who, and why now?

I have been into philosophy since I was about 17 after a brief, but passionate (trust) love affair with politics. Despite no longer being super "into" politics, the ethics I learned and witnessed still fascinate me. I’m an advocate for socialism because of the ethical corruption that has come with capitalism. I am also transgender, which affects my ethics and worldview because somehow it is both not that hard or weird to be transgender and impossibly hard and scary to be transgender. I believe gender transition is a very eye-opening experience because of the obvious insights on gender ethics and politics, but also difficult insights on authenticity, love, and purpose. Previously in the semester I had written that my core values were humility, earnestness, tolerance, and optimism. These values impacted the questions I asked because I then approached the essays casually and honestly. I simply asked what was on my mind at the time, while trying to abandon my biases. I might have felt like I already had the answer to many questions I asked, but if I could not explain why, in a satisfactory way, then I proposed the question.

a brief sidebar about brian

A lot of what I’ve been thinking this semester has come up with my boyfriend of 4 years. Him and I do not agree on politics but we agree on ethics and values, so our conversations are always interesting but frustrating. I think him one of the most fascinating and contradictory people. He is brilliantly open minded and wise, while simultaneously being ignorantly naive and unyieldingly biased. I know being both wise and naive is not unique, but to me he seems to have the two backwards. He’s cognitive to what most are blind to, and yet, he falls for tricks most of us can see through. I think it comes from a need to go against the grain and question everything. It’s a trait I very much admire, and I believe it has helped me get more out of this class than I would have without him. A lot of my questions that have arisen this semester are often things I believe but cannot explain why if Brian were to disagree with and question me about.

how this project will work

The project will be organized by 5 major themes in which the questions I asked this semester fall into. Each theme I will explain why I kept returning to this theme and why I think it's important, to me, to designers, to anyone. At the end will be the questions I’ve asked that fit the theme. I will not go into each question or explain the context of why each specific question arose, but leave the questions as something to ponder after consideration of why they might be important.

identity

Identity is important to everyone, I’m under no pretense that my identity means more to me solely because I’m transgender. What is true though, is how much more my identity matters to others because I am transgender. Humans have problem-solving minds, which can lead to deep insecurities for ourselves, and fervent, hateful judgement for our fellow man. Identity is one of those nebulas untouchable things. We talked about this in class when discussing humility. Who are we to tell anybody what to do? I would like to tell my friend that I think she values the wrong things, but it would be quite egotistical for me to believe I know so much better than her. I have actually encountered very few people in my real life who have taken up issue with my gender identity, but on the internet, and behind my back I know of people who have great issue with it. I think it impossible for my identity to infringe on yours, whether your man, woman, christian, or conservative, because I’m me and you’re you. If someone thinks being transgender goes against their identity as a christian or a woman, then they don’t have to transition.

Why is identity-based discrimination worse than other forms of discrimination?

In what ways is identity political and why?

How can teachers instill good morals in their students without pushing their own personal views onto students?

politics and law

Halfway through the semester we had a debate about the infamous 303 Creative v. Elenis supreme court case. From my side of the debate I found it was easier to try and argue my side was legally right rather than morally right. In theory, these two things should line up more often than not. I’m not saying my side was morally wrong, but that law seems to be a way to try and simplify rules of ethics to apply as broadly as possible. The lack of nuance is what leads to disagreements, because fundamentally we most all want the same things from our laws. We all want things to be fair and we all want to be free. Leaving out so much nuance has led to mass party polarization, and ethical debates on complex laws regarding identity, autonomy, art, and religion. Things often overlap in a way that's legally impossible. The other day, Brian told me he thinks no one should be imprisoned against their will. It violates our human right to freedom and autonomy, but society needs consistent and enforceable consequences for poor behavior. In my reading and writing I ran into these overlaps, and I was grateful that I’m not a lawmaker.

How can we create laws or regulations for design that don’t restrict artistic expression, and remain relevant as technology and art advances?

Which is more ethical in application: equity or equality ?

How can we align with political movements when we are strongly against some of their core beliefs?

the future

I'm allergic to being all doom about the future of the world. It's a stoic principle that it's silly to fret about things you cannot change. That's the exact wording too, “it's silly” (lie). I did seem to ask a lot of questions about the future. I've been reading The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. Being about immortal beings who've lived so long they've seen civilizations rise and fall, they lament that “things are changing faster than they have ever before” but also “times have always been hard”. I like this sentiment because I’m skeptical if things are actually worse like everyone claims. How would any of us know? This is only our first time living. It’s wise to be aware of problems we’re facing in our modern age but I fear everyone's gotten a bit too pessimistic. A bit of historical context can really put things in perspective.

Why does progress always feel scary? And will it ever not?

Do we have to wait for ethics and politics to catch up before we make progress?

Can we expect mankind to ever reach a point of moral common-ground where technological and societal advancements do not cause massive ethical crises?

In what ways has humility seemed to decline in the 21st century?

capitalism in design

Something I’m always worried about is being a corporate shill. I really don’t like the way capitalism is currently running the world. So questions about how to make authentic work in such a world came up a lot. In Citizen Designer, McCoy talks about how corporate minimalism strips back the meaning and impact of design. I have at times been horrified by my own lack of creativity and individuality in some projects when I’m just trying to finish it quickly or get a decent grade. I would be more troubled if I was simply creating such work for a corporation that union busts or utilizes child labor. Design is side-by-side with art, design is aesthetics, art with a purpose, that means design shouldn’t be fake and lifeless– but that’s what capitalism forces design to be. As the creators we need to navigate how to reject this pressure.

How can we subtract the commercial dominance in design?

How do designers maintain the integrity of their practice when so much commercial work can be unethical?

How do we inspire the next generation of designers to do better than their predecessors? Or is there a way to inspire revolution in the industry’s current commercial artist?

Is the reason design is stripped of personality and life because of the way design is taught in school?

empathy

Empathy is something I believe more people need to be more conscious of. Empathy is naturally in all of us but due to a capitalist system, people are more and more self-serving. Not understanding what empathy is or where it originates in the body can be part of the problem. I find it hard to empathize with my friend who is dealing with mental illness that at times causes her to be mean, self-absorbed, and irresponsible. The same way many conservatives cannot empathize with me because I’m gay or transgender. Perhaps empathy is what keeps us from needlessly hurting each other. If empathized with my friend better I wouldn’t hold her poor behavior against her so much and our friendship would be better because of it. She might be kinder or more level-headed if I was a better friend towards her. Designers have a relationship with the audience, which could be an unfathomably large web of lives, and having empathy when making our work is crucial to creating a better world.

Is empathy simply ‘putting yourself in someone else’s shoes?

What is the extent of our empathy for such we cannot relate to?

How much altruism is driven by empathy vs. sympathy?

conclusion

I end this semester still thinking mostly about what kind of designer I want to be. I want to make work I’m proud of. I remember it took me a ridiculous amount of time to get through the Citizen Designer reading because I would stop every minute or two to think down a rabbit hole about my own design work. Top of mind for me is how to keep my work feeling authentic to myself. This semester has been particularly hard for me in a weird buried way, so a lot of questions I’ve asked previously are floating far above me but I’m sure they’ll float down to the surface of my mind again in the future.