The Philosophy of the Internet

By M. M. Brandl

The Philosophy of the Internet Lecture by Hubert Dreyfus, Professor of Philosophy at UCLA at Berkeley, given in the Stanley Burbury Theatre at the University of Tasmania on 22 March 2000, 6.15pm

Hubert Dreyfus looked the epitome of a philosophy professor - small, bent in his late 60s. His blonde hair however gave him a startling resemblance to Andy Warhol. Somehow that hair gave me confidence in his speaking on topic of the Internet.

He was introduced as one of the most eminent of contemporary American philosophers, author of two well-known books, entitled "What Computers Cant Do" and "What Computers Still Can't Do".

He began quite directly by asking, "What is the promise and the danger of the Internet?"

His take-off point was the urgency now felt in the US since two major studies have shown that even though the internet has put more people into contact with one another than ever before, the more time one spends on the net, the more depressed and more isolated one feels.

He suggested that an older philosopher might be able to shed light on the topic and from this point stayed with Kierkegaards views on the public sphere and the press written about 1850.

K warned against these two institutions which he considered dangerous in his present age. >

More to read:

• Cloud computing -- more philosophy than technology


• Media Temporalities in the Internet: Philosophy of Time and Media with Derrida and Rorty