ABSTRACT
Vesely looks at the general problem of architecture and knowledge, of which modern theory is one variant. Modern theory distorts the ancient theoria, largely a consequence of following theory-practice as understood in modern science and technology. The resulting autonomy of design means that architecture's communication with the rest of the culture becomes contingent, or simple arbitrary aesthetic choice. The essay is mostly devoted to tracing the history and meaning of this state of affairs. It stands over against the opening description of the pre-Enlightenment understanding of the relation of architecture to knowledge. Rooted in praxis, that is, the typical situations of practical life, Vesely proposes the implications of regarding architecture as a mimetic art, a hermeneutics of praxis.
