Do No Harm 2.0

Abstract

Previously, I have proposed that the current incarnation of Design and Technology, version 1.0 is outdated and requires a new manifestation in the form of Design and / or Technology 2.0. Within this context a starting position for 2.0 subsequently acknowledges that on any given day students across the globe studying a form of version 1.0 are potentially doing more harm than good. Students are being ‘processed’ into a capitalistic consumption and production mode of thinking through contrived processes of generating ‘products’ under the pretence of solving problems. In this paper, a challenge to the community, I draw on the medical Hippocratic oath of "Primum non nocere", known as "Do no harm" and consider the pragmatic, ethical and philosophical implications of adopting this principle as a central feature of 2.0.

In this paper I will also consider an alternative discourse for the current pervasive materialistic ‘outcomes’ in the context of ‘do no harm’ through challenging the anti-democratic, exploitative, perpetual rapid growth-oriented capitalist ideologies that manifest within 1.0 as ‘artefacts’, driven by self-fulfilling ‘needs and wants’. Consequently, learner accountability, liability and culpability are located as central features of a 2.0 ‘activist’ strategy that is earth and sustainability centred. A 2.0 mantra of ‘do no harm’ consequently aligns with UNESCO’s commitment to equity and transformational Education Sustainable Development through empowering lifelong learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity.