Rethinking Ethics in Design

ING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit http://designprinciplesandpractices.com/journals/collection. RESEARCH NETWORK MEMBERSHIP Authors in Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal— Annual Review are members of the Design Principles and Practices Journal Collection or a thematically related Research Network. Members receive access to journal content. To find out more, visit http://designprinciplesandpractices.com/about/become-a-member. SUBSCRIPTIONS Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal—Annual Review is available in electronic and print formats. Subscribe to gain access to content from the current year and the entire backlist. Contact us at support@cgnetworks.org. ORDERING Single articles and issues are available from the journal bookstore at https://cgscholar.com/bookstore. HYBRID OPEN ACCESS Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal—Annual Review is Hybrid Open Access, meaning authors can choose to make their articles open access. This allows their work to reach an even wider audience, broadening the dissemination of their research. To find out more, please visit http://designprinciplesandpractices.com/journals/hybrid-open-access. DISCLAIMER The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal—Annual Review Volume 12, Issue 1, 2019, https://designprinciplesandpractices.com © Common Ground, Lorenzo Imbesi, All Rights Reserved. Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org ISSN: 1833-1874 (Print), ISSN: 2473-5736 (Online) http://doi.org/###################### (Article) Rethinking Ethics in Design Lorenzo Imbesi, 1 Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Abstract: After the so-called “end of the great narrations,” together with the crisis of the paradigms of modernity, the lack of tools to decode a reality in permanent change and the call for values taken as reference for making choices, which can be political and practical at the same time, reopens the debate on the concept of ethics and the multiplicity of challenges emerging from life and society, after any “act of faith” or “ideological prescription.” The article aims at focusing the contemporary reborn of the reflection around ethics on every aspect of society, in particular for those who are committed to understanding the sense of developing projects in our postindustrial era, which is crossed by crisis and emergencies in every part. As the postindustrial era is investing in immaterial assets of knowledge, the creative labour of the mind is now considered to be the primary workforce capable of generating value. According to this, the designer assumes a critical role and responsibility, while developing visions and scenarios for the artificial organization of our future societies to come. Starting from a renewed interest around the reasons of ethics, after a deep crisis of its philosophy, the article is a contribution to understanding the theoretical shift from the cause of sustainability to the reasons of ethics and moreover to developing the critical reflection on the multiplicity of issues that design action has to face. After the so-called “end of the great narrations,” together with the crisis of the paradigms of modernity, the lack of tools to decode a reality in permanent change and the call for values taken as reference for making choices, which can be political and practical at the same time, reopens the debate on the concept of ethics and the multiplicity of challenges emerging from life and society, after any “act of faith” or “ideological prescription.” The article aims at focusing the contemporary reborn of the reflection around ethics on every aspect of society, in particular for those who are committed to understanding the sense of developing projects in our postindustrial era, which is crossed by crisis and emergencies in every part. As the postindustrial era is investing in immaterial assets of knowledge, the creative labour of the mind is now considered to be the primary workforce capable of generating value. According to this, the designer assumes a critical role and responsibility, while developing visions and scenarios for the artificial organization of our future societies to come. Starting from a renewed interest around the reasons of ethics, after a deep crisis of its philosophy, the article is a contribution to understanding the theoretical shift from the cause of sustainability to the reasons of ethics and moreover to developing the critical reflection on the multiplicity of issues that design action has to face.