Mingers J., Willcocks L. (Eds.) Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems

Wiley, 2004. — 472 p. — ISBN: 0470851171, 9780470851173This volume aims to widen the imagination of information systems researchers in addressing questions about fundamental relationships between philosophy, social theory and technology.
Each chapter is written by an expert/experts in both IS and the particular line of thinking under review. Lee provides a ground clearing introduction to the philosophy of science. Markus critically appraises the promise that still lies within functionalism and neo-functionalism. Introna and Ilharco discuss Husserl's and Heidegger's phenomenology in relation to 'the screen'. Myers, Probert, and Klein and Huynh reveal the abiding applicability of hermeneutics, Adorno's and Habermas's critical social theory respectively. Willcocks details the evolution of Foucault's mode of thinking and its usefulness, including essential concepts of power/knowledge, genealogy, the disciplinary society and technology.
Jones and colleagues reconsider structuration theory, and provide considerable insight into Giddens' later thinking and its role in IS. Howcroft and her co-authors focus on the social shaping of technology approaches, including actor network theory, while Mingers brings critical realism into play suggesting that it can provide an underlying philosophy for information systems. Finally, Merali details and assesses an area strangely neglected by IS researchers, namely complexity theory. Overall the book provides a rich, insightful and critical set of fresh, key contributions to the study of technology and information systems.List of Contributors.
Series Preface.Thinking about Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems
Fit for Function: Functionalism, Neofunctionalism and Information Systems
Phenomenology, Screens, and the World: A Journey with Husserl and Heidegger into Phenomenology
Hermeneutics in Information Systems Research
Adorno: A Critical Theory for IS Research
The Critical Social Theory of Jürgen Habermas and its Implications for IS Research
Foucault, Power/Knowledge and Information Systems: Reconstructing the Present
Structuration Theory and Information Systems: A Critical Reappraisal
WhatWe May Learn from the Social Shaping of Technology Approach
Re-establishing the Real: Critical Realism and Information Systems
Complexity and Information Systems