Luciano Floridi, Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction, Routledge, 1999

Abstract

Luciano Floridi’s Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction is a survey of some important ideas that ground the newly emerging area of philosophy known, thanks to Floridi, as the philosophy of information. It was written as a textbook for philosophy students interested in the digital age, but is probably more useful for postgraduates who want to investigate intersections between philosophy and computer science, information theory and ICT (information and communications technology). The book is divided into five independent chapters followed by a worthy, though impressionistic, afterthought under the title of the conclusion. Chapter One, “Divide et Computa: Philosophy and the Digital Environment,” begins by outlining four topics to consider when examining the significance of the digital revolution: 1) computation, 2) automatic control, 3) modeling and virtual reality, and 4) information management. This preliminary outline is followed by a brief historical consideration of the transition from analogue to digital information processing and the importance of “digitization” for developing mechanical means to manage information. According to Floridi, this digitization has occurred in three main areas. Regarding the scope of digitized content, we have moved from numerical data to sounds and images. At the same time, our interfaces to the computer have become less digital and more humane. Graphical user interfaces and WYSIWYG software have quickly replaced punch cards. In the area of connectivity, we have moved from the mainframe to the Internet, hence, to the possibility of a global information network. Together these transformations are accelerating the evolution of the infosphere and consequently its dramatic effect on the shape of society. These changes are of world historical significance, thus worthy of philosophical investigation, as the last part of the chapter shows..

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

  • This entry has no external links. Add one.
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

  • Only published works are available at libraries.

Similar books and articles

Luciano Floridi, philosophy and computing: An introduction. [REVIEW]Anthony F. Beavers - 2001 - Ethics and Information Technology 3 (4):299-301.
Information and knowledge à la Floridi.Fred Adams - 2010 - Metaphilosophy 41 (3):331-344.
Philosophy and computing. An introduction, Luciano Floridi.Lorenzo Magnai - 2000 - Ethics and Information Technology 2 (2):137-138.
Tony Doyle.A. Critique of Information Ethics - 2010 - Knowledge, Technology & Policy 23 (1-2):163-175.
On Floridi’s metaphysical foundation of information ecology.Rafael Capurro - 2008 - Ethics and Information Technology 10 (2-3):167-173.
The ontological interpretation of informational privacy.Luciano Floridi - 2005 - Ethics and Information Technology 7 (4):185–200.
Towards an ontological foundation of information ethics.Rafael Capurro - 2006 - Ethics and Information Technology 8 (4):175-186.
What is the philosophy of information?Luciano Floridi - 2002 - In James Moor & Terrell Ward Bynum (eds.), Metaphilosophy. Blackwell. pp. 123-145.

Analytics

Added to PP
2010-12-22

Downloads
23 (#584,438)

6 months
1 (#1,040,386)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Anthony Beavers
University of Evansville

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references