Designing ethically in a complex and changing world

This volume focuses on the ethical challenges of design for public and social systems, attempting to clarify what it means to design ethically in a complex world and how it is possible to do so, within a multifaceted reality in which everything is interconnected and constantly changing. The first section of the book introduces some theoretical aspects, principles and values underlying ethical design. The second part is aimed at reflecting on the relationship between ethics and design from a phenomenological perspective. Ethics, in the philosophical sense of the term, pertains to the whole range of behaviors that individuals adopt to conduct their existence without causing damage to themselves or others, what challenges does design for public and social systems face in designing ethically? Can designers become real agents of social transformation? What kind of impact and effects do designers produce within the public and social system? How can we recognize those ethical design practices that bring about real structural change? What is the role of digital technologies? Our aim is to offer a series of critical reflections and concrete examples of the substantial effects of an ethical approach to design, with recognition of the value of otherness and the awareness of the interdependence between artifacts, individuals, societies, governments, institutions, and the planetary ecosystem.