Language as a vehicle of knowing: the role of language and meaning in constructing knowledge

This paper emphasizes the role of language in constructing knowledge. It considers the context-dependent nature of knowledge: how do people interpret the situation; what tasks have to be accomplished; which knowledge do they consider important; etc. Firstly, the paper outlines its assumptions on epistemological issues, that is the knowledge concept and the role of language and meaning in creating knowledge. Secondly, referring to discourse theory the paper sheds light on the use of language in varying social contexts, highlighting interactivity, context dependency, functional, and creative nature of language. Thirdly, for the purpose of illustration the theoretical findings on language and meaning in constructing knowledge will be applied to the case of the Challenger accident.