Science and perception as design

Abstract

Some of the preliminary work in a research project in design epistemology, conducted at the UK Open University, is summarized. The work draws upon the already extensive epistemology of science, to provide both a yardstick of comparison for, and a framework within which, to articulate the emergent epistemology of design. The paper argues that science, far from inductively deriving theories from passively contemplated facts, actively engages in the explicit interpretation of ‘facts’ which have themselves already been prestructured by the theories that implicitly mediate perception itself. This leads to a reconception of perception and science as implicit and explicit (respectively) modes of interpretation by which we attempt to structure, or render simply coherent—and consequently predictable—the otherwise incoherent ‘flux’ of undifferentiated experience. It is therefore argued that science and perception may be thought of as attempting to resolve apparent incoherences or conflicts in experiences; as attempting to design a coherent and predictable ‘life-world’ from such experiences. Building on this insight, it is suggested that science and perception may be regarded as particular cases of design.