Design, counter-conduct, and algorithms
for a politics of disobedient forms of life
Keywords:
Philosophy of design, Art and design for disobedience, Society of subtle control, Disobedient forms of life
Abstract
In this study, we propose to think of design as the capacity to conceive critical and disobedient ways of life. To this end, in the first section, we outline how part of utilitarian design is conceived from the concept of obedience, shaping behaviors and modes of being. Based on a historical view of the philosophy of design and examples of what we consider the practices of disobedient artists and designers, we address both the concept of disobedience and modes of counter-conduct as ways of escaping the subtle control of algorithms. Finally, we reflect on the possibilities of designing disobedient ways of life from forms of being-in-the-world closer to art and live performances that focus on corporeality, which allows us to perceive that the most disobedient way of life involves a more critical life that understands the value of being-with other beings in a more situated way.
References
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BUTLER, J. Discurso de ódio: uma política do performativo. São Paulo: Editora Unesp, 2021.
BUTLER, J. Critique, dissent, disciplinarity. Critical Inquiry, v. 35, n. 4, 2009, p. 773-795. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1086/599590. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
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DUNNE, A.; RABY, F. Speculative everything: design, fiction, and social dreaming. Cambridge; London: The Mit Press, 2013.
DWORKIN, G. Paternalism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020. Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Disponível em: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/paternalism/. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
ESCOBAR, A. Autonomía y diseño: la realización de lo comunal. Popayán: Editorial Universidad del Cauca, 2016.
ESCOBAR, A. Designs for the pluriverse: radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Durham; London: Duke University Press, 2018.
FLOOD, C.; GRINDON, G. (eds.). Disobedient objects. London: V&A Publishing, 2014.
FLUSSER, V. Towards a philosophy of photography. London: Reaktion Books, 2000.
FRANSSEN, M.; BUCCIARELLI, L. L. On rationality in engineering design. Journal of Mechanical Design, v. 126, n. 6, 2004, p. 945-949. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1803850. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
FRY, T. Defuturing: a new design philosophy. London: Bloomsbury, 2018.
KROES, P. Technical artefacts: creations of mind and matter, Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2012.
KROES, P.; VERBEEK, P.-P. (eds.). The moral status of technical artefacts. Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2014.
KROHS, U.; KROES, P. (eds.) Functions in biological and artificial worlds: comparative philosophical perspectives. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2009.
FOUCAULT, M. The subject and power. Critical Inquiry, v. 8, n. 4, 1982, p. 777-795. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1086/448181. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
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FOUCAULT, M. Segurança, território, população: curso dado no Collège de France (1977-1978). São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2008.
FOUCAULT, M. What is critique?. In: LOTRINGER, S. (ed.). The politics of truth. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e), 2007, p. 41-81.
FOUCAULT, M. Do governo dos vivos: Curso no Collège de France, 1979-1980 (excertos). São Paulo; Rio de Janeiro: Centro de Cultura; Achiamé, 2011.
FRANSSEN, M., KROES, P., REYDON, T. A. C.; VERMAAS, P. E. (eds.). Artefact kinds: ontology and the human-made world. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2014.
FRANSSEN, M., LOKHORST, G.-J.; VAN DE POEL, I. Philosophy of technology. In: ZALTA, E. N.; NODELMAN, U. (eds.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2023. Disponível em: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/technology/. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
FRANZATO, C. Design as speculation. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 9, n. 1, 2011, p. 23-39. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871311X13968752924392. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
NOCEK, A. Governmental designing: on the transcendental mediation of the algorithm. In: FRY, T.; NOCEK, A. (eds.). Design in crisis: new worlds, philosophies and practices. London; New York: Routledge, 2020, p. 113-136.
GROS, F. Desobedecer. São Paulo: Ubu Editora, 2018.
HAN, B-C. O desaparecimento dos rituais: uma topologia do presente. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2021.
HARMAN, G. Technology, objects and things in Heidegger. Cambridge Journal of Economics, v. 34, n. 1, 2010, p. 17-25. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/bep021. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
HEIDEGGER, M. Ser e tempo. Campinas; Petrópolis: Editora da Unicamp; Vozes, 2012b.
HEIDEGGER, M. A questão da técnica. Ensaios e conferências. 8. ed. Petrópolis; Bragança Paulista: Vozes; Editora Universitária São Francisco, 2012b. p. 11–38.
IHDE, D. Technology and science. In: OLSEN, J. K. B.; PEDERSEN, S. A.; HENDRICKS, V. F. (eds.). A companion to the philosophy of technology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, p. 51-60.
LATOUR, B. On technical mediation — philosophy, sociology, genealogy. Common Knowledge, v. 3, n. 2, 1994, p. 29-64. Disponível em: http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/default/files/54-TECHNIQUES-GB.pdf. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
LORENZINI, D. Foucault, regimes of truth and the making of the subject. In: CREMONESI, L. et. al. (eds.). Foucault and the making of subjects. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, p. 63-75.
KHADILKAR, P.; JAGTAP, S. Can design be non-paternalistic? Conceptualizing paternalism in the design profession. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, v. 7, n. 4, 2021, p. 589-610. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2021.09.001. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
MALPASS, M. Critical design in context: history, theory, and practices. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
MICHELSEN, A. Prototopologias emergentes do design o artifício da situação, do ambiente e da relação em futuros antropo[ex]cêntricos. In: PORTUGAL, D.B.; KUSSLER, L.M.; HAGGE, W. (eds.). Quando fazer é pensar: conectando design e filosofia. Rio de Janeiro: PPDESDI, 2023. p. 176-209.
NORMAN, D. A.; DRAPER, S. W. (eds.). User centered system design: new perspectives on human-computer interaction. Hillsdale; London: LEA, 1986.
PEVSNER, N. Pioneers of modern design: from William Morris to Walter Gropius. London: Penguin Books, 1960.
RICHTER, B. Poster design as a political act: on Vincent Perrotte’s poster series Travaille d’abord, tu t’amuseras ensuite. In: ROGGER, B.; VOEGELI, J.; WIDMER, R. (eds.). Protest: the aesthetics of resistance. Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers; Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK; Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, 2018, p. 258-271.
ROCHI, M. Technology paternalism and smart products: review, synthesis, and research agenda. Technological forecasting and social change, v. 192, 2023, e122557. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122557. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
SIMON, H. A. The sciences of the artificial. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press, 1996.
THARP, B. M.; THARP, S. M. Discursive design: critical, speculative, and alternative things. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press, 2018.
VALLOR, S. (ed.). The Oxford handbook of philosophy of technology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
VAN DEN HOVEN, J.; VERMAAS, P. E.; VAN DE POEL, I. Handbook of ethics, values, and technological design: sources, theory, values and application domains. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2015.
VERBEEK, P.-P. What things do: philosophical reflections on technology, agency, and design. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
VERMAAS, P.; KROES, P.; LIGHT, A.; MOORE, S. A. (eds.). Philosophy and design: from engineering to architecture. Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2008.
VERMAAS, P. E.; VIAL, S. (eds.). Advancements in the philosophy of design. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018.
WILLIS, A.-M. Ontological designing. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 4, n. 2, 2006, p. 69-92. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871306X13966268131514. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
WILLIS, A.-M. Designing Back from the Future. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 12, n. 2, 2014, p. 151-160. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871314X14159818597595. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
BUTLER, J. Discurso de ódio: uma política do performativo. São Paulo: Editora Unesp, 2021.
BUTLER, J. Critique, dissent, disciplinarity. Critical Inquiry, v. 35, n. 4, 2009, p. 773-795. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1086/599590. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
BUTLER, J. Corpos em aliança e a política das ruas: notas para uma teoria performativa de assembleia. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2018.
CALLÉN, B., MARTÍNEZ MORANT; M. M.; RISPOLI, E. R. Editorial — (Re) diseño desobediente: recrear mundos y abrir posibles. Inmaterial: Diseño, Arte y Sociedad, v. 3, n. 5, 2018, p. 5-19. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.46516/inmaterial.v3.44. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
DORRESTIJN, S. Technical mediation and subjectivation: tracing and extending Foucault’s philosophy of technology. Philosophy & Technology, v. 25, 2012, p. 221-241. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-011-0057-0. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
DUNNE, A.; RABY, F. Speculative everything: design, fiction, and social dreaming. Cambridge; London: The Mit Press, 2013.
DWORKIN, G. Paternalism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020. Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Disponível em: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/paternalism/. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
ESCOBAR, A. Autonomía y diseño: la realización de lo comunal. Popayán: Editorial Universidad del Cauca, 2016.
ESCOBAR, A. Designs for the pluriverse: radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Durham; London: Duke University Press, 2018.
FLOOD, C.; GRINDON, G. (eds.). Disobedient objects. London: V&A Publishing, 2014.
FLUSSER, V. Towards a philosophy of photography. London: Reaktion Books, 2000.
FRANSSEN, M.; BUCCIARELLI, L. L. On rationality in engineering design. Journal of Mechanical Design, v. 126, n. 6, 2004, p. 945-949. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1803850. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
FRY, T. Defuturing: a new design philosophy. London: Bloomsbury, 2018.
KROES, P. Technical artefacts: creations of mind and matter, Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2012.
KROES, P.; VERBEEK, P.-P. (eds.). The moral status of technical artefacts. Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2014.
KROHS, U.; KROES, P. (eds.) Functions in biological and artificial worlds: comparative philosophical perspectives. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2009.
FOUCAULT, M. The subject and power. Critical Inquiry, v. 8, n. 4, 1982, p. 777-795. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1086/448181. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
FOUCAULT, M. Omnes et Singulatim: uma crítica da razão política. In: ______. Ditos e escritos IV: Estratégia, poder-saber. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Forense Universitária, 2006. p. 355-385.
FOUCAULT, M. Segurança, território, população: curso dado no Collège de France (1977-1978). São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2008.
FOUCAULT, M. What is critique?. In: LOTRINGER, S. (ed.). The politics of truth. Los Angeles: Semiotext(e), 2007, p. 41-81.
FOUCAULT, M. Do governo dos vivos: Curso no Collège de France, 1979-1980 (excertos). São Paulo; Rio de Janeiro: Centro de Cultura; Achiamé, 2011.
FRANSSEN, M., KROES, P., REYDON, T. A. C.; VERMAAS, P. E. (eds.). Artefact kinds: ontology and the human-made world. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2014.
FRANSSEN, M., LOKHORST, G.-J.; VAN DE POEL, I. Philosophy of technology. In: ZALTA, E. N.; NODELMAN, U. (eds.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2023. Disponível em: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/technology/. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
FRANZATO, C. Design as speculation. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 9, n. 1, 2011, p. 23-39. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871311X13968752924392. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
NOCEK, A. Governmental designing: on the transcendental mediation of the algorithm. In: FRY, T.; NOCEK, A. (eds.). Design in crisis: new worlds, philosophies and practices. London; New York: Routledge, 2020, p. 113-136.
GROS, F. Desobedecer. São Paulo: Ubu Editora, 2018.
HAN, B-C. O desaparecimento dos rituais: uma topologia do presente. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2021.
HARMAN, G. Technology, objects and things in Heidegger. Cambridge Journal of Economics, v. 34, n. 1, 2010, p. 17-25. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/bep021. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
HEIDEGGER, M. Ser e tempo. Campinas; Petrópolis: Editora da Unicamp; Vozes, 2012b.
HEIDEGGER, M. A questão da técnica. Ensaios e conferências. 8. ed. Petrópolis; Bragança Paulista: Vozes; Editora Universitária São Francisco, 2012b. p. 11–38.
IHDE, D. Technology and science. In: OLSEN, J. K. B.; PEDERSEN, S. A.; HENDRICKS, V. F. (eds.). A companion to the philosophy of technology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, p. 51-60.
LATOUR, B. On technical mediation — philosophy, sociology, genealogy. Common Knowledge, v. 3, n. 2, 1994, p. 29-64. Disponível em: http://www.bruno-latour.fr/sites/default/files/54-TECHNIQUES-GB.pdf. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
LORENZINI, D. Foucault, regimes of truth and the making of the subject. In: CREMONESI, L. et. al. (eds.). Foucault and the making of subjects. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, p. 63-75.
KHADILKAR, P.; JAGTAP, S. Can design be non-paternalistic? Conceptualizing paternalism in the design profession. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, v. 7, n. 4, 2021, p. 589-610. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2021.09.001. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
MALPASS, M. Critical design in context: history, theory, and practices. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
MICHELSEN, A. Prototopologias emergentes do design o artifício da situação, do ambiente e da relação em futuros antropo[ex]cêntricos. In: PORTUGAL, D.B.; KUSSLER, L.M.; HAGGE, W. (eds.). Quando fazer é pensar: conectando design e filosofia. Rio de Janeiro: PPDESDI, 2023. p. 176-209.
NORMAN, D. A.; DRAPER, S. W. (eds.). User centered system design: new perspectives on human-computer interaction. Hillsdale; London: LEA, 1986.
PEVSNER, N. Pioneers of modern design: from William Morris to Walter Gropius. London: Penguin Books, 1960.
RICHTER, B. Poster design as a political act: on Vincent Perrotte’s poster series Travaille d’abord, tu t’amuseras ensuite. In: ROGGER, B.; VOEGELI, J.; WIDMER, R. (eds.). Protest: the aesthetics of resistance. Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers; Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK; Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, 2018, p. 258-271.
ROCHI, M. Technology paternalism and smart products: review, synthesis, and research agenda. Technological forecasting and social change, v. 192, 2023, e122557. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122557. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
SIMON, H. A. The sciences of the artificial. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press, 1996.
THARP, B. M.; THARP, S. M. Discursive design: critical, speculative, and alternative things. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press, 2018.
VALLOR, S. (ed.). The Oxford handbook of philosophy of technology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
VAN DEN HOVEN, J.; VERMAAS, P. E.; VAN DE POEL, I. Handbook of ethics, values, and technological design: sources, theory, values and application domains. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2015.
VERBEEK, P.-P. What things do: philosophical reflections on technology, agency, and design. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
VERMAAS, P.; KROES, P.; LIGHT, A.; MOORE, S. A. (eds.). Philosophy and design: from engineering to architecture. Dordrecht: Springer Dordrecht, 2008.
VERMAAS, P. E.; VIAL, S. (eds.). Advancements in the philosophy of design. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018.
WILLIS, A.-M. Ontological designing. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 4, n. 2, 2006, p. 69-92. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871306X13966268131514. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
WILLIS, A.-M. Designing Back from the Future. Design Philosophy Papers, v. 12, n. 2, 2014, p. 151-160. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.2752/144871314X14159818597595. Acesso em: 17 nov. 2025.
Published
2026-03-06
How to Cite
Marques Kussler, L., & Beccari, M. (2026). Design, counter-conduct, and algorithms: for a politics of disobedient forms of life. Virtualia Journal, 1, 114-140. https://doi.org/10.5281/v.j.v1i.8348
Section
ARTIGOS
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