Can the internet solve the problem of mass education, and bring human beings to a new level of community? Drawing on a diverse array of thinkers from Plato to Kierkegaard, On the Internet argues that there is much in common between the disembodied, free floating web and Descartes' separation of mind and body. Hubert Dreyfus also shows how Kierkegaard's insights into the origins of a media-obsessed public anticipate the web surfer, blogger and chat room. Drawing on studies of the isolation experienced by many internet users and the insights of philosopher such as Descartes and Kierkegaard, Dreyfus shows how the internet's privatisation of experience ignores essential human capacities such as trust, moods, risk, shared local concerns and commitment. The second edition includes a brand new chapter on ‘Second Life’ and is revised and updated throughout. "Can the internet solve the problem of mass education, and bring human beings to a new level of community? Drawing on a diverse array of thinkers from Plato to Kierkegaard, On the Internet agues that there is much in common between the disembodied, free floating web and Descartes' separation of mind and body. Dreyfus also shows how Kierkegaard's insights into the origins of a media-obsessed public anticipate the web surfer, blogger and chat room. Drawing on studies of the isolation experienced by many internet users and the insights of philosopher such as Descartes and Kierkegaard, Dreyfus shows how the internet's privatisation of experience ignores essential human capacities such as trust, moods, risk, shared local concerns and commitment."--Jacket Drawing On A Diverse Array Of Thinkers From Plato To Kierkegaard, 'on The Internet' Brings Philosophical Insight To The Debate On How Far The Internet Can And Cannot Take Us. The Hype About Hyperlinks One -- How Far Is Distance Learning From Education? -- Disembodied Telepresence And The Remoteness Of The Real -- Nihilism On The Information Highway : Anonymity Vs. Commitment In The Present Age -- Virtual Embodiment : Myths Of Meaning In Second Life. Hubert L. Dreyfus. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Can the internet solve the problem of mass education, and bring human beings to a level of community? This title agues that there is much in common between the disembodied, free floating web and Descartes' separation of mind and body. It includes a chapter on 'Second Life'. The hype about hyperlinks one How far is distance learning from education? Disembodied telepresence and the remoteness of the real Nihilism on the information highway : anonymity vs. commitment in the present age Virtual embodimenty : myths of meaning in second life.
