The recent resurgence of interest in design science as meta-theoretical framework for information systems research is taken as a motivation for the re-appraisal of Peter Naur's notion of "programming as theory building". In stark contrast to the artifact orientation of current design science frameworks, Naur considers the artifact orientation as one of the most fundamental misconception in the information systems discipline (in its widest sense). Naur's work is philosophically challenging since

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... it has not only meta-theoretical relevance, e.g., as an opposition to design science frameworks, but also practical relevance, e.g., for the conduct and management of information systems development-thus bridging the traditional theory-practice gap. Moreover, Naur's work not only exhibits the tension between relevance and rigor in information systems research but also illustrates that rigorous and relevant research may still yield questionable results. The goal of the paper is to direct the interested reader's attention to a view on information systems development that challenges a number of presuppositions not only of the meta-theoretical design science frameworks in contemporary information systems research but of other meta-theoretical frameworks as well. It might thus serve the reader as a starting point for a critical reflection on metatheoretical presuppositions underlying her/his understanding of information systems development.