Ways of Being of Equipment: A Heideggerian Enquiry into Design Process

Honeylal Puthussery

doi:10.12726/tjp.21.3

Abstract

The paper lays out an ontological enquiry into the ways of ‘being of equipment’ as analysed by Heidegger and its role in understanding the design process. Equipments are things that make up our world. It is hard to imagine living without things because our existence is thingly textured. Heidegger’s analytics of equipment far exceeds the ontic sense of things. The argument is that there is a danger when designers limit themselves with the ontic understanding of equipment. Such an understanding coaxes us to believe in the half-baked truth about equipment- an isolated instance of a piece of artifact and leave us ignorant of the equipment's character as a part of an equipment structure. An ontological reflection on equipment brings forth its relational nature and can be rewarding in several ways in improving its design process.

Highlights

Traditional ontology was interested in finding out the different kinds of entities in the world
Instead of asking what are the kinds of entities, in Being and Time, Heidegger asked the question differently: “what are the kinds of ways that entities can be in the world?”(Riemer & Johnston, 2014, p. 276)
Our world is constituted of many different kinds of beings: humans, artefacts, plants, animals, water and so on

Summary

Introduction

Traditional ontology was interested in finding out the different kinds of entities in the world. According to Heidegger, it is possible for these entities to have multiple ways of „being‟ in the world He discusses the different ways of Dasein‟s being-in-theworld in Being and Time.. Heidegger takes effort in Being and Time to make his readers understand the unitary relationship that exists between the different components of Dasein‟s being-in-the-world. If we follow the Heideggerian logic, the chairs, walls, computers, cars, hammers, tables are being encountered in Dasein‟s dealings with the world. They come into picture only on account of Dasein‟s engaged practices though they may exist as inert and independent of Dasein‟s practices.

Ready-to-Hand and Present-at-Hand

The Paradox of Invisibility

Equipment as a System

Contextuality of Equipment

Seeing Beyond the Present

Conclusion