Man BITES DOG - Two paradoxes as agents of knowledge: Artefact-Accident/ Hospitality-Hostility

Abstract

Design deals with the making of the artificial, and produces new knowledge by introducing new artefacts –that may or may not be physical threedimensional products. Further understanding of these man-made creations would provide us with insight into what is accessible (hospitable) to decipherment, that is, to the sharing of knowledge. Awareness of the paradoxical relations artefact-accident and hospitalityhostility can increase our insight into the articulations between artefacts, people’s individual representations and cultural laws. This would enable the further development of theoretical models for understanding complex situations for the refinement of design practices; a privileged dimension where much knowledge production remains unformulated.