The theory and practice of supervision developed during a period in which the legitimization of any enterprise was most effectively sought through appeals to science and scientific methods for problem-solving. The failure of scientific discipline to develop conclusively effective theories in many social fields, including supervision, suggests that the technical rational view of knowledge may not be capable of delivering answers to moral, ethical, political, and other complex questions. A more effective source of knowledge may lie in intuition and reflection on practical experience. This kind of knowledge is more closely associated with artistic than with scientific understanding. A new form of supervision called "dialectical supervision" jettisons the traditional dominant, hierarchical, and instrumentalist approach to supervision in favor of an approach that stresses dialog, mutual effort toward common goals, acceptance of alternative strategies and interpretations, and a sharing of professional responsibility and power. Fifty-five references are cited. (PGD)