JGD Theory 2 Page 3

Conclusion

When you take a step backwards and look at how many theories, theory styles, philosophies and movements that you can choose from it’s a rather daunting task to follow a method that would best serve your discipline. Whichever design form or design background you come from it can be easy to get distracted by which cause and effect would best suit your purpose and outcome. There is no denying that using the correct theory can help to have a different understanding to your design solution. It is undeniable that there are examples of theories that have developed methods to achieve various outcomes within those fields, I have illustrated examples of these within this paper.

“The revisions of our concepts and theories that imagining a solution will
eventually require are likely to be very deep and very unsettling.”

(Fodor, 2008)

In an era when people are required to be more interdisciplinary than in previous era’s it is imperative that a broad choice of theoretical understanding be undertaken, and with this understanding fresh uses and research of phenomenology, epistemology and cybernetics must be gained and understood. Whilst I agree in part to theory and consciousness being an aid to design there will never be a replacement for intuition and an unprovoked spontaneity without restrictions or methods, otherwise true originality will be stifled. Design is not directly a science but is a process of creation and whilst an outcome is expected there is no set formula for creating that outcome. This is why you can never truly attach theory or consciousness theory to design because they are different disciplines. Whilst they lend themselves to design they should not be fused with design completely. Design in essence is a practice just like chemistry or physics is a practice. Whilst chemistry for example can create revolutionary advances it still adheres to its building blocks of method (Hooker, pg4). Therefore you do not have a theory of chemistry this is because like design it has steps and procedures to follow for development and this ultimately is why you cannot have design theories. The socio-psychological idea of theory can support design but this is not true design theory. Of course theory can compliment design, there is no ‘theory’ to say otherwise.

Footnotes

1. Design: a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of something before it is built or made. 2 the art or action of producing such a plan or drawing. 3 underlying purpose or planning: the appearance of design in the universe.

2. Art: The expression of creative skill through a visual medium such as painting or sculpture. 2 the product of such a process; paintings, drawings, and sculpture collectively. 3 (the arts) the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, and drama. 4 (arts) subjects of study primarily concerned with human culture (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects).

3. Art for art's sake" A slogan meaning that the beauty of the fine arts is reason enough for pursuing them — that art does not have to serve purposes taken from politics, religion, economics, and so on. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oscar Wilde argued for the doctrine of art for art's sake. The slogan was coined by the French writer/philosopher Victor Cousin in the early 19th Century.

4. Theory: A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. 2 an idea accounting for or justifying something. 3 a set of principles on which an activity is based.

5. Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

6. Qualia - are the experiences of sensory input (as opposed to the describable facts of such input). (The singular is the two-syllable word quale.) In the classic example, a sighted person can see red, but cannot describe the experience of such a perception; the best he can do is make an analogy (e.g., "red looks hot") or provide informational descriptions (e.g., "it's the color you see when light of such-and-such wavelength is directed at you."). Simpler still, consider the impossibility of ever describing the experience of seeing color to a person born blind.

7. Dynabook was a concept for a “Personal Computer For Children Of All Ages.” This was to lead to the development of the 1st Xerox Alto prototype. Initially called the Dynabook. It had all the basis of a graphical user interface, or GUI.

8. To make the LOGO Turtle move for example, you would type FORWARD 50, the Turtle will then move in the direction its facing and draw a line 50 units long. In principal you can draw anything even curves with enough patients.

References

J. E. Malpas, Robert C. Solomon, 1998. Death and philosophy Published by Routledge.

Heidegger, Martin, 1982. On the Way to Language. Published Harper Collins.

Routledge, 2000. Concise Routledge encyclopedia of Philosophy Published by Routledge

Schofield Clark L, 2008. Critical Theory and Constructivism retrieved from the web on 20/3/09 http://www.colorado.edu/journalism/mcm/qmr-crit-theory.htm

Glasersfel Ernst von, 1990 An Exposition of Constructivism: Why Some Like it Radical.

Wood David J (1998). How children think and learn. Published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Lawler Robert, Yazdani Masoud (1987). Artificial Intelligence & Education Volume One. Published by Intellect Books.

Pask Gordon (1961). An Approach to Cybernetics. Published by Harper (New York)

Wiener Norbert (1965). Cybernetics - Control & Communication in the Animal Machine. Published by MIT Press.

Pask Gordon (1971). “A comment, a case history and a plan” in Cybernetics, Art and Ideas, edited by Jasia Reichardt (Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society.

Burnham Jack (1976). “Great Western Salt Works: Essays on the Meaning of Post-Formalist Art”. Published by Braziller.

Hooker, J N (2003). “Is Design Theory Possible” Published by University of Pittsburgh, USA.

Goodman, Nelson (1965). “Fact Fiction and Forecast” Published by Bobbs-Merrill.

Dixon, John R (1987). “Artificial Intelligence for Engineering, Design Analysis and Manufacturing” Published by Edam.

Dennett, Daniel C (1991). “Consciousness Explained” Published by Back Bay Books, 1st Edition.

Kim, Jaegwon (1998). The mind-body problem after fifty years. In Current Issues in Philosophy of Mind. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Fodor, Jerry (2008) “Questioning Consciousness” web article. Retrieved from the web on 08/05/2009.

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/questioning_consciousness/

Cousin, Victor. “Profile of Victor Cousin, Encyclopaedia Britannica online” Retrieved from the web on 08/05/2009.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/140935/Victor-Cousin

Bibliography

Piaget Jean, 2007. The Child's Conception of the World. Published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Arnold Elizabeth, Underman Kathleen Boggs, 2003. Interpersonal relationships. Published by Saunders.