Gerontodesign Method Part 2

We must conquer the truth with conjecture, or we can not conquer

Charles S. Peirce

The research method that encompasses this project is the abductive method,
developed by Charles S. Peirce. The traditional method or deductive and inductivemethod, usually closed to the possibilities of imagination and intuition to get tosomething that could hinder the true user-centered design (which will be discussed in the following pages)

For Peirce there are unconscious processes that the brain takes place to form a hypothesis, it is said that the different elements of a hypothesis are in our mind before we are aware of having made. We clarify that the hypothesis of this research is not aperceptual judgment, but an abductive inference as this was subject to logical analysis.


This method is iterative and goes close observation to meditation or contemplation in a back and forth between the two. Charles S. Peirce tells us that "the sciences havebeen developed separately from the useful arts or the arts that are supposed useful,"with this statement, Peirce is one of the authors indicated (personal judgment) for the development of a design project, because as we know the design has been always in the middle of science and art.


It is said that the abductive method belongs to the processes of imagination and intuition and therefore its validity is rebuttable, but if we go deeper we will know aboutthe abductive method and pragmatism go hand in hand, as Charles S. Peirce is considered one of the fathers of pragmatism. Pragmatism is based on the principle that is true only what works, besides that rejects absolute truths, ideas are tentative and we can say that hypothesis testing will be subject to changes that will underliefuture research.


For all of that we start to thinking that the pragmatism will be something good for the design process, because the people change, the designer change, designing is not about numbers, designing is about people.


As you know, here in Mexico, we are looking forward to create some gerontodesign strategies, that will be posted in this blog. We could say that the hypothesis of our investigation is the conjecture one, the tests are the gerontodesign strategies and the subsequent conjectures are the testing strategies by induction in an iterative process.


The testing of the abductive method will be using the induction process, in which in an empiric way we will put in practice the conjectures or gerontodesign strategies!




:) keep reading!