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Dialogues - Seven Voices

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Dialogues
Seven Voices



Humane Village Journal Volume 2, 1995

Compiled by
Alexander Manu

 

 

 

Several years ago I began collecting quotes that inspired me. They were comments and thoughts about life, humanity and design that I encountered in books, lectures and journals. The people who originated these quotes spanned every continent, several centuries and many professions and disciplines.

In the Humane Village Journal 1, I presented hundreds of these quotes, organized by subject, creating a sort of print discussion in which some of histories greatest thinkers, politicians, philosophers, designers and writers seem to be exchanging thoughts on design, society and the future.

This time around I have narrowed the focus somewhat, selecting thoughts from just seven 'participants' - seven people who have devoted their lives to studying and writing about social issues.

The Humane Village is in part and attempt to find the role of design in a new alternative society. Design can be a powerful tool for change. But in many ways design today is merely a cog in a larger industrial machine. In order to fully realize its positive power, we must examine the potential of design as a tool for living; as a first step, we should look at the workings and the needs of society..

The quotes that follow are an arbitrary selection based upon my values. They are an important step in re-assessing a society that will eventually become the Humane Village.

 
 
Alexander Manu
 

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© 199 5 The Humane Village Centre for Compassionate Design

The Humane Village Centre for Compassionate Design is a not for profit organization.
Its objectives are:
• to promote the philosophy of design known as the "Humane Village" among designers, manufacturers and consumers through the publication of
material and the holding of seminars and conferences.
• to develop methods and advise corporations and consumers on issues related to socially responsible design;
• to promote and establish a network of interested parties and organizations.
Sources
 
Arendt, Hannah. 1965. The Human Condition; University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London.
Berry, Thomas. 1990. The Dream of the Earth; Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.
Ellul, Jacques. 1970. The Technological Society ;Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Gaylin, Willard. 1991. On Being and Becoming Human; Penguin Books.
Lasch, Christopher. 1979. The Culture of Narcissism - American Life in An Age of Diminishing Expectations; W.W. Norton & Company.
Montessori, Maria. 1989. The Absorbent Mind; Dell Publishing.
Roszak, Theodore. 1994. The Cult of Information.- A Neo-Luddite Treatise on High-Tech, Artificial Intelligence, and the true art of thinking; University of California Press, Berkley, Second Edition.