Design research as a meta-discipline

Anne Caplan

pp. 347-367

in: Pieter E. Vermaas, Stéphane Vial (eds), Advancements in the philosophy of design, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

This essay is an attempt to enrich the discourse on an epistemological research through design based on Henri Lefebvre's meta-philosophy (Paris 1965). The meta-philosophy refers back to the human daily routine and the poetic exploration of practice as a premise for philosophical tradition. I use Lefebvre's thoughts in their relation of theory and empirical knowledge, to build a bridge to Design Sciences as a practice-oriented research. To underline the basic approach of a Design Science based on practice, the analysis is developed along a specific design project that operates with a "research through design" Frayling (1993/94). This allows to show, how concept- and theory development interlink with the designing practice of the researcher himself. The essay tries to develop a Design Science, which includes the subjective perspective of the designer himself as well as the phenomenological character of design processes.

Cited authors

Lefebvre Henri