Dear All,
To pick up on a thread which was running earlier this month, my view is
that design is an evolutionary guidance system. Several others have
expressed a similar view - erik jantsch and bela banathy among them(both
have published). To get the full measure of this view, one needs some
understanding of general system theory and general evolution theory.
Both theories deal with the complex systems nature of both the
biological and social worlds, while the latter proposes an evolutionary
process for all dynamic systems - whether physical, social, biological
or cognitive(by the way,it is NOT a Darwinian theory of evolution!!).
If you accept that our world is composed of complex(and simple) systems,
and that the former have an evolutionary capability, then design can be
seen as the means by which evolutionary pathways are established for at
least the human-created systems(but increasingly for the biological ones
also). This view becomes especially important in an increasingly
constrained world, where the consequences of 'getting it wrong' with
ever larger social ventures can be disastrous to human futures. If this
view is found to be correct, it implies a much more challenging role for
design than has been recognised to date.
kind regards,
John
--
John A. Broadbent,
Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building,
University of Technology, Sydney,
PO Box 123
Broadway, New South Wales
Australia 2007.
Tel: (61) 2 9514 8986
Fax: (61) 2 9514 8787
Email: [log in to unmask]
|