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We hear constantly about our current "information
revolution." Twenty-four-hour news channels and dizzying
Internet technologies bombard us with facts and pictures
from around the globe. But what kind of a "revolution"
is this? How has information really changed from what it
was ten years or ten centuries ago? Albert Borgmann offers
some riveting answers to these questions in Holding On
to Reality.
Borgmann has written a brilliant history
of information, from its inception in the natural world
to its role in the transformation of culture -- in writing
and printing, in music and architecture -- to the current
Internet mania and its attendant assets and liabilities.
Drawing on the history of ideas, the details of information
technology, and the boundaries of the human condition, Borgmann
explains the relationship between things and signs, between
reality and information. His history ranges from Plato to
Boeing and from the alphabet to virtual reality, all the
while being conscious of the enthusiasm, appreciation, and
uncertainty that have greeted every stage of the development
of information.
Holding On to Reality is underscored
by the humanist's fundamental belief in human excellence
and by the conviction that excellence is jeopardized unless
we achieve a balance of information and "the things
and practices that have served us well and we continue to
depend on for our material and spiritual well-being -- the
grandeur of nature, the splendor of cities, competence of
work, fidelity to loved ones, and devotion to art or religion."
Holding On to Reality is an eloquent call for caution
and historical understanding, and everyone concerned with
the future of information technologies will find their thinking
enlivened and enriched by Borgmann's lucid and impassioned
exploration.
Albert Borgmann is Regents Professor
of Philosophy at the University of Montana. His books include
Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life and
Crossing the Postmodern Divide, both published by
the University of Chicago Press.
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