Distinctions Between the Sciences, Humanities and Design

With the current emphasis on STEM education, it is important to remember the value in other forms of learning and their place in forming our culture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_thinking

Nigel Cross sets out to show the differences between the humanities, the sciences, and design in his paper Designerly Ways of Knowing. He shows that:

The phenomenon of study in each culture is

• in the sciences: the natural world
• in the humanities: human experience
• in design: the artificial world

The appropriate methods in each culture are

• in the sciences: controlled experiment, classification, analysis
• in the humanities: analogy, metaphor, evaluation
• in design: modeling, pattern-forming, synthesis

The values of each culture are

• in the sciences: objectivity, rationality, neutrality, and a concern for 'truth'
• in the humanities: subjectivity, imagination, commitment, and a concern for 'justice'
• in design: practicality, ingenuity, empathy , and a concern for 'appropriateness'^[11]