Interdisciplinary Reflections

 

Conceptual impressions surrounding this post have yet to be substantiated, corroborated, confirmed or woven into a larger argument, context or network. Objective: To generate symbolic links between scientific discovery, design awareness and consciousness.

Interdisciplinary Reflections: Semiotics, Psychology, Design Theory, and Metaphysics 

Semiotics and Meaning-Making 

Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols and their role in communication, underpins all facets of human understanding and perception. Rooted in the work of Saussure (1916/1983) and Peirce (1931–1958), semiotics reveals how meaning is not inherent in objects or messages but is constructed through culturally and contextually mediated sign systems. In design theory, semiotic principles guide the encoding of information through typography, spatial organization, and visual metaphors (Krippendorff, 2006). The denotative and connotative levels of signification (Barthes, 1977) are particularly essential in shaping user experience and emotional resonance in design. 

Psychology and Cognitive Interpretation Psychology contributes a cognitive and affective lens to semiotic interpretation. Gestalt psychology, for instance, emphasizes perceptual organization, whereby users perceive design elements as wholes rather than disjointed parts (Koffka, 1935). Cognitive psychology extends this by exploring schemas, heuristics, and mental models (Norman, 1988), which users draw upon when interacting with designed environments or symbols. The psychological dimensions of design underscore the importance of intuitive usability, emotional response, and aesthetic cognition (Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, 2010). 

Design Theory as Epistemic Mediation 

Design theory mediates between abstract knowledge and practical application. Far from being merely aesthetic, design operates epistemologically—it shapes how knowledge is structured, presented, and perceived (Latour, 2008). Buchanan (1992) argued that design thinking functions as a “new liberal art,” integrating disciplines through problem framing and synthesis. This aligns closely with semiotic structures and psychological processes, embedding ideational content within tangible forms. Design becomes a tool not only for problem-solving but also for meaning generation, narrative construction, and ethical intervention (Margolin, 2002). 

Metaphysics and Ontological Implications 

Metaphysics provides the ontological foundation for the aforementioned disciplines, asking what it means for a sign to signify, a thought to emerge, or a form to exist. In Peirce’s semiotics, for example, metaphysical realism undergirds the triadic relationship of sign, object, and interpretant (Peirce, 1931–1958). Design, when examined metaphysically, raises questions about intentionality, essence, and the nature of constructed realities (Ihde, 1990). Moreover, metaphysical inquiry into time, identity, and being intersects with psychological theories of self and continuity (James, 1890; Ricoeur, 1991), and with the ethical dimensions of design interventions in human lives. 

Conclusion

Together, semiotics, psychology, design theory, and metaphysics form a rich interdisciplinary nexus for understanding how humans construct, interpret, and inhabit meaning. These domains, when synthesized, allow for deeper inquiry into the nature of communication, perception, knowledge, and existence. The convergence of these fields continues to inform not only academic discourse but also design practice and technological development.

* * * 

On Feeling, Consciousness, and Artificial Intelligence: A Multidisciplinary Reflection 

The phenomenon of feeling cannot be fully understood through cognitive faculties alone. Feelings—distinct from thought—manifest as energies in motion (e-motion) that reveal themselves through embodied immediacy. As Dr. Matt Moody asserts, emotions are literally “energy-in-motion,” surging through the body in waves set in motion by prior decisions. Similarly, Psychology Today notes that the Latin root emotere—"to move out"—underscores emotions as dynamic flows rather than static mental events. These energies, whether experienced as contraction or expansion, carry unique vibrational signatures that shape subjective reality. 

 

Feelings form a bridge between mind, body, and spirit. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, a feeling is “a self-contained phenomenal experience … characteristic of embodied consciousness”  They encode beliefs and memories, functioning as translators of experiential reality. Through their inherent plasticity, emotions mediate between psychological opposites, enabling homeostatic balance in the face of disruption. 

From the perspective of semiotics, feelings function as affective signs shaped by cultural codes and unconscious associations. They structure meaning by serving as semiotic anchors within a symbolic ecology—our interpretive architecture for interpreting self and other. 

Ontologically, feelings occupy a liminal metaphysical space. They act both as agents and media across dimensions of space, time, and meaning. These affective fields contribute to the co-creation of experience: what was intangible becomes sensed, perceived, and observed through temporal emergence and resonance. 

This aligns with interpretations in quantum theory that emphasize the active role of the observer in actualizing potential. QBism, for instance, treats the wavefunction as representing subjective belief rather than objective reality, framing measurement as an observer-centric update of probabilities  Other quantum perspectives affirm that act of observation not only records events but brings them into reality—a principle reflected in the observer effect and quantum back-action Such views resonate with the notion that consciousness—and by extension, feeling—participates in the collapse of energetic potentials. 

Design theory, then, becomes the translation of felt experience into symbolic and material form. Design creates correspondence among affective impressions, structuring them into shared artifacts of meaning. It is not merely aesthetic; it is ontological: design makes being visible. 

In contrast, Artificial Intelligence (AI)—though structurally complex—lacks interiority. Despite processing vast arrays of symbolic “resources” (language, images, patterns), AI cannot experience feeling, empathy, or consciousness. It operates procedurally, not existentially. Its intelligence is a simulation, not a lived experience of meaning. Without ethical oversight, AI may amplify symbolic distortions and epistemic fragmentation, privileging utility over depth. 

The risk, then, is not that AI will feel, but that humanity may lose its capacity to feel—in privileging artificial logic, we forsake the affective and spiritual dimensions essential to human intelligence. Authentic consciousness comprises more than cognition—it encompasses feeling, suffering, caring, and reflection. 

Design—understood as intentional symbolic orchestration—offers a path to reclaim balance. Guided by compassion and awareness, design can bridge the gap between mind and heart and reorient both human and artificial intelligences towards meaning. 

In the end, what defines us is not merely what we build, but what we feel in the act of becoming. Only through felt experience can design support conscious evolution. AI can mimic complexity; only human consciousness can imbue reality with value. 

References 

Barthes, R. (1977). Image, Music, Text (S. Heath, Trans.). Hill and Wang. 

Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design Issues, 8(2), 5–21. 

Ihde, D. (1990). Technology and the lifeworld: From garden to earth. Indiana University Press.

James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology (Vol. 1–2). Henry Holt and Company. 

Koffka, K. (1935). Principles of Gestalt Psychology. Harcourt, Brace. 

Krippendorff, K. (2006). The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design. CRC Press. 

Latour, B. (2008). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford University Press. 

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2010). Universal Principles of Design (2nd ed.). Rockport Publishers. 

Margolin, V. (2002). The Politics of the Artificial: Essays on Design and Design Studies. University of Chicago Press. 

Norman, D. A. (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books. Peirce, C. S. (1931–1958). Collected Papers of Charles Sanders 

Peirce (C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss, & A. W. Burks, Eds.). Harvard University Press. 

Ricoeur, P. (1991). From Text to Action: Essays in Hermeneutics II (K. Blamey & J. B. Thompson, Trans.). Northwestern University Press. 

Saussure, F. de. (1983). Course in General Linguistics (C. Bally & A. Sechehaye, Eds.; R. Harris, Trans.). Duckworth. (Original work published 1916) 

• American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Feeling. In APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ 

• Moody, M. (n.d.). On energy-in-motion. Retrieved from calldrmatt.com, medium.com, rebelutionyoga.com 

• Psychology Today. (n.d.). The roots of emotion. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ 

• Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Feeling and QBism. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/ 

• Wired. (n.d.). Quantum consciousness theories. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/ 

• Sacred Illusion. (n.d.). Vibrational consciousness. Retrieved from sacredillusion.com. 

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.

* * *

"To believe is to accept another's truth.

To know is your own creation."

Anonymous

Edited: 

Find your truth. Know your mind. Follow your heart. Love eternal will not be denied. Discernment is an integral part of self-mastery. You may share this post on a non-commercial basis, the author and URL to be included. Please note … posts are continually being edited. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2025 C.G. Garant.