Table 1. Metaphors of knowledge. Knowledge as mechanistic Knowledge as contingent Knowledge as narrative Believed to be objective, replicable. Knowledge acquired via the “scientific method;” sought to demonstrate causality and allow for prediction. Nature as mechanistic. Importance of agent and context. Knowledge seeks causality; relies on behavior, variability, and relation to socially held norms. Nature as a complex adaptive system. Interpretive and critical. Knowledge is inherent to object and represents values that may be shared or individually held. Nature as constructed.