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Responsibilityindesign:applyingthephilosophyofGilbertSimondon
SanderMulder
aEindhovenUniversityofTechnology,Eindhoven,TheNetherlands*Correspondingauthore-mail:[email protected]/0000-0001-5121-6002
Abstract:Thenotionoftechnicalmentalityandtransductivereasoningdescribedbythe French philosopher Gilbert Simondon is applied on a concrete design case inorder to investigate responsibility and design. The design case relates to thedevelopment of a portable artificial kidney. The historic invention of the artificialkidney iswovenintothephilosophyofSimondoninordertomobilizehiswork.Fordesigners,theriskofreduction isatstakewhenapplyingthetechnicalmentalitytodomainsbeyondthetechnicalsuchasthepsycho-social.Thisriskcanbeavoidedbytransductivereasoning, i.e.reasoningbymeansofanalogy,butthis isnotsufficientas additional research is needed on responsibility and taking action. Correlatingmachinesremainsahumanresponsibility.Designerscannothidebehindthebordersof their task or project when it comes to responsibility. Suggestions for furtherresearch are shared a.o. on aesthetics, ways of reasoning in design and designeducation.
Keywords:Responsibility,GilbertSimondon,Design,Transduction,WayofReasoning
1.IntroductionAsaprofessionalinthefieldofdesignIhavebeenworkingonadesigncasewhereIhadtheopportunitytocombinecommercialworkwithamoreinquisitivestanceasaresearcher.Whileworkingforaclientonanissuewithsoundcomingfromamedicaldevice,IrealizedthatthereasoningIusedtocometoanadvicefortheclientwashampered.WhatIsuggestedfeltcontradictorytotheroutineswethoughtwouldbenefitthepatient’srelationwiththemachine.
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Afterconsultingteammembersfromourdesignteamandhavingraisedtheissuewiththeclient,Istillwasdissatisfied.Thispaperisasearchforhowwecanthinkresponsibilityofdesigners.Responsibilityisnotwellthoughtofintermsofmethodologyorapproaches.1Theapproachisnotsomuchthesearchforanewmethod,butratherraiseinformedquestionsaboutresponsibilityanddesignfromaphilosophyrejectingthewholeideaofgeneralmethodsorprinciples.Howdoaspecifickindofmentalityandawayofreasoningrelatetotheresponsibilityofdesigners?
WhytrytoapplythephilosophyofSimondonondesign?ThecontributionofthispaperliesintheapplicationofthephilosophyofthelateFrenchphilosopherGilbertSimondon(1924-1989).Hisphilosophyhashadastronginfluenceinother(scientific)fieldsandhasbeenappliedinperformativeartsa.o.2
Thispaperalsoaimsforfindingavoicehowtomoveawayfromatraditionofmoralreflectionduringdesignworkormoralreflectionafterdesignworkhasbeenfinished.Simondonisethicalinhisapproachrightfromthebeginningandsoistheapplicationofhisphilosophy.3Technicalobjects,natureandthehumanraceshouldbeinvestigatedinthesamemannerwithaspecifickindofattention.
Hisphilosophygainsrenewedattention,but,asofyet,ishardlyusedtorethinkdesignapproaches.Tryingtobringhisphilosophyintooperationwithindesignpracticeisnotaneasytask.HisworkhashardlybeentranslatedfromFrenchintoEnglishmakingitdifficultforme,letalonethatSimondonrejectsanyoverarchingmethodorprincipleinhisphilosophymakingitdifficulttoworktowardsadesignmethod.
Thepapercalled“TechnicalMentality”hasbeentranslatedintoEnglishrecently(Simondon,2009b).HispaperservesasacrystallizationpointinmyattempttoapplythephilosophyofSimondonandletinformedquestions
1ItookthisboldopinionfromtherecentlyestablishedDelftDesignforValues(DD4V)Institutewebsitehttp://www.design4values.org("DesignforValues|MethodologyforDesignforValues,"2016).2GilbertSimondonhasbeenpickedupmostlybywayoftheFrenchphilosopherGillesDeleuze.Implicationsandresonationsaresharedrecentlyfromthefieldsofphilosophy,genderstudies,newmediaandculturestudies,sociology(cf.DeBoever,Murray,Roffe,&Woodward,2012).InperformativeartsErinManningworkswiththephilosophyofSimondon(cf.Manning,2013).Inthefieldoftechnologymanagementandeconomicse.g.AlexanderStyhreisrethinkingentrepreneurshipelaboratingontransduction(Styhre,2008,2010).3TheauthorthanksTomCogginsforbringingthispointtothefore.
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emergeregardingresponsibilityanddesignattheendofthispaper.Beforewe‘immerseourselves’inthephilosophyofSimondon,someapproachestowardsresponsibilityanddesignareshared.Thenthedesigncaseisintroducedincludingsomemoralreflections.Havingraisedtheresearchquestioninthatreflection,thephilosophyofSimondonismobilizedbymeansofahistoricinvention.AsSimondonisusingthesuccessivedevelopmentoftechnicalobjects,itmakessensetouseahistoricalcase.
Afterbeinginformedbyaspectsofhisphilosophy,IwillcomebacktothedesigncaseagainwhereItrytoapplyhisphilosophy.Thisleadstoimplicationsabouttheresponsibilityofdesignersandtheirwayofreasoning.
IwillconcludethattheapplicationofthephilosophyofSimondontothequestionofresponsibilityofdesignersisworthwhileandrequiresfurtherresearch.
Alimitationofthispaperisthatitfocusesonawayofreasoning,oramentalityintermsofSimondon.Takingthismentalityintoaccountisnecessarytoresearchtheresponsibilityofdesigners,butitisnotsufficient.Actionsthatdesignerstakeareaninherentpartoftheirresponsibilityandthisaspectwillbecoveredinfutureresearchoftheauthor.
GilbertSimondon’sphilosophicalprojecthassomethingtocontributetoourunderstandingofdesignandresponsibility.Hisphilosophicalprojectisethicalrightfromthebeginning.4Wecannotmakegrandgeneralisationstounderstandtheworld.Weshouldapproachtheworldasprocessesandourknowledgeisnotadvancedenoughyettounderstandhowwecanrelatetotechnicalobjects.Furthermoretechnicalobjectsdevelopinordertohaveanequalrelationwithmanintheend,ratherthanonebeingservantandtheotherbeingmaster(Combes,2013,p.60).Below,amoredetaileddiscussionissharedaimingtoconveywhattechnicalobjectsareinthephilosophyofSimondonandhowwecanrelatetothem.
Hisphilosophyhasaverydistinctvocabularye.g.usingconceptsfromthermodynamics,usingownpunctuation,andrelyingonFrenchconjugation.Giventhelackofintegraltranslation,I’llexplainanumberofnotionsinmore
4TheauthorthanksTomCogginsforbringingthispointtothefore.
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detailtoclarifyhowItakehisphilosophy.Butfirst,letuslookintoresponsibilityanddesignfromanapproachasareflectivepractitioner.
2.Responsibilityindesign:examplesofcontemporaryapproaches
Understandingdesignpracticefromwithin&theissueofresponsibilityAsaresponsetoHerbertSimon’spositivistperspectiveondesign,DonaldSchönintroducedaconstructivistperspectiveinordertodescribethepracticeofdesignfromwithin(Schön,1983,1984).Theissueofresponsibilitywaslefttoreflectivepractitionersthemselves,eitherasindividualsorinstitutionalizedincompanies,engineeringsocietiesordesignschools.56
Anumberofapproacheshavebeendevelopedsinceandtheycouldbecategorizedundertheterm‘earlyengagement’whereprofessionalstrytoincludeandengagethoseaffectedbyanewdevelopment,eitherinscienceormoreappliedasaninnovation(Doorn,Schuurbiers,vandePoel,&Gorman,2013).TheapproachesDoornetal.collected‘haveanormativeelementandaimatencouragingethicalreflection’.Thenormativeelementisafuturegoaltoworktowardstothatisbetterthantheexistingsituation:e.g.“bettertechnologyinabettersociety”(Doornetal.,2013,p.9).Aninherentelementoftheseapproachesistoanticipatefutureeventsandtakethemintoaccountindecisionmakingandstrategiesforaction(Doornetal.,2013,p.246).
VanDoornetal.considertheapproach‘ValueBasedDesign’(VBD)asbeingpartofanearlyengagementapproach.TheDelftUniversityofTechnologyrecentlyestablishedaninstitutecalled‘DesignforValues’thatwantstoexploreVBDfurther.Thefoundersindicatethereasonwhytheyestablishedtheinstitute:for‘basicvalues,suchasresponsibility,therearehardlyanydedicateddesignmethodsortools’(DesignforValuesInstitute,2016).7Afirsthandbookhasbeenpublished(VandenHoven,Vermaas,&VandePoel,2015).
Basedonaverylimitedoverview,thereareindicationsthatthere’sroomforresearchonresponsibilityanddesign.
5TheauthorwantstothankKeesDorstforclarifyingthis.6A.o.Findelirethinksdesigneducationtakingresponsibilityintoaccount(Findeli,2001).7Seehttp://www.design4values.orgincludinganextensivelistofpublicationsonthisapproach.
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Fromconstructivismto‘inventivism’Itislikelythattherehardlyaremethodsintherealmofdesignandresponsibility.Designpracticeisnowexplainedfromtwophilosophicalparadigms:‘positivism’and‘constructivism’(cf.Dorst,1997)andmethodsaimingfordesignandresponsibilityshould‘workout’inbothparadigms.Thedualitythatcomesalongishardtoresolve.
Simondon’sphilosophicalprojectcontributednotsomuchbyaddingathirdparadigmorbyreplacingthetwoexistingparadigms,butratherbytryingtoreconcileparadigms.BrianMassumidescribestheshiftSimondonmadeasonefrom‘constructivism’towards‘inventivism’(DeBoeveretal.,2012,p.x).8
Before“unpacking”inventivism,IwillstartinSchön’straditionofthereflectivepractitionerraisingsomeresearchquestionswithinarealdesigncase.ThenIwillintroduceSimondonandmobilizehisphilosophybymeansofahistoricinvention.Thenwe’llgetmoreinformedbacktothedesigncaseagaintofinalizewithimplicationsandconclusions.
3.Designcase:PortableArtificialKidney
BackgroundThedesigncasebelowrevolvesaroundtheearlyengagementofthoseaffectedbyanewandinnovativemedicaldevice.AtthetimewestartedIhadnomethodologyselecteddeliberatelyexceptanimplicitnotionof‘earlyinvolvement’.Iwillnowintroducethecase.
TheDutchKidneyFoundation(DKF)isaNetherlandsbasednon-profitorganisationaimingforahigherqualityoflifeforpeoplewithlethalkidneyfailure.ThefoundationcollaborateswithstrategicdevelopmentpartnersbymeansofasocialenterprisecalledNeoKidney.NeoKidneywasfoundedbytheDKFandaimstointroduceaninnovativemedicalproductintothemarketinafewyearsfromnow:thePortableArtificialKidney(PAK).9ThePAKwillbedevelopedinclosecollaborationwithtwomedicaldevicedevelopment
8Massumicontinues:“amovethat“seekstothinkthenaturalprocessesinvolvedinanyandallconstructions”(DeBoever,Murray,&Roffe,2009)9NeoKidneycommissionedourassignment.NeoKidneyisadevelopmentcompanyfoundedbytheDutchKidneyFoundation.NeoKidneyisalsoasocialenterprise,initiallyfundedbytheDutchKidneyFoundation.NeoKidneyholdstheintellectualpropertyrightsonnewinvention.AfterthePAKislicensedtoathirdpartythatwillintroducethePAKinthemarket,profitswillbereinvestedindevelopmentactivities(revolvingfund).
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companies.Itwillbedesignedtoenablepatientstodobloodpurification(bydialysis)athomewithoutdirectsupervisionofahealthcareprofessional.Thisgivespatientsmorefreedomandflexibilityandincreasestheirlifequality.
ThemanagementteamofNeoKidneyrealizedearly2015thattheywerecopingwithanumberofmedical,technicalandregulatoryhurdles,butthatthepeopleinneedofthePAKweresofarunderrepresentedintheinnovationprocess.ThemanagementteamdecidedtocommissionasmallteamofprofessionalstoexplorethedemandsandwishesoffutureusersofthePAK,derivefunctionalrequirementsforthemachineandconveyadviceforfuturestepsinthedevelopmentprocessinappropriateways.10TheassignmentwasfinalizedinFebruary2016andpresentlyanadditionalassignmentisbeingnegotiated.
TogetherwiththreeprofessionalsIbecamepartofateamthatworkedonthequestionsthatwereultimatelyissuedbytheDutchKidneyFoundation.WecollaboratedfromtheNetherlandsbaseddesignagencyDesignInnovationGroup.Theteamconductedcontextualinterviews,tookpicturesandfilmedatsomepoints‘insitu’,madeaudiorecordingsandintroducedadummytodiscussthesizeandshapeofthePAK.Basedonthecontextualinterviews,theteamsynthesizedfuturescenario’senvisioningfutureuse.Wehavediscussedthosescenario’swithpeopleinvolvede.g.patients,theirpartners,healthcareprofessionals,ourclient(DutchKidneyFoundation),NeoKidneyandthecollaboratingpartnerresponsibleforthesystemsengineeringandprototyping.
SoonafterthestartIidentifiedopportunitiesforresearchasanexternalPhD-candidate.Aftersharingaresearchinterest,andcomingtoaninformedconsentwithNeoKidney,theauthorworkedonthisassignmentfromaresearchperspectiveinadditiontoacommercialadvisoryperspective.
10Howtoconveytheadvicewasleftopenatthestartoftheassignment.Examplesmentionedintheproposalweree.g.ashortfilmorareport.Ultimatelytheteamchoseforareport,aposterandinteractivepresentationswithalotofroomfordiscussiona.o.withthegovernancestructureofNeoKidneyincludingthecommissioningmanagementteam,thepersonneloftheinvolvedorganisations,patientsinneedofrenaltherapy,theirpartnersandcareprofessionalslikenursepractitionersandnephrologists.
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DesignCase:thesoundoftheportableartificialkidney11Contemporaryartificialkidneyequipmentislargeandneedspermanentconnectionstoelectricityandwaterlinesinordertofunctionproperlyasarenaltherapy.Therearemanyinnovationsrelatedtothedevelopmentoftheportableartificialkidney,butinthelightofthispaperitsufficestomentionthatNeoKidneyaimsforminiaturizationofthemachineandaimsfortheimplementationofadvancedalgorithmstoregulatehard-andsoftware.Apersonneedstoregulatethemachineduringtherapyvaryingfromturningiton,adjustingparameterslikethedurationofthedialysisandsoforth.Inadomesticcontextthepersoninneedoftreatmentalsohastorespondtodeviationsfromanormaldialysissession.Alarmsmaygooffandideallythereisapartnerpresentoranalarmcentremonitorsremotely,assomeexceptionalsituationscanbelife-threatening.ThePAKcanbeusedatdifferenttimese.g.duringadaytimetreatmentorduringthenightwhilesleeping.
Whileconductinginterviewsourteamoffourprofessionalssawawidevarietyofhowpeopleorganizedtheirrelationwiththeircurrentdialysismachine.Somepeoplewereconnectedtothemachineandseemedtoignoreituntilanalarmwouldgooff.Otherswere,bothduringday-andnight-time,peripherallyawareofthemachine’sstatus,forinstancebecausetheyknewbyheartthesequenceofsoundsmadebybloodpumps,valves,etcetera.Duringadaytimedialysissessiononepersonindicatedthathedeliberatelyadjustedthepre-programmedsettingsdependingonhowheperceivedhisownconditionandtheconnectiontohisvascularsystem.
Reflectiononthedesigncase&exemplifyingtheresearchquestionNeoKidneyisplanningforamachinethatrunsthroughacontinuouslyvaryingschemeduringatherapysession.Fromamedicalpointofviewthisfacilitatesoptimaltreatment.Asadesignteamweanticipatedthatunpredictablechangesinsoundconflictwithhowpeoplewanttoorganizetheirrelationwiththemachine.Amachinethat‘humsandbuzzes’inapredictableandrhythmicwayisperceivedasamachinethatisfunctioningproperly.Anydeviationisthenassociatedwithanexception,evenperipherallybeingawaree.g.whenperforminganothertaskandorwhenatsleep.
11Besidessoundthedesigncasecoveredalotofothertopics,thirteenatleast.Thesewillnotbesharedhereforreasonsofconfidentialityandbriefness.
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Atpresentarequirementwasstatedtolowerthesoundtoacertainlevelofdecibels,yetwithavaryingschemeleadingtocontinuouslyvaryingsounds.Wediscussedourconcernthatpeoplemaynotbeabletogetusedtothesoundofthemachineincaseitwouldvarycontinuously.TheNeoKidneymanagementteamwaspositivelysurprised.Theyhadnotconsideredthevaryingsoundschemefromthatperspective.GiventhenotionthatthePAKwillproducesoundsfrommechanicalpartslikeapump,weconveyedinouradvicethatthemachineshouldmakesoundswithconstantintervalsandrunthroughastandardizedscheme.
Ourreasoningaboutthisissuewaslargelybasedonasurpriseresultingfromacarefulexaminationofthecurrentusageofartificialkidneys.Asofyet,wedidnottestamachinewithvaryingschemestoverifywhetherpeoplewouldactuallynotgetusedtoitduringtreatment.Obviously,wecouldadviceourclienttoconductstudiesinthisrealm.Wecouldalsoadvicetoaimforatrajectorytodiminishsounduntilonewouldnothearthemachineatall.
Thequestioniswhetherwecanreasoninadifferentwayaboutthesoundofthemachineandtiedtothat,inwhatwaysmightwethinkresponsibilityofdesigners?Howwecanreasoninamoreresponsiblewayasdesigners?
Thesequestionshavebeenraisedfromaconstructivistperspective.ThephilosophyofSimondonisnowintroducedby‘unpacking’twolinesofthought.‘Inventivism’inthenextsectionand‘transduction’inthesectionthereafter.AhistoricalcasewillbeinterwoventomobilizethephilosophyofSimondon.Afterthesetheoreticalsections,Iwillgobacktothedesigncaseoftheartificialkidneybeingmoreinformedandcomingfromadifferentphilosophicaltraditionthanconstructivism(orpositivism).
4.Unpacking‘inventivism’Part1:Technicalmentality
IntroductionTointroducethephilosophyofSimondonahistoriceventwillbeinterwovenwiththeory:theinventionoftheartificialkidneyandtheapplicationinaworkingprototype.Theinventiontookplacebetween1943and1945intheNetherlandsbytheDutchinventorsKolffandBerk.
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Thisinventionisillustrativeasitservestofurtherunderstandtheportableartificialkidneyofthedesigncase.TheinventionwillalsocarryavocabularythatresemblestheonethatSimondonusesasbothdealwiththermodynamics.12ThisparagraphisbasedonDrukker’shistoricaloverview(Drukker,1989).
Peoplewhosufferfromkidneyfailureexperiencetheproblemsthatcomewithnourishmentwithinafewdays:theremovaloftoxicsandwaterfromtheirbloodandtissuehampers.13Kidneyfailureleadstolethallevelsoftoxicsinthebodyandtheretainingofexcessfluidsinbodilytissue.Anartificialkidneyisabletoremovetoxicsfromthebloodandextractexcesswater.Inadditionmedicineisrequired.
Tohelppatientswhosufferfromkidneyfailure,Kolffimprovedexistingideasaboutdialysisandartificialkidneys.In1943hebuiltafirstprototypeofanartificialkidneytogetherwithBerk,leadingtoaworkingtreatmentandthefirsthumansurvivoraftertherapyin1945.Kolff’sinventionmadeitpossibleforapartofthebloodcycletobefilteredoutsidethebody.Animportantpartofhisinventionwastheuseofasemi-permeablemembranemadeofcellophaneforsausages,whichheobtainedfromalocalbutcher.Themembraneallowedtoxicstopass.Bymeansofosmosis—adifferenceinconcentration—thetoxicsdiffuseintoasalinesolutionontheothersideofthemembrane.
Kolfftestedthespeedoftheosmoticprocessbyfilling‘sausages’withwaterandaconcentrationofureaandrockedthemimmersedinsaltedwater.Lateronherepeatedcomparablesetupsbyfillingthesausageswithbloodandurea.Heneededtoenlargethesurfaceofthemembrane,soKolffwoundupthetubularcellophaneonadrumwhilethelowerhalfwasimmersedinabathofdialysate.BycopyingarotatingcouplingfromaFordautomobilewaterpumpKolffwasabletoconnectthebloodlinefromthebodytotherotatingdrum.Berksuggestedtoplacethedrumhorizontally“therebymakingitpossibletopropelthebloodalongthecellophanetubingbyrotationofthedrum,eliminatingtheuseofabloodpump.”(Drukker,1989),seeFigure1(nextpage).
12Artificialkidneysmakeuseofthermodynamicsa.o.andthisisvocabularythatisimportantinthephilosophyofSimondon.Termslike‘meta-stability’forinstancearesharedinbothfields.13AsSimondonphrasedit‘thenourishmentofthelivingposesproblems’(Combes,2013,p.28;Read,2015).
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Figure1:WillemKolffandhisinvention:theartificialkidney,artistimpression.Imagestillfrom
whiteboardanimation,1m41s.©2014,Nierstichting.
IwillintroducenowthephilosophyofSimondonandweaveittogetherwiththeinventionoftheartificialkidneyincludingtheapplicationoftheinvention.Thepapercalled“TechnicalMentality”isusedtogaintraction.IwillstartwithtwopostulatesthatSimondonconveysinhispaper.
TwopostulatesoftechnicalmentalityTheinventionoftheartificialkidneyillustratesSimondon’snotionthat“thereexistsatechnicalmentality,andthatthismentalityisdeveloping,andthereforeincompleteandatriskofbeingprematurelyconsideredasmonstrousandunbalanced”(Simondon,2009b).Simondon’sphilosophicalprojectistorepairthisriskbycloselyinvestigatingit.Technicalmentalityhastwoconditionsorpostulates:1.”Thesubsetsarerelativelydetachablefromthewholeofwhichtheyarepart.”(Simondon,2009b).WiththisfirstconditionSimondonmeansthat“thetechnicalobjectcanberepaired”andthat“atthemomentofitsvery
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construction,thetechnicalobjectisconceivedassomethingthatmayneedcontrol,repair,andmaintenance,throughtesting,andmodification,or,ifnecessary,acompletechangeofoneorseveralofthesubsetsthatcomposeit”(Simondon,2009b,emphasisremoved).
ThiskindofmentalitycanbeobservedintheinventionoftheartificialkidneybyKolffandBerk.Thetubularmembraneisapproachedasasubsetthatwastakenfromthebutcheranditwastestedextensivelyinisolation,thenitwaswoundupandmodifiedinsuchawaythatitcouldconnecttotherotatingcoupling.
Thesecondconditionorpostulateofthetechnicalmentalityis:2.“ifonewantstounderstandabeingcompletely,onemuststudyitbyconsideringitinitsentelechy,andnotinitsinactivityoritsstaticstate”(Simondon,2009b).14Simondonfurtherexplainsthatmostinventionstendtowardsfewersubsets“byreducingthenumberofprimitiveelementstoaminimum,whichisatthesametimeanoptimum”.Simondon’spointhereisthatwithmanyinventions,bythinkingaboutthemordrawingthemonpaper,wesuppose“theconditionsoftheirfunctioningrealized”(Simondon,2009b,emphasisremoved).Aleapismade,notsomuchwhilethinkingorputtinganideaonpaper,butratherwhenassemblingtheinvention.AsMassumiexplains,atthemomentwhentwoormore“setsofpotentialsclicktogether”intoonesystemit“hasachievedacertainoperationalautonomy[…]tocontinuefunctioningindependentlywithouttheinterventionofanoutsideoperatortorunorrepairit.”(Simondon,2009b).“A‘threshold’hasbeencrossed”andthisledMassumitocointhat“thedesignerisahelpmatetoemergence.”(DeBoeveretal.,2009).
Thesecondpostulateofthetechnicalmentalitycanbeseenintheinventionoftheartificialkidneyaswell.Kolffsupposedthatthetubularmembranefromthebutcherwouldworkinadynamicsettingwithbloodflowingthroughit.Onlywhenhetestedit,thetubularsausageskinrealizeditspotentialasbothamembraneandhosereducingthenumberofsubsets(elsehewouldhaveneededahoseandamembrane).ThesametechnicalmentalitycanbeseeninBerk’sinventionbysuggestingthatthetubularmembranecouldserveasapumpbytiltingit.Berksupposeditandreducedtheamountofsubsetsinhis
14ThenotionofentelechyinSimondon’sphilosophyishardtoconveybriefly.Itsufficesheretotakeitas“therealizationofpotential”(OxfordDictionary).
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thought(leavingoutabloodpump),butonlywhen‘clickingtogether’ofthetiltedhose,thedialysateandtherotatingdrumwerethepotentialsrealized.
Simondonpointsoutthepotentialofindustrialproduction:“Itisthestandardizationofthesubsets,theindustrialpossibilityoftheproductionofseparatepiecesthatareallalikethatallowsforthecreationofnetworks.”(Simondon,2009b).Simondonsketchesanidealtypeofnetworkintheformofa‘laboratory’thatbringstogetherinformationandenergy.AsexplainedbyJean-HuguesBarthélémy,whatSimondonmeansisthatintheendthemachinemadewithinthefactoryandleavingthedoorconverges—bymeansofknowledge—towardsamachinethatisasuniqueasalivingbeing(Simondon,2009b).MurielCombesquotesSimondon’ssecondarythesis:‘theestablishmentofanewrelationtomachines,whichwouldnolongerconsistonlyinservingthemorcommandingthem.Aboveandbeyondtheroleasassistanttoorcommanderofmachines,“thehumancanbecoupledwiththemachineasequaltoequal,asabeingthatparticipatesinitsregulation”(MEOT,119-120)’(Combes,2013,p.70).
TechnicalmentalityindomainsthathavetodowithaffectThetechnicalmentalityhasbeenusedinmanyotherdomainsbesidesthemerephysicalbymeansof“analogicalinterpretation”.Technicalmentalityallowsthatkindoftransfer.E.g.thebalancingbetweenpredatorandpreyisseenasaregulationproblem(Simondon,2009b).Simondonaddresseshereoneofthemainrisksoftechnology,“thatofthereductionofsocietytoamachineofaparticulartype”(Simondon,2009b).Itistheriskof“reducinganycrisis—evensocialcrises—toaproblemofregulation,andpresentingastheonlyideal,homeostasis,thatis,stableequilibriumofattendantforces.”(Simondon,2009b).
Simondonindicatesthatthetechnicalmentalityisproblematicinthosedomainsthathavetodowithaffect,e.g.psycho-sociology,activityandsoon.WheninventorslikeKolffandBerkcrossedtheaforementioned‘threshold’whiletheclickingtogetherofsubsets,theywereworkingapartfrom“thesocialfieldoftheusageofproducts”(Combes,2013,p.60).Thatmomentwasvaluefree–ora“neutralfield”asSimondonphrasesit(Simondon,2009b)–asthisclickingwasrequiredfortheinventiontobecomeautonomous.Wedonothaveenoughknowledgeatpresenttomakesuchadvancedtechnicalobjects
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thattheyallowforeverypersonindailyuseasimilarkindofvaluefreemoment–or‘inventivism’.
Simondonsawdesignas“anexternallayer[…]which‘materializes’humanvaluesandfashions”ontopofafunctionalinternallayer(Simondon,2009b).Theinternallayercannotbealteredwithoutperformancechanges,theexternallayercan.Theexternallayerdisturbsthefunctioningoftheinternallayer.
5.Unpacking‘inventivism’Part2:TransductionLet’sfocusnowmorecloselyonSimondon’snotionofinformationbeforeelaboratingonhisapproach,transduction,asafundamentalwayofreasoning,thatcouldworkoutindesignlabourandthatdealswiththeaforementionedriskofreduction.
Information&transductionInformationinthephilosophyofSimondonisfarremovedfromtheideaoftransmissionwhichimpliesasenderandreceiver.Heseesinformationfirstasanorderingprocesswithinametastablemilieu.Thisisan“amorphousmilieurichinenergybutlackingstructure”(Simondon,2009b,fn12).AsPascalChabotphrasesit,thismilieuis‘notyet’ordered,itcanundergo“thepassagefromametastablesystemtoastablesystem”(Chabot,2013,p.85).InformationisseenbySimondonasan“operationoftakingonform”(Simondon,2009a).Heusesananalogyfromphysicstoexplainthisnotionofinformation.Inametastablesolution,afterashock(aninformation-event)ortheinsertionofaspecofdust,theorderingprocessstarts,asanemergingcrystalthatservesasa'platform’forfurtherordering.Inthisanalogy,comingfromphysics,onlyacrystalgrowsirreversibly.Technicalobjectsaredifferentwithrespecttoinformation.Theycouldalsosuspendordelayinformationor“maintainingorcontinuingtheprocessofformation,sothattheensembleremainsinformation,asinthecaseoflife.”(Combes,2013,p.5).Sotechnicalobjectsandthelivingaredifferentbecause“ratherthanbeingformedonce,theyareinformation.Theyarecontinuous,variableprocessesofmatter-taking-form”(Mackenzie,2002,p.50).
Theon-goingstructuringoperationpropagatingonthelimitofametastablemilieuandanorderedstructureiscalledtransductioninthephilosophyof
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Simondon.Transductionoperatesinphysics(e.g.theformationofacrystal),andinbiology(e.g.anantmovingawayfromit’sexistingcolonytostartanewone,‘beinginformation’andstructuringthemilieuatthelocationwhereitstartsanewcolony).
Inpsycho-sociologytransductionbringsanewproblemtothefore:howcanweknowabouttheseoperationsasweareatthesametimeanon-goingprocessandaresultofthisprocess?“Ourknowledgeofrelationsisitselfakindofrelationbetweenthoughtandexistence,andthiscommonalityframesSimondon’sapproach.”(Hayward&Geoghegan,2012).InthephilosophyofSimondon,transductivereasoningdealswiththeproblemofthinkabilityofrelations.
Waysofreasoning,transductionversusabductionTransductivereasoningcouldbeseenasanargumentbyanalogy,soasingleprocessissimilartoanothersingleprocess(MacNeill,2009).Simondonfurtherdevelopedtransductionas“amethodofproceedingthroughanalogies”andthis“analogicalmethodturnsouttobeconstructive”(Combes,2013,p.12,emphasisinoriginal).AsJasonReadparaphrasesCombes:
“Simondon’smethodofprogressingisneitherinductive,drawingfromdiscretephenomenatoformulategeneralprinciples,nordeductive,proceedingfromageneralprincipletospecificcases,buttransductiveasitfocusesontheoperation,andthetransformationoftheoperations,thatindividuatethinkingandbeing.”(Read,2015)
Simondonmakesuseofanalogiesasastepping-stonefromonedomaintoanother,e.g.fromphysicstobiologyandfrombiologytothesocio-psychic.Hechosephysicsasafoundinganalogyasithas“acapacityforconstitutingtheconcretefromtheabstract,forproducingaconcreteonwhichonemayact”(Combes,2013).15TheaforementionedcrystalisanexamplethatSimondonusesfromphysicstowardsbiologyandthesocio-psychicinaconstructiveway.
Itiscommontointroduceabductionastheformofreasoningthatisneededindesignpracticetoaccountfornewknowledge.Peirceexplainedabductionas“creatingnewrulestoexplainnewobservations”(MacNeill,2009).Acomparisonofbothformsofreasoningrequiresadifferentpaper.Iconclude
15CombesrefersheretoSimondon’suseofaphysicalparadigmashisfirstanalogybuildingfurtheruponandhisuseofphysicsasit‘hasforsometimeshownits“capacityforprogressivelytransformingtheoryintohypothesesandthenintoalmostdirectlytangiblerealities”(IG,256;IL,554)’(Combes,2013,p.13)
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fornowthatSimondon’snotionofinformationtogetherwiththestructuringinadomainthatwasnotyetorderedcanaccountfortheemergenceofnewknowledgeaswell.Hereservesaroleforoperationswithinmaterialityinhisnotionofinformation.
6.Application:GoingmoreinformedbacktothedesigncaseNowthatIammoreinformedandmaybeabletocomebacktothedesigncasefromanotherphilosophicalapproach,whatshouldwedonowwiththesoundoftheportableartificialkidney?
Wecouldtrytomakeitassilentaspossible,sincesoundhasnotechnicalfunctionintheartificialkidney.Asourclientisaimingtominiaturizethemachine,heatdissipationmayformanissue(asthisisacommonproblemwhenmakingthingssmaller).16Soundcouldbeseenaslosingenergy,soreducingsoundmaybeseenassupporting‘thesolidarity’ofthesubsets.
Ifwemakeitsilent,themachinestillneedstogeneratealarms.Butisn’tthereaqualityintheartificialkidneymakingsoundsasareminderthatitisstillworkingfineforsomeone’shealth?Shouldwehavethepersonexperimentwiththesoundlevelthatsuitshisorherneed?Asofnowwethinkofconstantintervalsandrunningastandardizedschedule,butaren’tweheadingtowardsthepitfallofreductionismwithasequenceofsoundsthatistooregular?Anadvancedmachinewouldnotmakeconstantsounds,butrespondinasensitiveway,subtlyvaryingaccordingtothechangingconditionofthepersoninneedoftherapy.17Ifwewantthatkindofsound,weneedtoworkonthesensingabilityoftheportableartificialkidneyasitisnowlimitedtovitalsignslikebloodpressure,coagulationofblood,measuringlevelsofafewtoxicsandkeepingtrackoftheamountofextractedexcessfluid.
SinceI,asamemberofthedesignteam,amatransducer,togetherwiththeclientandthetargetgroup,wedecidewithwhichothermachinesthePAKwillcommunicate.Weareresponsiblewhatcorrelationsthemachinewillhavewithothermachines.Astransducers,wecouldcorrelatethePAKwitharemote
16Aminiaturizedmachineisbettersuitedto‘sense’accordingtoSimondon,butthislineofthoughtisnotfurtherdiscussedhere.17InlinewithSimondon’sthinkingtheanthropologistTimIngoldwroteonthedifferencebetweenrhythmicandmetronomicoscillationinrelationtomachinesandhumanperception(Ingold,2011).
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monitoringsystemcombinedwithaskillednursepractitionertoassistwhenindoubtorwhenanewalarmgoesoff.
Howcanweproceedinourstudiowithreasoningbymeansofanalogies?Whileworkingonmoreinsightsaboutthemachine,wehavecomeupwithsomeanalogies,butwehavenotdivedintothisreally.
7.ImplicationsandfutureresearchHavingcomingbacktothedesigncase,wecannowderivesomeimplications.
Ifweacceptthattechnicalmentalityispresent,thenresponsibilityofdesignerswouldbetoavoidtheriskofreductionismintheirworkandtoinvestigateit.Analogicalreasoningisoneapproachthattriestoavoidreductionism,thusaddressingresponsibilityanddesign.Simondonseeshereataskforphilosopherstobringthismethodofinvestigatingtheworldfurther.So,designersandphilosopherscouldfurtherinvestigateanddeveloptransductivereasoningasamethodofproceedingandconstructingthroughanalogiesandtrytobridgethatmethodtowardsdesigncases.Transductionissuggestedasawayofreasoningwhiledesigningalongorinsteadofabduction.Canthisbedoneatall?
Designersareusedtoworkingwithanalogies,butshouldtheystart,likeSimondondoes,alwaysinthephysicaldomainandthenmovetowardsbiologyandthesocio-psychic?Orcandesignersmoveback-and-forth?Canweproceedatallwithtransductionasawayofconstructivereasoningindesign?
Machinesarenotthatadvancedyetthattheylinkthemselvestoothermachineswithouthumaninterference.MurielCombesphrasesitasfollows:“Itisaslivingbeingsthathumansaredeclaredresponsiblefortechnicalbeings”basicallybecausewehaveapastandweareableto“modifytheformsofproblemstoberesolved”[…]“Thuswemightsaythatthehumanplaystheroleoftransducerbetweenmachines”(Combes,2013,p.60).Untilourknowledgeisthatelaboratethatwebuiltmachinesthatcanactastransducersandcorrelateothermachines,designers,togetherwithotherstakeholders,areresponsibleforthelinkingtogetherofmachines.
Thinkingtechnologicalprogressintermsofevolution,ascanbeobservedinSimondon’stechnicalmentality,doesnotgowithoutdebate.Besides
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Simondonbeingnormativefromthebeginninginhisapproachoftheworld,hisnormativestancetowardsprogressandequalityofmanandmachinemustbeinvestigatedfurther.ThispaperdidnotelaborateonSimondon’snotionof(immanent)ethics.18Thiscouldbealineforfurtherinvestigation.
ThispaperdidnotbuildonSimondon’saesthetics.Thismaybeaninterestinglineforfurtherelaborationasheseesunifyingqualitiesinaestheticsanditseemsrelevantfordesign.
TheworkofMurielCombesmayserveasafirststeptoexploretheaction’sofdesignersassheinvestigatesthesignificanceoflabor.19WhythelaborofdesignexistsinthefirstplaceisexplainedbySimondonaswellwhenhediscussesthehistoricseparationofenergyandinformation.TogetherwithSimondon’sdemarcationofinventionversusapplication,thisisalineofinvestigationaswell.
Simondonarguesthatmaterialitytakesoverandbecomes‘autonomous’whileinventingorproducingatechnicalobject.A‘threshold’iscrossedduringthemomentofinventionandthatmomentisvaluefreeaccordingtoSimondon.Asdesignerswedonotcrosssuchathreshold,weworkwithafunctionalcore,a‘nucleus’thatisalreadyinventedinthepast.Designersworkonperformanceofthatnucleusandrelateittoaffect.ThedivisionbetweenafunctionalcoreandanexternallayerinthephilosophyofSimondonseemsproblematicinresearchingdesignpractice.Yet,thefieldofdesignthinkingmayneedtotakematerialitymoreintoaccount.
Indesigneducationweshouldaddressandfurtherdevelopresponsibility,workwithattentiontodiveintothemachineand,asSimondonwouldliketodous:liberatemachines.20
18Simondon’sethicsisimmanent.Immanentethicscouldbephrasedlike“Thefundamentalquestionofethicsisnot‘WhatmustIdo?’(whichisthequestionofmorality)butrather‘WhatcanIdo,whatamIcapableofdoing(whichistheproperquestionofanethicswithoutmorality).[…]’(cf.O'Donnell,2001)19CombesunderscoresthepoliticalimplicationsofSimondon’sphilosophy.TakenfromthePrefacewrittenbyThomasLamarre,whotranslateda.o.someofCombes’work(Combes,2013,p.xiv).20Thenotionof“theeducationofattention”wasinspiredbyTimIngold’swork(Ingold,2001).
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8.ConclusionCanwereasoninadifferentandmoreresponsiblewayasdesigners?ThephilosophyofSimondon,andespeciallyhisnotionoftechnicalmentalityandtransductiveoranalogicalreasoningshednewlightonthesequestions.
Aresponsibilityofdesignersistoavoidreductionismintheirthinking.
Withinadesignprojectyoumakemanydecisionsonparts,butyoucannot‘hide’behindthebordersofyourtaskorproject.21
Designerscannotignorethatpeoplewillregulatemachinesthemselves,butyouareresponsibleforcorrelatingmachinestogetherwithotherpeople.
Theapproachofthispaper,divingintoadesigncaseandraisingmoreinformedquestionsbymeansofphilosophy,isonthevergeofbeingareflectivemethoditselfwithintheconstructivisttradition.Thatmustberethoughtaswell.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements:Iwanttothankthetwoanonymousreviewersfortheirconstructivefeedback.IwanttothankmysupervisorKeesDorstforhispatienceandguidance.Iwanttothankeverywonewhoreadearlierversionsofthispaper:DirkSnelders,DaniëlleArets,TomCoggins,JellevanDijk,SandervanderZwan(student),SanderHermsen,ThomasKoet,EhsanBahaandAnnemiekeLammeforcarefullyreadinganddiscussingearlierdraftsofthispaper.ThankstoPieterVermaasandLambèrtRoyakkersforinformaltalksonthesubjectmatter.IwouldliketothankourclientsJohnStookerandJasperBoomkerfortheirassignment,butmoreovertheirtrustthatmycuriositywouldactuallyleadtosomething.LastbutnotleastIthanktheteamIwaspartof.Theirstrategicandempathicapproachintheassignmentallowedroomfortheemergenceofthepaperabove.SothankyouLiannePolinder,NathalieWaserandMariekeRietbergenfromtheNetherlandsbaseddesignagencyDesignInnovationGroup.ThisresearchwasconductedaspartofanexternalPhDtrajectory.Nodirectfundingisassociatedtothisstudy.
21IwanttoacknowledgeKeesDorstforsuggestingthisconclusion.
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References
AbouttheAuthor:
SanderMulderhasbeenworkingbetween1998-2003 in twoDutchcompaniesasaconsultantforinnovationandgrowth.Since2003heworks from his own company Yppah. He combines hisentrepreneurship with teaching at the Eindhoven University ofTechnology (since 2004) and Delft University of Technology (since2015). He started an external PhD trajectory in 2012 at theEindhovenUniversityofTechnology.
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