The Nature of Design Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention

by Orr, David W.

• ISBN13: 9780195173680
• ISBN10: 0195173686
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The environmental movement has often been accused of being overly negative--trying to stop "progress." The Nature of Design, on the other hand, is about starting things, specifically an ecological design revolution that changes how we provide food, shelter, energy, materials, and livelihood,and how we deal with waste. Ecological design is an emerging field that aims to recalibrate what humans do in the world according to how the world works as a biophysical system. Design in this sense is a large concept having to do as much with politics and ethics as with buildings and technology. The book begins by describing the scope of design, comparing it to the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Subsequent chapters describe barriers to a design revolution inherent in our misuse of language, the clockspeed of technological society, and shortsighted politics. Orr goes on to describe thecritical role educational institutions might play in fostering design intelligence and what he calls "a higher order of heroism." Appropriately, the book ends on themes of charity, wilderness, and the rights of children. Astute yet broadly appealing, The Nature of Design combines theory, practicality, and a call to action.

Author Biography

David W. Orr is Professor and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College.

Table of Contents

The Problem of Ecological Design
Introduction: The Design of Culture and the Culture of Design	p. 3
Human Ecology as a Problem of Ecological Design	p. 13
Pathologies and Barriers
Slow Knowledge	p. 35
Speed	p. 43
Verbicide	p. 53
Technological Fundamentalism	p. 61
Ideasclerosis	p. 68
Ideasclerosis, Continued	p. 75
The Politics of Design
None So Blind: The Problem of Ecological Denial	p. 85
Twine in the Baler	p. 91
Conservation and Conservatism	p. 97
A Politics Worthy of the Name	p. 104
The Limits of Nature and the Educational Nature of Limits	p. 118
Design as Pedagogy
Architecture and Education	p. 127
The Architecture of Science	p. 135
2020: A Proposal	p. 143
Education, Careers, and Callings	p. 152
A Higher Order of Heroism	p. 160
Charity, Wildness, and Children
The Ecology of Giving and Consuming	p. 171
The Great Wilderness Debate, Again	p. 187
Loving Children: The Political Economy of Design	p. 198
Bibliography	p. 221
Index	p. 233
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