Playing at learning: why knowledge creation needs fun

Nonaka and Takeuchi (1997) assert their theory of knowledge creation blends both Western and Japanese philosophy. Although they incorporate several major tenets of rational philosophy, they overlook important criticisms that impact their model. This paper explores one element of their theory-the "enabling condition" of intention-and suggests some limitations to their approach that can be overcome by recognizing play as an enabler of (the Japanese word) "ba" and consequently an enabler for knowledge creation.