This article proposes a model of social design inquiry directed toward shaping shared societal goals. Drawing on Dewey and McKeon, the approach is based on means-end evaluation and communication in plurality. This presents a response to the double challenge of dealing with conflicting aspirations for the future and the current need to balance differences in perspectives. The social design inquiry model provides the basis for meliorism in design insofar as it offers a way of working through these challenges by making use of imagination and deliberation.

This article introduces the special issue on Design Pragmatism and Design Inquiry by drawing attention to the key design-orientated principles found in pragmatism, detailing the content of the articles and, from this, mapping the direction for future research.

This article works outward from John Dewey's proposals in the 1920s for a reconstruction in philosophy and considers this proposal in direct relation to recent advancements in design research practice. First, it explores the current level of design philosophy engagement and looks to Dewey's original reconstruction-in-philosophy proposals. Second, it examines the potential of positioning the methodological approach of research through design as a means by which a new design philosophy horizon may be traced. What is required, we propose, is the emergence of “designer philosophers”—those who design in relation to and with respect for philosophy.

This article examines Donald Schön's positioning of reflective practice in relation to design. In particular, the focus is directed toward his presentation of the acting–thinking relationship. Questioning this presentation we turn to the work of philosopher John Dewey, who acted as one of Schön's key inspirational sources. Here, we consider Dewey's presentation of thought-in-action , artistry , and importantly, habit . We argue that a wider referencing of this material—most especially the art–habits relationship—holds the potential to expand the Schönian presentation of design, providing the field with a more nuanced modeling of what it means both to design and to become a designer.

Design research involving practice (i.e., practice-based and practice-led research) can be seen to offer a unique approach to knowledge production grounded in imagination and transformation. Yet, in spite of this apparent uniqueness, the approach largely lacks a justificatory epistemological narrative—a way of describing and qualifying its underlying theory of knowledge. It takes the view that any attempt to frame such a narrative requires deep philosophic engagement. This article aims to cohere the perspectives of three key philosophers—Dewey, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger—drawing their voices together around the coupled themes of experience-being, language-meaning, and knowing-truth and representing the whole in design terms.

This article draws an alignment between John Dewey's Pragmatism and design inquiry or, particularly, research which incorporates design practice. Three core components of Dewey's philosophy are described—namely, his theory of inquiry, his theory of communication, and his metaphysics—all of which are seen to interlink to form a unique approach to knowledge. From this, a number of key features of the approach are set out. When held in combination, it is argued that these features hold the potential to enrich the epistemological basis of design inquiry.