Philosophical Issues In Information Systems

This text introduces diverse issues of ethics, politics, language, meaning, methodogy, organization and biology, as they relate to the role information systems play in contemporary business systems and cultural theory.

R L Winder, S K Probert, I. A. Beeson

Part 1 Ethical and political aspects: some philosophical and logical aspects of infomation systems, Fenton F. Robb; implications of regarding information as meaningful rather than factual, Norma Romm; the tool perspective on information system design - what Heidegger's philosophy can't do, Martin Spaul; thoughts towards a framework for critical practice, Anne Moggridge. Part 2 Language and meaning: patterns on glass - the language games of information, Jim Gilligan; the nature of information and its relationship to meaning, John Mingers; mapping information systems on to the real world, Frank Gregory; organic information for the organic organization? - an application of the work of Talcott Parsons to information systems, Richard Kamm. Part 3 Methodology: backing into philosophy via information systems, Brian Petheram; software engineering as a Kuhnian discipline, Paul Wernick and Russel Winder; the metaphysical assumptions of the main Soft Systems Methodology advocates, Stephen Probert; towards a paradigm of information systems, Marcus Lyncy. Part 4 Organizational aspects: sustainable information in community organizations, Nick Plant; a new philosophy, a new agenda - introducing information systems into complex organizations, Stuart Maguire; anthropological reflections on systems engineering - seeing is believing, George Bakehouse et al. Part 5 Physical aspects: evolution, emergence and synaesthesia, John Gammack and Carolyn Begg; the body in the information system, Ian Beeson.