IS DESIGNING HERMENEUTICAL?

Abstract

An atomistic language model is frequently used to codify what is seen as the logical sequence of steps in the design process. Following the critique of Wittgenstein, this language model, derived from Positivist theory, has been generally abandoned by philosophers of language. It is argued here that despite its apparent successes in the short term, the model embodies a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the design process. Drawing on recent studies of language in philosophical hermeneutics, and especially the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, the authors argue that design activity proceeds by way of a hermeneutical circle, involving the projection of pre-understandings and a analogical structure of question and answer. Design does not fall within the domain of natural science with a base in formal logic, but belongs rather to the domain of the human and hermeneutical sciences with a base in the processes of understanding and interpretation. Atomistic language models of design are antipathetic to hermeneutical functioning, and impede rather than assist design understanding and practice.