ABSTRACT

 

This investigation is an attempt to understand the process by which we succumb to the fallacy of believing that objects are meaningful, focusing on inheritance as a case study.

 

The analysis of inheritance reveals that the problem lies not in the object itself but in the meaning the inheritor gives to it. The analysis of the theory of creation of meaning exposes that the daily habit of thinking that meaning exists independently in the object is ultimately responsible for the problems experienced by inheritors. The hypothesis therefore is that if we are aware in daily life that objects don’t have intrinsic value and that we are the ones who construct their meaning, then when the situation of inheritance comes we will be less susceptible to reification fallacy. Ultimately the aim of the research is to determine what kind of objects would be worthwhile designing for the future, with a view to inheritance. The conclusion is de-signed designs: objects that confuse the conventions of representation so that the viewer becomes aware that he is the one constructing meaning since the object itself has none.