This chapter provides the theoretical and philosophical foundations for Creative Pragmatics, exploring the nature of complexity and its implications for knowledge, skills, and competence development. It explains what complexity is, highlights the limits of reductive and predictive models of knowing, and clarifies that complexity is neither chaos nor mere complication. The chapter contrasts representational approaches to science and knowledge with performative understandings, where knowledge is actively constructed through engagement with the world. These shifts have significant implications for educational practice and policy, particularly the growing global focus on competence-based learning frameworks like the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Emphasising transversal competencies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and autonomy in navigating complex and unpredictable environments, the chapter introduces the concept of wicked scientists—professionals equipped to address ‘wicked problems’ in a rapidly changing world. The chapter situates Creative Pragmatics as a guiding framework for competence-based education, preparing students to think critically, collaborate across boundaries, and engage with complexity and uncertainty in real-world contexts.