Philosophy and information systems: where are we and where should we go?

Abstract

Are the consequences of my research acceptable?Is it right for me to ask the question?How can I communicate my insights?Who am I? Who is my audience and who are the people using IS?These questions may lead to other questions.What does "use" mean?And does "use" cover most of technology's effects?What about people who do not use those technologies but are impacted regardless.Researchers in the field of IS, just like those in many other fields, tend to have implicit, taken-for-granted answers to these questions that are unacknowledged, and often broadly shared and agreed upon.It is important to acknowledge that such questions are typically open to many different types of answers and that successful research requires them to be addressed in a consistent manner.To do so, one needs to have an understanding of the field or discipline that deals with them, namely philosophy.This need for a philosophical grounding of research may explain why the highest degree that universities in many English-speaking countries confer is that of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).Researchers holding such a degree can therefore rightly be expected to display a significant awareness of philosophy.But what is it, this mysterious thing we call philosophy?The literal meaning of philosophy is the "love of wisdom or knowledge" (Greek philo-"loving" + sophia-"wisdom").In its current incarnation philosophy is typically seen as an academic discipline, part of the broader canon of the humanities.One can study philosophy at many universities.When doing so, the student of philosophy will typically be taught many of the sub-disciplines of philosophy including metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of language, political philosophy and many others.These different sub-disciplines ask particular questions and have more or less clearly defined subject areas that cover many of the questions listed earlier.A basic understanding of at least some of these fields is thus required for an IS researcher to be