On the Internet [Paperback]

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 Internetargues 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. 

Praise for the first edition:

A well-crafted polemic&We need more teachers like Dreyfus himself, integrating the web into courses that are still deeply human. - Adam Morton, Times Literary Supplement

...sharp and stimulating discussion of the promises of the Intenet. Going beyond the hype of the cybercrowd, Dreyfus a celebrated writer on philosophy and technology, asks whether the Internet can really bring humanity to a new level of community and solve the problems of mass education. Dreyfus' critique of huper learning provides much food for thought and raises the level of the discussions amongst concerned educators and technologists. - First Monday

A clear discussion of the promises of the Internet...brings a philosopher's eye to bear on an issue that affects all of us. - Ubiquity

Interesting and definitely much needed...a short and thought provoking book that can be read by any net enthusiast and/or sl#z