Book Review: What's Philosophy Got to Do with it? A Review of Three Books That Use Philosophical Perspectives to Analyze Information Technologies

Abstract

This review article takes a critical look at three books, Watch IT: The Risks and Promises of InformationTechnologies for Education by Nicholas C. Burbules and Thomas A. Callister, Jr. (2000), Philosophical Tools for Technological Culture: Putting Pragmatism to Work by Larry A. Hickman (2001), and On the Internet by Hubert L. Dreyfus (2001), that discuss the philosophy of Instructional Technology (IT) with the intent of gauging their usefulness to IT researchers, educators, and practitioners. I first describe each book individually, I then make a case for paying attention to the philosophy of IT, and lastly I compare and contrast the three books. I conclude that those involved with IT will be motivated to reflect on and critically analyze their field as a result of reading these three books, a useful though demanding exercise.

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