I saw an old video of the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy claiming, "Architecture without philosophy becomes Engineering".
As a an academic scholar and researcher, my writings and teaching methods tend to integrate philosophy and intense debate into my work. Yet, I realized how critical thinking is diminishing among students, with the inability of academic institutions to counteract and enhance that.
In the field of architecture, not just the working method but also the thinking method has become standardized, mechanical, and tech-oriented at the expense of the core ideas underneath. With the advancement of AI tools, philosophy becomes questionable in its role and position today.
Is the citizen becoming less and less valuable? Do educational systems emphasize this devaluing process? Is there some sort of benefit for academic institutions to turn a blind eye from human-centered approaches and philosophical intellect?
If today's market is quite crucial and competitive, does it mean that universities should follow this model to sustain and survive? Is the "Engineering" model more profitable and commercially sustainable than the "Architecture" model?
Philosophy is far from outdated; it provides the critical foundation for questioning, reasoning, and ethical decision-making in an increasingly complex world shaped by technology and rapid change.
Architecture should not be treated as engineering because it goes beyond structural efficiency—it's a creative and cultural practice that considers beauty, meaning, and the human experience in the built environment.
Taher Abdel-Ghani Engineering and Architecture are two different unique disciplines/or field of studies on their own, but they are closely connected. The architect designs the blueprint; the engineer builds the designed blueprint by the architect. So, in short, the architect and the engineer work together, hand in hand, to finish a project enterprise, etc. Oftentimes, College of Architecture and College of Engineering share the same buildings in universities' campuses.
Interesting question and replies. I agree that Philosophy is by no means old-fashioned. There is a reason why departments of Philosophy still exist at Universities and in some cases they are very selecting. Perhaps the question is how to approach philosophy. Certainly, it cannot be done in the same way as it was in the past. In what concerns Architecture, in my native country, Greece, Departments of Architecture, are in fact formally called as Departments of Architect-Engineers. These departments, which belong to specialised technical universities or faculties, are usually prestigious and demanding. Therefore, Architects are by default are engineers and register in the engineers' union.
La filosofía no es una disciplina anticuada; por el contrario, sigue siendo esencial para interpretar críticamente el mundo, cuestionar supuestos y orientar éticamente la acción humana. En un contexto donde la técnica y la eficiencia dominan muchas disciplinas, la filosofía ofrece una pausa necesaria para reflexionar sobre el propósito, los valores y las implicaciones de nuestras decisiones.
Su aparente pérdida de relevancia no se debe a su inutilidad, sino a una tendencia creciente en los sistemas educativos y en el mercado laboral a privilegiar lo inmediato, cuantificable y rentable, en detrimento del pensamiento profundo y crítico.
En el caso de la arquitectura, reducirla a una práctica puramente técnica es negarle su dimensión cultural, simbólica y humana. La arquitectura, a diferencia de la ingeniería, no solo resuelve problemas funcionales o estructurales, sino que crea espacios que expresan identidades, relaciones sociales y visiones del mundo. Sin una base filosófica, la arquitectura corre el riesgo de convertirse en una actividad mecánica, desconectada de la experiencia humana, de la estética, del entorno y de la historia. Hassan Fathy lo entendía bien: construir no es solo calcular, es también interpretar.
Por ello, las universidades no deberían imitar ciegamente las lógicas del mercado, sino reafirmar su papel como espacios de formación integral del ser humano.
Abandonar la filosofía y las humanidades en favor de un modelo exclusivamente técnico puede ser rentable a corto plazo, pero empobrece la capacidad crítica, creativa y ética de los futuros profesionales. En un mundo cada vez más complejo, necesitamos más pensamiento reflexivo, no menos. Recuperar la centralidad de la filosofía en disciplinas como la arquitectura no es un retroceso, sino una apuesta por una práctica más consciente, justa y sostenible.
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