In this pop-up, William Wilding and Matt Segall will explore the lack of philosophy in general and process philosophy in particular in design. In so doing, they will ask what design is, why techno-rationalism continues to dominate it, and how process relational thinkers can reshape design science and education.

DESCRIPTION

This event will begin with a presentation by William Wilding. In it, he identifies gaps in the philosophy of design that reveal the need for philosophers in design. He locates these gaps in design philosophy, science, education, history and methodology, and he shows how philosophers can help determine what design is, why it is an unresolved field and how it unfolds in research and practice. Progressing through a dialectical narrative focusing on design and creativity, he outlines process philosophy in meta-philosophy, recounts process metaphysical views of Kantian thought, and emphasises the productivity in post-Kantian dialectics. Having established this process metaphysical position, he thereafter asks why the philosophy of design is under-developed and how it is limiting concept designers from redirecting the trajectory of organisations. To address this issue in the light of the environmental crisis, he studies the state of design science, the claims of speculative design theorists in critical design practice, and a phenomenological interpretation of design history that clarifies the placement theory of design. While he concludes with a discussion of a philosophical codesign project, he ultimately questions whether designers can really emerge into any domain of experience, redesign the orders holding it in place and thereby chart new pathways into the future?

“When everything is going right, when the fundamental process is used well, what comes out is not only natural, not only living structure. It has, too, an archetypal quality—something savage … Technology changes continuously as society changes. Through the changing technology, the eternal forms are continually refreshed and given new character, new implementation. That is the temporarily changing part we know as style. But the core, the unchanging core, is the expression of ancient and eternal truths of unity.”

-Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order

Following Dr. Wilding’s presentation, he will engage in a dialogue with Matt Segall about the topics discussed, after which there will be open conversation with the attendees.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. William Wilding is a dialectical process thinker who operates in the intersection between philosophy, art and design. Drawing on the history of ideas and the philosophy of science, he works in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Active across industry and academy, he develops collaborative projects to research and realise philosophical ideas. In his PhD (2022), he created process metaphysical roots for design. Focusing on Plato, Kant, Goethe, Schelling and Whitehead, he integrated processual, speculative and dialectical forms of reasoning into design history, theory and methodology on the one hand, and environmental, conceptual and interaction design practice on the other. In the process he formed Studio Romantic, and he partnered with Education, Government, Industry, Philanthropy and Church to design, produce and exhibit abstract concepts in aesthetic forms. He is especially interested in the power of the imagination to reproduce the origins of the self in consciousness, and he strives to realise this power through the iterative processes of strategic design.

Matthew David Segall a transdisciplinary researcher, writer, teacher, and philosopher applying process-relational thought across the natural and social sciences, as well as to the study of consciousness. He is Associate Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA and the Chair of the Science Advisory Committee for the Cobb Institute.

This event is sponsored by the
Cobb Institute Science Advisory Committee.