A Sense of Design: The Embedded Motives of Nature, Culture, and Future - Principia Designae: Pre-Design, Design, and Post-Design - page 52

creativity” is necessary if we are to go beyond past designs and educate ourselves to
solve societal problems created by humanity.
To develop such “design creativity,” it is important to distinguish the essential
issues and establish a suitable methodology to cultivate design thinking. Multiple
views are required to process design thinking; however, education programs might
misunderstand what is meant by “interdisciplinary.” Neither T-type nor π -type
integration between multiple disciplines is enough to foster “a deep thinker.” This
discussion indicates the importance of fostering “deep design thinkers” who are
socially motivated and “committed” to drive advanced society into the future.
These notions of commitment represent the soul of socially minded participants.
4.4.2 Actions Toward the Future
Will we not regret our actions if we leave a human-made world of difficult problems
for our children? In engineering and architecture, “design” in a physical regard is
defined as something that changes a problematic situation into a preferred one. So
far, how have recent engineering and other design domains contributed to averting
the difficulties our children face?
The last part of this chapter discusses the meaningful roles academics can play to
create a more sustainable and ideal advanced society in regard to not only the
pragmatic, but also the ethical, meaning of the Pre-Design, Design, and Post-Design
phases. To encourage academia to deepen its commitment to society, a draft action
plan based on “design creativity” that contributes to our future society is considered
in the last section. In the future, an ideal design community will be formed by
academia and society; however, many uncertainties remain that should be clarified
to ensure a link between academia and society. For example, the responsibility for a
design discourse is a complicated problem.
The challenge of connecting science and ethics is becoming a more common
issue in academia, especially in the cognitive science field of the human and social
sciences (Johnson 2010 ). Profound knowledge of total design, as well as the
courageous action of academics, is required to balance science and ethics in design.
Currently, academics play a more important role in defining programs that
develop design thinkers than in educating good engineers, technologists, and
scientists who are already industry-ready. To play that role and answer the afore-
mentioned call made by a girl representing a children's eco group 20 years ago, we
must first carefully check the results of previous designs driven by our society.
Second, we need to consider if lost human technology and knowledge holds clues
that can solve humanity's embedded problems that have changed nature, formed
culture, and designed our present society.
This action plan will connect business opportunities with present needs. How-
ever, other issues not provided by teams or users should also be considered. For
example, animals, plant species, the knowledge of traditional architects, the intan-
gible properties of handcrafts and art should be protected. Further, to develop a