Philosophical and Conceptual Foundations
of
Information Systems

Section Editors:
Jaana Porra
Kalle Lyytinen
Rudy Hirschheim

[ReadMe.1st -- An Introduction] [Frequently Asked Questions] [Reviews] [Discussion Papers] [Letters to the Editors] [Bibliography] [Chat Room] [Contributors] [Disclaimer] [ISWorld Net Map]


What's New?
Our electronic journal: Foundations of Information Systems

ReadMe.1st -- An Introduction

Welcome to the Philosopher's corner. The purpose of this corner is to provide a forum for a lively scholarly discussion concerning "Philosophical and conceptual foundations of information systems." As the title indicates there is no one way of designing information systems nor is there one correct set of assumptions all IS professionals have to adopt. Rather, this corner of the ISWorldNet is based on the opinion that different philosophical and conceptual stances concerning information systems and the information systems field provide viewpoints which may help us understand what is happening in this electronic era. The purpose of the corner is not to turn IS Professionals into philosophers. Rather we hope that the Philosopher's corner can help the information systems field to form and discuss its own philosophical foundations and conceptual premises. We believe that philosophy can be applied to create practical tools. For this, the field of information systems has a tradition of philosophy and related discourse. We wish to honor that tradition. Yet, we also wish to open the forum for new ideas and emerging streams of thought. This wish is also reflected in the title. Thus the philosopher's corner is not limited to philosophy. Philosophical and conceptual refers to all discourse which helps the field to see itself in a useful context. These pages are the "philosophy of information systems" under continuing development.

Philosopher's corner is a collaborative effort. A place for all interested in participating in posing ambiguous questions or ambiguous answers concerning "life, universe and everything" from the perspective our computer profession.

These pages are hosted by Rudy Hirschheim, Kalle Lyytinen and Jaana Porra. The name for the group was chosen from the title of Rudy's, Heinz's (Heinz Klein) and Kalle's book (Cambridge University Press, 1996). Jaana has just finished her doctoral dissertation on theoretical assumptions of humanness during the computer era called "Colonial Systems, Information Colonies and Punctuated Prototyping." Although we all have our own favorites amongst philosophers and great thinkers, we hope you will help us finding more "Legs to stand on" in understanding computer based systems and their impact during these interesting times.

The Editors

Return to Table of Contents

ISWorld Net Navigation Map

ISWorld Net Home Page (image map or just text)
Research and Scholarship

Return to Table of Contents

This page is sponsored by the Information Systems Research Center at the University of Houston and is maintained by Jaana Porra who can be reached at jaana@uhupvm1.uh.edu. This page was last updated on March 6,1996. Although we will attempt to keep this information accurate, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. Users are advised to look at our disclaimer.