Aesthetics as Pre-linguistic Knowledge: A Psychological Perspective

摘要

As an emerging field distinct from architecture and the fine arts, proponents of design have sought the theoretical underpinnings necessary to establish it as a discipline in its own right. Perspectives from other disciplines, particularly the two broad areas of science and cultural studies, influenced this pursuit of "design theory." Scientific influences were prevalent at various times, derived from such fields as materials science, engineering, and ergonomics/human factors, particularly in application to industrial design. These influences also permeated attempts to describe design as a scientific activity, and to identify a method of design that would follow similar principles to those characteristic of the scientific method. However, both designers and design theorists challenged the concept of design practice as a scientific activity, instead advocating various conceptions of "design thinking" and the search for "an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which some practitioners do bring to situations of uncertainty."