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Inclusive design research and design’s moral foundation
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Type
Book chapter
Citation
Chua, J. S. M. (2023). Inclusive design research and design’s moral foundation. In P. A. Rodgers & J. Yee (Eds.), The Routledge companion to design research (2nd ed., pp. 41–51). Springer. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003182443-5
Abstract
In this chapter, I make the case for an inclusive design research agenda that draws on recent moral philosophy in a manner that is consistent with the research strategies in both Herbert Simon and Nigel Cross. I argue that insights in other fields or disciplines, such as John Finnis’ retrieval of Aquinas’ moral philosophy, enable theorists to overcome intellectual roadblocks in Simon’s practical epistemology and support the emergence of a notion of design that is a criticality in the sense that Clive Dilnot means it: able to critically identify and address the deficient. In this way, “design” becomes synonymous with an ethically robust manner of thinking attentive to choice-worthy goals, contrasted with a mere instrumentalist concern for arriving at means (even if, clever means) in the slavish service of what is liked or preferred (by consumers). I end the chapter with a brief indication of how ideas in the later Martin Heidegger can further support the grasp of ethical insights for design thinking.
Date Issued
2023
ISBN
9781003182443 (online)
Publisher
Springer
DOI
10.4324/9781003182443-5