Design theory: From scientific method to humanist practice

The field of design theories and methods coalesced as a field of study independent of any specific design discipline in the early 1960's, a time when the dominant conception of design was that it should best be treated as a science: a methodical study of measurable and calculable objective facts. Since that time many important philosophical challenges have arisen which either dispute the primacy of the scientific model or demand a reconceptualization of science itself. In the field of design theories and methods Horst Rittel challenged that primacy with his development of ‘second generation’ design theories. In the realm of cognitive science the development of the paradigm of Experientialism has demanded a new perspective on human reason and therefore on science and other human practices. In this dissertation the Experientialist perspective is used first to examine the ideas which shaped the notion that architectural design should be treated as a science and should follow scientific method, and second to lay the foundation for a new vision of design as a humanist practice whose first focus is on the complex human values which motivate design while those aspects of design amenable to the scientific approach are applied only to support the human individual and social demands which have become the primary focus.