m.n.mclain@ljmu.ac.uk
Ludwig Wittgenstein
“… what is the use of studying philosophy if all
that it does for you is to enable you to talk with
some plausibility about some abstruse questions
of logic, etc., and if it does not improve your
thinking about the important questions of
everyday life…”
Why Philosophy of D&T?
 Expert Panel (DFE, 2011) “… weaker epistemological
roots”?
Design thinking
 Public perceptions of D&T
 What are the bodies of
knowledge in D&T?
 holistic and overlapping
 embedded in ACTION
 NC 2014 – design,
make, evaluate, technical
knowledge
Technologies
and
techniques
Products and
people
Some challenges for D&T
 Western philosophy
 Division of mind and body / thought and
action
 “the desire for something more sustainable that
decomposing materials…” (Sennett, 2008: 124)
 Academic/vocational ‘divide’
 Our own propensity for getting stuff
done and solving problems!
John Dewey
“The point of philosophy is not make theory
practical, the point is to make practice
intelligent…”
“… natural course of development… always sets
out with situations which involve learning by
doing." (Dewey, 1916, 2001: 192)
What is unique about D&T?
 Practical and creative
 Products, systems and services
 Designing (and making)
 “… innovative, functional, appealing
products…” NC Programme of Study
2014
Larry Hickman
“Technology in its most robust sense... Involves
the invention, development, and cognitive
development tool and other artifacts, brought to
bear on raw materials and intermediate stock
parts, with a view to the resolution of perceived
problems.”
W Brian Arthur
Technology is…
D&T
 Complex and has multiple
meanings/layers
 Combination and
Structure – technology
building on technology
(i.e. advances)
 Observing and harnessing
phenomena
 Science helps us
understand, but
technological activity
comes first
wants
Lev Vygotsky
“technology and social organization... are the
basic factors in the development of primitive
man” (Vygotsky & Luria, 1993)
Luria, A. R., & Vygotsky, L. S. (1930/1993). Studies on the history of
behavior: ape, primitive, and child. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Socio-technological Human
Activity
Where does D&T fit?
Why?
The
Curriculum
m.n.mclain@ljmu.ac.uk