As previously mentioned in the Taxonomy, design is participatory, not just critical. The concept of ‘sufferer’ proposes a list of actions for human development through designers who listen to the world around them, understand it, and empathize holistically—introducing a new perspective relying on different processes and tools.
In the modern world, everything is uncontained due to overconsumption, inequalities, waste production, nihilism, or even worse, lost direction (Thackara, 2005). Designers must understand that if humanity designed its way into this mess, it's also collectively possible to configure a new protocol. Transitioning to change the current situation into a preferred one.
Diversity is an asset that may never stand the test of reality. Being competitive and selfish is embedded in human nature (Rifkin, 2016, p. 88). Giving equal importance to various backgrounds, beliefs, and practices are essential factors to grow teams and foster collaboration through inclusion. Putting yourself in the shoes of another person is not enough. Understanding what makes them suffer, what truly makes them feel pain, is the right approach towards comprehending empathy itself.
Empathy is continuously misused as a one size fits all approach to intolerance, lack of conviviality, and even racism. The world understands that accepting diversity and practicing empathy is essential for improvement, yet new means of prejudice, such as culturism distract humankind from focusing on the uniqueness of all people (Harari, 2018).
Acknowledging the lack of relationality and conviviality in the world is part of being human too. If more people understand they can design their life, and influence others, older segregational traditions, such as universal access to education, will be weakened (Manzini, 2015). The way design is applied through culture, education, and practice determines its cognitive output in society, affecting the way the world influences designers back. Respecting the agency of every person vis-a-vis with living organisms in the world enforces relationality and a sustained environment. The appreciation for ‘self-conscious’ moments of behavior (Foucault & Martin, 1988) and the communal contribution to the planet, is another approach to conviviality (D'Anjou, 2019).
The Transformation Era is bringing the resurgence of "communal worlds, communal logics and communal forms of politics" (Escobar, 2018, p. 95). To this end, Ivan Illich (1973) published a list of ‘Tools for Conviviality' which compiled many of his conclusions and critiques in ways of thinking, living, and production, that led to the self-destruction of all societies. Illich's argument was that the Tools developed during the Industrial Era slaved the human condition and restricted communal benefits. He advised giving people new means to enhance their right for freedom. His approach aligns with this research and Design Taxonomy's ultimate purpose, which suggests "guidelines for action, not just fantasy" (p. 27).
References:
· d’Anjou, P. (2019). The Existential Self as the Locus of Sustainability in Design. The Design Philosophy Reader(London: Bloomsbury).
· Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the pluriverse : radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Durham: Duke University Press.
· Foucault, M., Martin, L. H., Gutman, H., & Hutton, P. H. (1988). Technologies of the self : a seminar with Michel Foucault. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
· Illich, I. (1973). Tools for conviviality ([1st ed.]. ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
· Manzini, E., & Coad, R. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation.
· Rifkin, J. (2016). The empathic civilization: the race to global consciousness in a world in crisis. Polity.
· Thackara, J. (2005). In the bubble : designing in a complex world. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
· d’Anjou, P. (2019). The Existential Self as the Locus of Sustainability in Design. The Design Philosophy Reader(London: Bloomsbury).
· Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the pluriverse : radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Durham: Duke University Press.
· Foucault, M., Martin, L. H., Gutman, H., & Hutton, P. H. (1988). Technologies of the self : a seminar with Michel Foucault. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
· Illich, I. (1973). Tools for conviviality ([1st ed.]. ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
· Manzini, E., & Coad, R. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation.
· Rifkin, J. (2016). The empathic civilization: the race to global consciousness in a world in crisis. Polity.
· Thackara, J. (2005). In the bubble : designing in a complex world. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.