[Air-l] Research Request: Philosophy of Design

Mon Nov 28 07:53:03 PST 2005

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew Wenn" <andrew.wenn at vu.edu.au>
To: <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>; <ken.friedman at 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 at 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 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
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