Mitcham’s Fourth: a case for foregrounding volition when framing Design and Technology Education

In his 1994 text "Thinking Through Technology: the path between engineering and philosophy", Carl Mitcham presented a typology of four ‘modes of manifestation of technology’: as object; as knowledge; as activity; and, as volition. In line with Mitcham’s
own position at the time (and more recently), this paper takes as a premise that the first three of these dominate Design and Technology (D&T) curriculum in traditional and restrictive
ways.

The paper first presents a brief overview of the text and the first three modes; second, presents some philosophical context to the concept of volition; third, reflects in greater depth
on ‘technology as volition’; and, fourth, sketches a case for foregrounding volition in D&T educational thinking and practice. On its journey, the paper explores concepts of (free) will, choice, decision-making, motivation, intention, human expression, individual and social enterprise, technological (non-)neutrality and incontinence (in Mitcham’s sense of the word).

The paper is a contribution to the general education case for D&T curricula to take dynamic, humanistic and holistic forms rather than restricted technical-instrumental or purely realist forms.