Conceptual impressions surrounding this post have yet to be substantiated, corroborated, confirmed or woven into a larger argument or network. Objective: To generate symbolic links between scientific discovery, design awareness and consciousness.
Symbolic projection and reflection are how we learn to experience our own true nature. Each projection and reaction entertain the desire to symbolically justify to ourselves who we are. We attempt to explain our inner life by casting our reflection into space and time. Our very being senses life as a symbolic journey towards a greater understanding that can only be discovered through experience. In Life we sometimes experience ourselves as living in another dimension that symbolically represents itself in 3D space/time.
This inner being exists within and beyond human comprehension. It is more felt than understood. Yet, because of the symbolic nature of design we can experience, discover and interpret for ourselves certain aspects of this internal mystery. The more mysterious and hidden the circumstance the more complex the challenge becomes.
Design consciousness is based upon the premise that what we perceive outside of ourselves, i.e. the outer objective world, has a corresponding and symbolic relationship with what lies cloaked within us. It is here where the symbolism that is attributed to design consciousness becomes analogous with the unknown mystery of Being. Design clarifies our understanding of ourselves and our surroundings.
Please note that the symbolic interpretation of these projected events are more felt than understood. This is because the mind is unable to grasp the vastness surrounding the concept of Being. The mind has the tendency to invite separateness and therefore create a symbolic disconnect with who we really are. Our mind has the potential to detach us from the symbolic reality that connects us to the Universe. The same vehicle that supports us is in our journey towards greater understanding of our objective world, is also capable of creating division and distortion in our inner world. This can bring great difficulty if we mistakenly identify ourselves (self) with our mind rather than with our deep-seated connection, i.e. feeling, to Being.
How we think and how we feel about ourselves are constantly being projected, reflected upon and internally interpreted. Each projection of our self also carries a certain intention (desire) supported by earlier experiences. Generally, these intentions are designed to reinforce past belief systems patterned about a series of earlier interpretations. These projections color every evaluation of ourselves and others. These same symbolic projections affect how we perceive and interact with the world. If not satisfied with what we subconsciously feel or recognize, our mind will be inclined to return to an earlier “situation”*. We tend to support past outcomes and interpretations thereby reinforcing, protecting and reassuring our ego that it has a major role in our interpretation of consciousness.
* 3D space/time creates the timeline and dimension necessary to trigger the mind into remembering situations that once surrounded a particular event and/or experience.
We often purposely reinforce our belief systems by actively supporting previously pre-conditioned expectations. In this fashion we avoid internal conflict by supporting what the mind would consider the status quo. Some find it simpler to shelter themselves from the truth by accepting the patterns of a particular belief system in a mindless fashion without question. When what we sense and desire doesn’t meet expectations, we tend to reinforce the very same patterns that originally conditioned our thinking, i.e. ego ... facts or no facts. In some circumstances it can seem much easier that way. Generally, we tend to pre-condition our expectations and react rather than absorb and fully consider these impressions before we respond to a situation.
Preconceptions appear as forces that can seriously distort our experiences. Preconceptions can contaminate our perceptions, condition our thinking and perpetuate belief systems that can stifle our inner quest to discover who we are. In essence, preconceptions can distort our internal projections and interpretations thereby restraining our ability to expand in attaining a design consciousness.
Preconceptions can result in the ego maintaining a dominance over consciousness by means of focusing upon past conditioning. To expand experience, i.e. consciousness, and likewise our design awareness, we must do so without preconception.
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Symbolic Projection, Consciousness, and the Interplay of Inner and Outer Reality
Human beings are inherently symbolic creatures, continuously engaged in the act of projection and reflection to make sense of their inner and outer worlds. These projections are not arbitrary; they are embedded with intention, filtered through individual and collective semiotic systems that seek to justify or illuminate the nature of the self. As such, symbolic projection operates as both a psychological and metaphysical act—an attempt to externalize interiority through the scaffolding of space, time, and design.
From the standpoint of metaphysics, these projections serve as a bridge between being and becoming. The self, as posited by Heidegger (1962), is not merely a rational entity but Dasein—a being whose very existence is constituted through engagement with the world. In this view, symbolic projection becomes a metaphysical necessity, a means through which Being reveals itself, albeit partially and often opaquely.
Quantum physics provides a compelling metaphor for understanding the duality of perception and reality. Just as particles exhibit different behaviors depending on the observer (Heisenberg, 1958), so too does human consciousness influence the symbolic structure of perceived reality. The observer effect in quantum mechanics underscores the participatory role of the individual in shaping experience—an idea echoed in theories of consciousness that suggest perception is not passive but creative (Wheeler, 1990).
Within the realm of semiotics, every act of projection is a signifying process. According to Peirce's triadic model (1991), signs operate through the interaction of the representamen, the object, and the interpretant. When one projects a symbolic image of the self into the external world, it functions simultaneously as an icon (mirroring the self), an index (pointing to past experience), and a symbol (constructed through learned associations). These signs are recursively interpreted through affect and cognition, shaping one’s identity over time.
Psychologically, this process is closely linked to Jungian ideas of individuation and shadow projection. Jung (1959) maintained that unacknowledged aspects of the psyche are often projected onto the world, especially when those elements are dissonant with one’s conscious self-image. Thus, projection serves not merely as avoidance but also as a guidepost—revealing what is unintegrated within.
Design theory enters this discourse by offering a framework through which symbolic projection is made tangible. Design is not only about form and function; it is an expressive act that externalizes the interior landscape of the designer. In what might be termed design consciousness, the outer world becomes a mirror of inner states—a space where metaphysical realities can be interpreted and understood. Buchanan (2001) suggests that design, in its essence, is a rhetorical practice that constructs meaning across material, visual, and conceptual domains.
Crucially, symbolic experiences are often “felt” more than “understood.” This is because the rational mind, trained in dualism and linearity, struggles to comprehend the multiplicity and ambiguity of Being. The mind’s tendency toward categorization and separation can lead to a symbolic disconnection from the felt sense of unity with the cosmos—a theme echoed in both Eastern contemplative traditions and Western phenomenology (Varela, Thompson, & Rosch, 1991).
This disconnect is further amplified by preconceptions, which function as epistemic filters that distort raw experience. These cognitive schemata serve the ego by reinforcing familiar narratives, even at the expense of truth or growth. The ego, seeking consistency, resists the fluid and often paradoxical nature of consciousness. As such, the expansion of awareness demands the suspension of preconceptions—a process that requires both vulnerability and openness.
To truly engage in design consciousness and metaphysical inquiry, one must cultivate a posture of intentional receptivity—a willingness to perceive without the imposition of prior belief. Only through this openness can symbolic projections become portals rather than prisons, revealing deeper layers of meaning and self-understanding.
References (APA 7th Edition)
• Buchanan, R. (2001). Design research and the new learning. Design Issues, 17(4), 3–23.
• Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Harper & Row. (Original work published 1927)
• Heisenberg, W. (1958). Physics and philosophy: The revolution in modern science. Harper.
• Jung, C. G. (1959). Aion: Researches into the phenomenology of the self. Princeton University Press.
• Peirce, C. S. (1991). Peirce on signs: Writings on semiotic (J. Hoopes, Ed.). University of North Carolina Press.
• Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. MIT Press.
• Wheeler, J. A. (1990). Information, physics, quantum: The search for links. In W. H. Zurek (Ed.), Complexity, entropy, and the physics of information (pp. 3–28). Addison-Wesley.
The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication.
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"To believe is to accept another's truth.
To know is your own creation."
Anonymous
Edited: 11.29.2013, 04.25.2017. 01.24.2021, 09.26.2021, 12.01.2023, 07.27.2025
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