Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Thinking in Action is a major new series that takes philosophy to the public. Each book in the series is written by a major international philosopher or thinker, engages with an important contemporary topic and is clearly and accessibly written. The series informs and sharpens debate on topics as wide ranging as the internet, religion, the problems of immigration, and the way we think about science. Short, stimulating and provocative, Thinking in Action is an indispensable series of books for anyone who wants to think seriously about major issues confronting us today.
On the Internet is a sharp and stimulating discussion of the promises of the internet. Going beyond the hype of the cybercrowd, Dreyfus, a celebrated writer on philosophy and technology, asks whether the internet can really bring humanity to a new level of community and solve the problems of mass education.
Synopsis
Drawing on a diverse array of thinkers from Plato to Kierkegaard, On the Internet is one of the first books to bring philosophical insight to the debate on how far the internet can and cannot take us.
Dreyfus shows us the roots of the disembodied, free floating web surfer in Descartes' separation of mind and body, and how Kierkegaard's insights into the birth of the modern reading public anticipate the news-hungry, but disinterested risk avoiding internet junkie. Drawing on recent studies of the isolation experienced by many internet users, Dreyfus shows how the internet's privatisation of experience ignores essential human capacities such as trust, moods, risk, shared local concerns and commitment. On the Internet is essential reading for anyone on line and all those interested in our place in the e-revolution.