Jointly grasping the possible in design
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
ISSN: 1477-996X
Article publication date: 4 March 2014
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the contribution of Christiansen attempting to reintegrate ethics into the process of design.
Design/methodology/approach
It situates her attempt in the context of the history of the participatory design movement, and the way ethical concern has been jettisoned leaving only a pragmatic toolbox of techniques.
Findings
Christiansen is successful in finding ethical encounter residing of necessity at the heart of design. Design imposes a vision or narrative on the world and participatory design makes that narrative negotiable.
Practical implications
All design is of necessity ethical endeavor, and Christiansen helps us to understand why.
Originality/value
This response situates Christiansen's approach within the Heideggerian understanding of the “ready to hand” assumptions that lie in the ways we approach objects in our world. This language may help provide a structured way to talk about the encounter.
Keywords
Citation
Huff, C. (2014), "Jointly grasping the possible in design", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 14-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-11-2013-0049
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited