Philosophy through Design: Rethinking Design Practice for a Changing World (Designing in Dark Times) - Hardcover

Dixon, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1350423394 ISBN 13: 9781350423398

Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2026

Synopsis

Philosophy through Design proposes a new approach to design practice grounded in a philosophical reflection in and on action, with alignments being drawn to the democratic pragmatism of John Dewey and Jane Addams as well as key contemporary philosophic perspectives. Throughout, Dixon stresses the need for designers to engage critically, ethically and reflectively as they seek to meet the complex challenges of the 21st century. The key argument is that design practice can itself become a mode of philosophical inquiry, supporting designers' efforts to experiment, reflect and act responsibly and make and remake the ever-evolving future as potential 'designer philosophers'.

About this title

About the Authors

Brian Dixon is Head of Belfast School of Art, Ulster University, UK. He is the author of Dewey and Design (2020), which explores John Dewey's philosophy in relation to design research, and Design, Philosophy and Making Things Happen (2023) which examines wider design-philosophy relations in the context of design research/knowledge.

Clive Dilnot is professor of Design Studies at Parsons The New School for Design, New York, USA. Recent publications include Ethics? Design? (2005) and the text for Chris Killip: Pirelli Work (2007).

Eduardo Staszowski is Professor of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design and Director of the Parsons DESIS Lab, USA. He is the co-editor of the Designing in Dark Times, Radical Thinkers in Design, and Beyond the Modern series, and Designing in Dark Times: An Arendtian Lexicon (Bloomsbury, 2020).

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350423394
• ISBN 13: 9781350423398
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264