Abstract
This paper argues for a caring approach to design based on more-than-human empathy. It proposes that such an empathic turn can provide a useful framework for eco-systemic thinking and practice in design, because it takes into consideration the wellbeing and the rights of people but also that of non-human bodies. To do that, this paper reports on a study concerning the conception and delivery of a design Biennial, entirely created and experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gathered thinkers, practitioners, researchers and community groups to collectively discuss, scrutinise and rehearse the role of design in a post-anthropocentric, more-than-human paradigm. For that, a curatorial framework was based on the idea of revisiting empathy and conveying the idea of “designs for more than one” to interrogate and test models of relation between human and other bodies – biological, geological, mineral and machinic. This paper presents the principles and methodologies used to develop the project such as the creation of in-loco curatorial teams or the support of ongoing regional projects and reflects on the results obtained concerning the role and positioning of designers (caring, diplomatic) and audiences (critical, involved). It reflects on the Biennial’s contribution to advance the field of design, offering a more-than-human empathy approach as framework for design practices that respond to the current multi crises whilst recognising their complexity opening research threads for future exploration.
Keywords
empathy, design, more-than-human, ecosystemic
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.407
Citation
Pestana, M.(2023) More than human empathy: a caring approach to ecosystemic design, in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.407
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
fullpapers
Included in
More than human empathy: a caring approach to ecosystemic design
This paper argues for a caring approach to design based on more-than-human empathy. It proposes that such an empathic turn can provide a useful framework for eco-systemic thinking and practice in design, because it takes into consideration the wellbeing and the rights of people but also that of non-human bodies. To do that, this paper reports on a study concerning the conception and delivery of a design Biennial, entirely created and experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gathered thinkers, practitioners, researchers and community groups to collectively discuss, scrutinise and rehearse the role of design in a post-anthropocentric, more-than-human paradigm. For that, a curatorial framework was based on the idea of revisiting empathy and conveying the idea of “designs for more than one” to interrogate and test models of relation between human and other bodies – biological, geological, mineral and machinic. This paper presents the principles and methodologies used to develop the project such as the creation of in-loco curatorial teams or the support of ongoing regional projects and reflects on the results obtained concerning the role and positioning of designers (caring, diplomatic) and audiences (critical, involved). It reflects on the Biennial’s contribution to advance the field of design, offering a more-than-human empathy approach as framework for design practices that respond to the current multi crises whilst recognising their complexity opening research threads for future exploration.