[Air-l] Research Request: Philosophy of Design

[Ken Friedman]

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 at 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 at bi.no