We notice that the problems we’re trying to solve do not go away by using common sense solutions, tried-and-true rules of thumb, persistence, intuition. Such problems at first glance seem simple to understand, but on closer look they reveal their social complexity—appearing slippery, circular, unsolvable. Even the words available to describe these problems become problematic.
We maintain that such problems cannot be solved within the system in which they arise. To solve these problems we need to design and compose—to make something happen which wouldn’t happen without you. The emphasis in design is to engage in dialogue with a situation; the emphasis in composition is to bring about that which without you would not happen.
Both approaches hinge on desire.
Desire: an image of not-yet-existing reality, deliberately formed as a critical reflection on images of currently existing reality. Participants in the School for Designing a Society are invited to imagine and formulate desires for a society different from the current one. Rather than scramble for a comfy spot in the current system, spend some time with other interested people imagining and designing a system you would prefer.
Patch Adams MD & Gesundheit Institute, P.O. Box 307, Urbana, IL 61803
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