| Popis: |
In this chapter I set out to cohere the book’s broader argument by exploring how a synthesis of Dewey’s key theories relating to knowing, reality, communication and value might be drawn to together to enrich our understanding of knowledge production in design research. In doing so, I turn first to the work of Dewey scholar Ralph Sleeper who has proposed that Dewey’s approach to knowledge emerges through the linking of the theory of inquiry to his metaphysics via his theory of communication. By grouping these aspects together, it is possible to argue that Dewey sees inquiry—or, more particularly, the identification and resolution of problems—as a transformational act which reconfigures the world. Having set out this ‘Deweyan perspective’ on inquiry, I move on to consider the question of value in research by considering his theories of value and of valuation, i.e., how, from his point of view, we might approach the subject of values (qualitative form in situations) and valuation (how we attach value to things). The chapter closes with a discussion of how design research involving practice can be seen to operate similarly, with the ‘making’ of products, services, and experiences ‘remaking’ our reality and, equally, our understanding of ‘the possible’ and ‘the valuable’. |
