Ways of Being of Equipment: A Heideggerian Enquiry into Design Process

Authors

  • Honeylal Puthussery Satya Nilayam Research Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12726/tjp.21.3

Keywords:

Applied Heidegger, Metaphysics of Presence, Being, Design, Ontology, Ready-to-hand, Tool Analysis, Equipment

Abstract

The paper lays out an ontological enquiry into the ways of ‘being of equipment’ as analysed by Heidegger and its role in understanding the design process. Equipments are things that make up our world. It is hard to imagine living without things because our existence is thingly textured. Heidegger’s analytics of equipment far exceeds the ontic sense of things. The argument is that there is a danger when designers limit themselves with the ontic understanding of equipment. Such an understanding coaxes us to believe in the half-baked truth about equipment- an isolated instance of a piece of artifact and leave us ignorant of the equipment's character as a part of an equipment structure. An ontological reflection on equipment brings forth its relational nature and can be rewarding in several ways in improving its design process.

Author Biography

Honeylal Puthussery, Satya Nilayam Research Institute

Satya Nilayam Research Institute (University of Madras)

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Published

2019-01-01

How to Cite

Puthussery, H. (2019). Ways of Being of Equipment: A Heideggerian Enquiry into Design Process. Tattva Journal of Philosophy, 11(1), 31-52. https://doi.org/10.12726/tjp.21.3