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews (including 7 lawyers, which is half of the legal service) combined with observations of lawyers in the workplace and archival documents. Our results show that the hybrid context is expressed in the work of lawyers by three aspects: 1) by the way they prioritize the various demands, 2) by the materials used in their work, and 3) by the development of their specific repertoire.