Abstract

A pragmatist theory of architecture has been developed in this thesis, with the aim of facilitating interpretations of current architecture, and to provide guidelines for architectural practices. To expedite interpretations of architecture, the recommendation is made that buildings should be interpreted as physical evidence of practices and aspirations of specific communities. Architectural practitioners are advised to use principles derived from studies of the social practices of particular communities when they design for those societies. ;These pragmatist tenets have been derived from comparisons between various historical theories of architecture. To place architectural theories in a context of broader cultural concerns and intellectual interests, they have been compared with the theories of various philosophers. Comprehensive and penetrating interpretations of intellectual and cultural concerns are provided by philosophers, and the pragmatism of Richard Rorty has been chosen as a philosophy with potential to be assimilated into a theory of current architecture. Aspects of Rorty's philosophy that were included in the pragmatist theory of architecture was his historicism, nominalism, pluralism, holism, and his social practice theories. Rorty's Pragmatism has been derived from various philosophers from the history of philosophy, including Hegel, and his interpretation of Hegel's thinking has played an important part in the development of the pragmatist theory of architecture in this thesis. Comparisons between Hegel's philosophy and the architectural theories of Pugin and Ruskin have been made to develop more comprehensive and penetrating interpretations of architectural practices, that can be applied in current theories of architecture. ;The tenets of a pragmatist architectural theory include the conviction that beliefs about architecture are related to social conventions and aspirations. Pragmatists conceive of the value of architecture in terms of the human activities and efforts through which buildings are produced. Pragmatists appreciate and tolerate cultural differences, and they keep in mind that perceptions about the value of architecture are relative to current and local beliefs