Research Request: Philosophy of Design
Dear Colleagues, This is a research request for articles and books on philosophy of design. This includes articles and books in which philosophers discuss issues that can be applied to design process as well as articles and books in which designers and design researchers discuss or develop a philosophy of design. In this sense, I do not restrict the call to full-formed or comprehensive philosophies, but invite also propositions and heuristic probes. Please send suggestions and comments to me off-list at <ken.friedman@bi.no> I will compile all responses and post them to the list. The compilation will incorporate respoinses to an earlier research request posted to the list PhD-Design. Thank you. Ken Friedman Applicable definitions of the term, "philosophy" in "philosophy of design": Merriam-Webster's (1990: 883) defines philosophy as: "2 a : pursuit of wisdom b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means c : an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs 3 a : a system of philosophical concepts <Kantian philosophy> b : a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought <the philosophy of cooking> <philosophy of science> 4 a : the most general beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group <the hippie philosophy>." The Oxford English Dictionary (2002: Unpaged) defines the relevant aspects of the word philosophy the same way: "1. a. (In the original and widest sense.) The love, study, or pursuit of wisdom, or of knowledge of things and their causes, whether theoretical or practical." To speak of a "philosophy of" is to discuss "The study of the general principles of some particular branch of knowledge, experience, or activity." OED cites this usage example, "Expressions like 'philosophy of science', 'philosophy of history', 'philosophy of government', 'philosophy of law', 'philosophy of religion', and so forth creep into the language, indicating that after scientists, historians, statesmen, jurists, priests, and the rest have said all they have to say, there is still need of a special kind of knowledge to inform us what it is all about." Webster's International Dictionary (1913: 1077) defines philosophy as "1. Literally, the love of, including the search after, wisdom; in actual usage, the knowledge of phenomena as explained by, and resolved into, causes and reasons, powers and laws. When applied to any particular department of knowledge, philosophy denotes the general laws or principles under which all the subordinate phenomena or facts relating to that subject are comprehended." References Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1990. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts. OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Second edition, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/ Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27. Webster's. 1913. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter). ARTFL (Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language). Chicago: Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/webster.form.html Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27. -- Ken Friedman Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language Norwegian School of Management Design Research Center Denmark's Design School email: ken.friedman@bi.no
Hi Ken, There have been quite a few publications on this area. Some more general than others. Some of the philosophy of technology publications might give you what you want. For journals try Techné at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/ spt.html also see: Berg, M. 1998, 'The Politics of Technology: On Bringing Social Theory into Technological Design', Science Technology and Human Values, vol. 23(4), pp. 456-490. Kupersmith, J. and Mitchell, B. A. 1998, 'You Are Here, but Where Is That?: Architectural Design Metaphors in the Electronic Library', in Finding Common Ground: Creating the Library of the Future without Diminishing the Library of the Past, ed. LaGuardia, C., Neal-Schuman, New York, NY, pp. 58-67. Books by Don Ihde or Carl Mitchum Bucciarelli, L. 1994, Designing Engineers, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. Winograd, T. and Flores, F. 1987, Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design, Addison-Wesley, Reading, M.A. Misa, T. J., Brey, P. and Feenberg, A. (eds) 2003, Modernity and Technology, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. I am reading Veerbeek, P.-P. 2000(2005), What Things Do: Philosophical Reflections on Technology, Agency and Design, Crease, R. P. Trans., Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA. at the moment and particularly enjoying it. Andrew Wenn. -- School of Information Systems Victoria University PO Box 14428 Melbourne Vic 8001 ---------- Have you seen my new edited book? Hunter, M. G., Burgess, S. and Wenn, A. (eds) 2005, Small Business and Information Technology: Research Techniques and International Case Studies, Heidelberg Press, Melbourne. ---------- email: andrew.wenn@vu.edu.au web: http://homepage.mac.com/andrewwenn/ phone: +61 3 9919 4342 fax: +61 3 9919 5024 On 28/11/2005, at 7:38 AM, Ken Friedman wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
This is a research request for articles and books on philosophy of design.
This includes articles and books in which philosophers discuss issues that can be applied to design process as well as articles and books in which designers and design researchers discuss or develop a philosophy of design.
In this sense, I do not restrict the call to full-formed or comprehensive philosophies, but invite also propositions and heuristic probes.
Please send suggestions and comments to me off-list at
<ken.friedman@bi.no>
I will compile all responses and post them to the list. The compilation will incorporate respoinses to an earlier research request posted to the list PhD-Design.
Thank you.
Ken Friedman
Applicable definitions of the term, "philosophy" in "philosophy of design":
Merriam-Webster's (1990: 883) defines philosophy as:
"2 a : pursuit of wisdom b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means c : an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs 3 a : a system of philosophical concepts <Kantian philosophy> b : a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought <the philosophy of cooking> <philosophy of science> 4 a : the most general beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group <the hippie philosophy>."
The Oxford English Dictionary (2002: Unpaged) defines the relevant aspects of the word philosophy the same way:
"1. a. (In the original and widest sense.) The love, study, or pursuit of wisdom, or of knowledge of things and their causes, whether theoretical or practical." To speak of a "philosophy of" is to discuss "The study of the general principles of some particular branch of knowledge, experience, or activity." OED cites this usage example, "Expressions like 'philosophy of science', 'philosophy of history', 'philosophy of government', 'philosophy of law', 'philosophy of religion', and so forth creep into the language, indicating that after scientists, historians, statesmen, jurists, priests, and the rest have said all they have to say, there is still need of a special kind of knowledge to inform us what it is all about."
Webster's International Dictionary (1913: 1077) defines philosophy as "1. Literally, the love of, including the search after, wisdom; in actual usage, the knowledge of phenomena as explained by, and resolved into, causes and reasons, powers and laws. When applied to any particular department of knowledge, philosophy denotes the general laws or principles under which all the subordinate phenomena or facts relating to that subject are comprehended."
References
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1990. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts.
OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Second edition, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/ Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27.
Webster's. 1913. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter). ARTFL (Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language). Chicago: Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/ webster.form.html Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27.
--
Ken Friedman Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language Norwegian School of Management
Design Research Center Denmark's Design School
email: ken.friedman@bi.no _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http:// listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Wenn" <andrew.wenn@vu.edu.au> To: <air-l@listserv.aoir.org>; <ken.friedman@bi.no> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 12:02 AM Subject: Re: [Air-l] Research Request: Philosophy of Design
Hi Ken,
There have been quite a few publications on this area. Some more general than others. Some of the philosophy of technology publications might give you what you want.
For journals try Techné at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/ spt.html also see: Berg, M. 1998, 'The Politics of Technology: On Bringing Social Theory into Technological Design', Science Technology and Human Values, vol. 23(4), pp. 456-490.
Kupersmith, J. and Mitchell, B. A. 1998, 'You Are Here, but Where Is That?: Architectural Design Metaphors in the Electronic Library', in Finding Common Ground: Creating the Library of the Future without Diminishing the Library of the Past, ed. LaGuardia, C., Neal-Schuman, New York, NY, pp. 58-67.
Books by Don Ihde or Carl Mitchum
Bucciarelli, L. 1994, Designing Engineers, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Winograd, T. and Flores, F. 1987, Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design, Addison-Wesley, Reading, M.A.
Misa, T. J., Brey, P. and Feenberg, A. (eds) 2003, Modernity and Technology, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
I am reading Veerbeek, P.-P. 2000(2005), What Things Do: Philosophical Reflections on Technology, Agency and Design, Crease, R. P. Trans., Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA. at the moment and particularly enjoying it.
Andrew Wenn.
-- School of Information Systems Victoria University PO Box 14428 Melbourne Vic 8001 ---------- Have you seen my new edited book?
Hunter, M. G., Burgess, S. and Wenn, A. (eds) 2005, Small Business and Information Technology: Research Techniques and International Case Studies, Heidelberg Press, Melbourne. ---------- email: andrew.wenn@vu.edu.au web: http://homepage.mac.com/andrewwenn/
phone: +61 3 9919 4342 fax: +61 3 9919 5024
On 28/11/2005, at 7:38 AM, Ken Friedman wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
This is a research request for articles and books on philosophy of design.
This includes articles and books in which philosophers discuss issues that can be applied to design process as well as articles and books in which designers and design researchers discuss or develop a philosophy of design.
In this sense, I do not restrict the call to full-formed or comprehensive philosophies, but invite also propositions and heuristic probes.
Please send suggestions and comments to me off-list at
<ken.friedman@bi.no>
I will compile all responses and post them to the list. The compilation will incorporate respoinses to an earlier research request posted to the list PhD-Design.
Thank you.
Ken Friedman
Applicable definitions of the term, "philosophy" in "philosophy of design":
Merriam-Webster's (1990: 883) defines philosophy as:
"2 a : pursuit of wisdom b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means c : an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs 3 a : a system of philosophical concepts <Kantian philosophy> b : a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought <the philosophy of cooking> <philosophy of science> 4 a : the most general beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group <the hippie philosophy>."
The Oxford English Dictionary (2002: Unpaged) defines the relevant aspects of the word philosophy the same way:
"1. a. (In the original and widest sense.) The love, study, or pursuit of wisdom, or of knowledge of things and their causes, whether theoretical or practical." To speak of a "philosophy of" is to discuss "The study of the general principles of some particular branch of knowledge, experience, or activity." OED cites this usage example, "Expressions like 'philosophy of science', 'philosophy of history', 'philosophy of government', 'philosophy of law', 'philosophy of religion', and so forth creep into the language, indicating that after scientists, historians, statesmen, jurists, priests, and the rest have said all they have to say, there is still need of a special kind of knowledge to inform us what it is all about."
Webster's International Dictionary (1913: 1077) defines philosophy as "1. Literally, the love of, including the search after, wisdom; in actual usage, the knowledge of phenomena as explained by, and resolved into, causes and reasons, powers and laws. When applied to any particular department of knowledge, philosophy denotes the general laws or principles under which all the subordinate phenomena or facts relating to that subject are comprehended."
References
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1990. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts.
OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. Second edition, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/ Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27.
Webster's. 1913. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter). ARTFL (Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language). Chicago: Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/ webster.form.html Date accessed: 2002 January 18, verified 2005 November 27.
--
Ken Friedman Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language Norwegian School of Management
Design Research Center Denmark's Design School
email: ken.friedman@bi.no _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http:// listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
participants (3)
-
Andrew Wenn -
Jacob Hecht -
Ken Friedman