Responsibility in design

Citation for published version (APA):Mulder, S. (2016). Responsibility in design: applying the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon. In Proceedings ofDRS2016: Design + Research + Society - Future-Focused Thinking (Vol. 7, pp. 2809-2824). Design ResearchSociety.

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Responsibilityindesign:applyingthephilosophyofGilbertSimondon

SanderMulder

aEindhovenUniversityofTechnology,Eindhoven,TheNetherlands*Correspondingauthore-mail:s.s.mulder@tue.nlorcid.org/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.Introduction

AsaprofessionalinthefieldofdesignIhavebeenworkingonadesigncasewhereIhadtheopportunitytocombinecommercialworkwithamoreinquisitivestanceasaresearcher.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:Transduction

Let’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:Goingmoreinformedbacktothedesigncase

NowthatIammoreinformedandmaybeabletocomebacktothedesigncasefromanotherphilosophicalapproach,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.Implicationsandfutureresearch

Havingcomingbacktothedesigncase,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.Conclusion

Canwereasoninadifferentandmoreresponsiblewayasdesigners?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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