Four Ps (The Four Orders of Knowing)
The Four Ps (also called the four orders of knowing) is John Vervaeke’s framework for understanding different modes of knowledge. Vervaeke argues that knowledge is not a single thing but comes in four distinct forms, each requiring different cognitive capacities and offering different kinds of relationship to what is known. The dominance of one form (propositional knowing) at the expense of the others is a central feature of the meaning crisis.
The Four Orders
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Propositional knowing (knowing-that) — Knowledge of facts, information, propositions. This is the kind of knowing that can be stated explicitly: “Water is H₂O,” “Paris is the capital of France.” It is the dominant form of knowing in modern education and discourse.
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Procedural knowing (knowing-how) — Knowledge of skills, techniques, procedures. This is the kind of knowing that is embodied in action: knowing how to ride a bike, play an instrument, speak a language. It is often tacit and difficult to articulate fully.
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Perspectival knowing (knowing what it is like) — Knowledge of phenomenological perspective, the qualitative dimension of experience. This is knowing what it’s like to be in love, to see red, to feel joy or despair. It cannot be fully captured in propositions; it must be lived.
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Participatory knowing — Knowledge through transformative engagement with reality. This is the deepest and most elusive form of knowing. It is not about having information or skills or even experiences but about being changed through genuine contact with what is real. Vervaeke connects this to what the Gnostics called gnosis, what Plato described as the philosopher’s ascent toward the Good, and what contemplative traditions call enlightenment or awakening.
Participatory Knowing and the Meaning Crisis
Modernity, Vervaeke argues, has privileged propositional knowing and, to some extent, procedural knowing, while largely losing access to participatory knowing. The result is a culture that can accumulate vast amounts of information and technical skill but struggles to transform or find genuine meaning. Participatory knowing is what makes transformation possible — it is the mode of knowing that changes the knower, not just what the knower knows.
Recovering meaning requires recovering practices and frameworks that cultivate participatory knowing: contemplative practice, relational encounter, embodied engagement with nature and art, and philosophical dialogue that moves beyond argumentation toward genuine insight.
Connections
- John Vervaeke — Developed the framework.
- Awakening from the Meaning Crisis — Where the Four Ps are central.
- Participatory Knowing — The fourth and deepest order.
- Meaning Crisis — The loss of participatory knowing is a core dimension.
- Relevance Realization — Operates across all four orders of knowing.
- Gnosis — Historical term for participatory knowing.