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On the Internet (Thinking in Action)

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The Internet Book raises the following questions: Can we leave our vulnerable bodies while preserving relevance, learning, reality, and meaning? The latest book of Hubert Dreyfus examines in complete details the various perspectives -of the Net through the eyes of a Philosopher -the attraction of life on the Internet as a way of achieving Plato's dream of overcoming space and time as well as bodily finitude. Drawing on philosophers such as Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Hubert Dreyfus discussed and seriously criticised the Net. In his criticism in the book, he explaines -that, in spite of its attraction, the more one lives one's life through the Net the more loses a sense of what is relevant, and so faces the problem of finding the information one is seeking. Also, in spite of economic attraction of distance learning, such learning by substituting telepresence for real presence (how much presence is delivered by the telepresence?), leaves no place for risk-taking an apprenticeship which plays a crucial role in all types of skill acquisition. Furthermore, without a sense of bodily vulnerability, one looses a sense of reality of the physical world and one's sense that one can trust other people. Finally, he discusses while the anonymity of the Net makes possible experimentation, the overall effect of the NET is to undermine commitment (what Kierkegaard spelled out in The Present Age) thus to deprive life of any serious meaning.

This fascinating discovery shows that the Internet has profound and unexpected effects. Presumably, it affects people in ways that are different than the way most tools do because it can become the main way someone relates to the rest of the world. Given the surprises and disappointments through the Net, Hubert Dreyfus explores the question, what are the benefits and the dangers of living our lives on line?

In the Internet book-the author tried to give answers in greater depth to the questions, which is important in field of humanities and Philosophy -that why reach beyond ourselves and our humanity? Why seek to become posthuman? Why not accept our human limits and renounce transcendence?

In my view, the book On the Internet discusses in greater depth the important question How does the Dreyfus's Skill developmental model and his non-representational learning relate to the Internet-facilitated education!

The book is divided into four chapters:

Chapter 1. Hyperlinks -In this chapter The hype about hyper-links Professor Dreyfus discusses the hope for intelligent information retrieval and the failure of AI. He raises one good question, how the actual shape and movement of our bodies plays a crucial role in grounding meaning so that loss of embodiment leads to loss of relevance.

Chapter 2. Distance-Learning -In this chapter, How far is Distance Learning from Education? Hubert Dreyfus discusses the importance of mattering and attunement for teaching and learning skills and phenomenology of skill acquisition. Apprenticeship and the need for imitation. "Without involvement and presence -he said we cannot acquire skills."

Chapter 3. Telepresence -The chapter, Disembodied Telepresence and the remoteness of the Real will let us know about -the body as source of our presence of causal embedding and attunement to mood. Hubert Dreyfus raises a question, how loss of background coping and attunement leads to loss of sense of reality of people and things. (I see something like you, but I don't see you and I hear something like you, but I don't hear you)

Chapter 4. Nihilism -The last chapter (most important), Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. commitment in the Present Age discusses in details about the meaning, requires commitment and real commitment requires real risks. The anonymity and safety of virtual commitments on-line, leads to loss of meaning. In this chapter, Prof. Dreyfus translates the Soren Kierkegaardian view of The Present Age to the Net.

Professor Dreyfus translates Kierkegaard's account of the dangers and opportunities of what Kierkegaard called the Press into a critique of the Internet so as to raise the question: what contribution -- for good or ill -- can the World Wide Web, with its ability to deliver vast amounts of information to users all over the world, make to educators trying to pass on knowledge and to develop skills and wisdom in their students? He then elaborates Kierkegaard's three-stage answer to the problem of lack of involvement posed by the Press -- Kierkegaard claim that to have a meaningful life the learner must pass through the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious spheres of existence -- to suggest that only the first two stages -- the aesthetic and the ethical -- can be implemented with Information Technology and Net, while the final stage, which alone makes meaningful learning possible, is undermined rather than supported by the tendencies of the desituated and anonymous Net.

In the aesthetic sphere, the aesthete avoids commitments and lives in the categories of the interesting and the boring and wants to see as many interesting sights (sites) as possible. In the ethical sphere we would reach a `despair of possibility' brought on by the ease of making and unmaking commitments on the Net. Only in the religious sphere is nihilism overcome by making a risky, unconditional commitment. Dreyfus concludes that only by working closely with students in a shared situation in the real world can teachers with strong identities, ready to take risks to preserve their commitments, pass on their passion and skill to their students. In this shared context students can turn information into knowledge and practical wisdom.

The risk-free anonymity of the Internet, Dreyfus said, makes it a good medium for slander, innuendo, endless gossip, and ultimately, boredom. "Without some way of telling the relevant from the irrelevant and the significant from the insignificant, everything becomes equally interesting and equally boring." He later argued, "The nihilistic pull of the new network culture doesn't prohibit such personal commitment but does inhibit.

As a philosopher Professor Hubert Dreyfus expresses his concern in not going to become involved in criticizing some specific uses of the Internet and defending others. His question is a more speculative one: What if the Net became central in our lives? What if it becomes what Joseph Nye, dean of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government calls an "irresistible alternative culture?" To the extent that we came to live a large part of our lives on the line, would we become super or infra human? In seeking an answer, to above questions, Hubert Dreyfus ellaborates..that..we should remain open to the possibility that, when we enter cyberspace and leave behind our animal-shaped, emotional, intuitive, situated, vulnerable, embodied selves, and thereby gain a remarkable new freedom never before available to human beings, we might, at the same time, necessarily lose our ability to distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, lack a sense of the seriousness of success and failure necessary for learning, lose our sense of being causally embedded in the world and, along with it, our sense of reality, and, finally, be tempted to avoid the risk of genuine commitment, and so lose our sense of what is significant or meaningful in our lives. In greater depth, the Internet book discusses the hope that if our body goes, so does relevance, skill, reality, and meaning. If that is the trade-off, the prospect of living our lives in and through the Web may not be so attractive after all.

The book is highly recommended to educators, techno philosophers and techno enthusiasts. Thank you.

Books on the Internet abound these days, but there are few which take serious philosophical approaches to this important technology. This book is a welcome exception. Referring to Existentialistic thinkers such as Kierkegaard, the author discusses how the anonymity and ubiquity of the Internet will affect our involvement with the "World." He argues that the absence of physical body, locality, and concreteness in the Internet communication will invite the loss of our commitmentted action, ultimately leading to "despair." This arguement is particularly interesting when it is compared with the rather positive view to the rational "public sphere" advocated by Habermas and others.

I would recommend this book to anybody who cares about the implications of the Internet for our life.

Dreyfus is a Heidegger scholar who is also known for his books explaining "why computers can't think." This short (it can be read in an evening), provocative book discusses some of the problems of reliance on the Internet as a source of information and an educational forum, in a way that is interestingly informed by Dreyfus's study of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty. I highly recommend this book both to students of Continental philosophy (the author's use of Kierkegaard to argue against Habermas's notion of the "public sphere" as the locus of a meaningfully participatory democracy is especially provocative) and to anyone who has ever wondered whether the Internet really is making our lives better. Dreyfus explains why and how it may not be.

This is a very little book dealing with a very big subject: does the internet add or detract from meaning in our lives? Such a topic can be covered only in a cursory way within 107 pages, but the major issues are represented in this book, and provide valuable food for thought.

Some of the questions asked are: can the internet deliver us from our bodily selves? Can the internet be used to disseminate information more efficiently and more universally? Can the internet democratize education and produce experts? What is the effect of the internet on the real? And, lastly, what are the implications of meaning in our lives concerning the internet?

These are all good questions, and each one could fill a volume on its own. Nonetheless, this book is a survey on the topics, and each topic is dealt with in about 20-30 pages.

On the issue of disembodiment and the internet, Dreyfus goes out on a limb himself while accusing others of doing the same. Why rely on the vision of the 'Extropians' (whose website is still active as of this typing) for guidance about how people are using and conceiving the internet? The vision of the web as a disembodied non-physical realm where humans will no longer have to deal with intestinal gas is a vision shared by very, very few. Dreyfus gives this concept far too much validity, and the first section of this book creates a sort of 'phantom threat' of people wanting to release themselves from their bodies (he calls it 'Cyberia'), and warnings about the consequences of wanting to do so.

The interesting part of the first section is the discussion of the failure of AI and the failing hope that cyberbeings will one day replace human beings. Those who are freaked out by the implications of 'The Matrix' will find comfort here.

Dreyfus' best arguments concern the internet and distance learning. Anyone working in education can tell you about the dismal failure of trying to replace human teachers with computers. That's not to say a certain amount of knowledge cannot be obtained from cyber-learning, but that knowledge has its limits. Expert knowledge is even difficult if not impossible from reading books (which has a certain amount of disembodiment in its own, but different, way). Face-to-face or body-to-body interaction is important, and will likely always be important, in mastering a subject or skill. That's why those who can afford it still hire tutors.

Similar arguments are put forth concerning the internet becoming a 'virtual world' in which people can potentially get sucked into and lost. It's true that this can happen, but the internet is not necessarily to blame. People can get sucked into drugs, television, reading, fantasizing, etc., and lose themselves in much the same way they can on the internet. Addictions take many forms, and the internet is but one. Still, a word of caution is justified here: the danger in the confusion of 'telepresence' - or, just because you see someone on your screen means that you're having a 'human experience' - with actual human contact is real and needs to be noted. It is not as great a danger as Dreyfus presents, however. To some it may be, but an edpidemic of Cyberians seems unlikely at this point. Also, Dreyfus points out that using the internet does not involve risk on the human level. This is becoming less and less true. It's not too hard to find out who is behind a pseudonym these days, and identity theft and monetary threat loom more and more. Not to mention that everything you type and look up on the internet is stored somewhere, and can be retrieved for purposes of marketing or otherwise. There are risks, on a fundamental human level, with internet use.

Concerning meaning and the internet, Dreyfus' claims that the internet leads to nihilism are not wholly convincing. They're based on the Kierkegaardian notion of the aesthetic and ethical life. Where Dreyfus sees problems, he defers to Kierkegaard.

Overall, the book presents a negative view on the present and future of the internet. Today it seems almost paranoid in places.The .COM burst gave us all a dose of reality, and there will likely be others to come as far as the internet is concerned. We're not to Dreyfus' distopia yet. Time may change that, or it may not. Likely more threateninig technologies will have to surface first.

This is a good place to start for exploring the philosophical implications of the internet. You won't want to stop here if this book catches your interest.

In this book, Hubert Dreyfus presents a philosophical study of how the Internet experientially impacts our lives. His approach appropriately draws mainly on phenomenology and existentialism, so you'll encounter names like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Merleau-Ponty. The book is short and fairly easy to follow, especially if you have some background in Western philosophy.

In reading the book, I found that Dreyfus pretty much articulates views I had already formed on my own many years ago, so of course I agree with him and I like the book. Here are the main points:

* The Internet exemplifies technology in terms of its flexibility, and the more extreme Internet enthusiasts (wrongly) claim that it will eventually enable us to transcend our bodies. By contrast, Nietzsche argued for transcending our human limitations by using the emotional and intuitive capacities of our bodies.

* The hyperlinked informational structure of the Internet resists hierarchy and flattens everything to one level, thus obscuring qualitative differences and meanings relevant to the needs and interests of particular individuals.

* The Internet has value in education and supports distance learning, but only to the level of developing rudimentary competence. Development of real expertise generally requires the emotional involvement and richness of experience that comes from live face-to-face interaction between student and teacher.

* To avoid becoming detached spectators of life, we need to instead be embodied involved agents in the world, facing the possibilities of surprise and real risk. This involvement is what enables us to maintain a grip on reality, develop trust in others, and gain the context needed to function skillfully in diverse situations. Moreover, surveys indicate that people tend to feel more isolated and depressed as they use the Internet more, so psychological wellness is also at stake.

* The Internet fosters a situation in which anyone can express an opinion on anything, without having real expertise, genuine commitment, or tangible consequences. This can lead to trivialization, superficiality, and corresponding hazards, but it's still possible for people who are already knowledgeable and serious to use the Internet in ways that are more beneficial than harmful.

* The upshot of all this is that the Internet is a powerful but limited tool. To benefit from it, we need to control it and our use of it, rather than falling prey to it controlling us. This requires that we focus on our embodied existence, with all the pleasures and sufferings that entails, rather than naively fantasizing that we can meaningfully live in some sort of escapist cyberspace.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in reflecting on how the Internet can impact our lived experience. And I especially recommend this book to people who spend too much time in front of the computer, rather than interacting with real live people, nature, and the rest of the real world.

In this short essay, Hubert Dreyfus claims the authority of three philosophers. Friedrich Nietzsche teaches that "Man is something to be overcome", but he also warns the "despisers of the body" that they are no bridge to the overman. Maurice Merleau-Ponty completes him by noting that "the body is our general medium for having a world". Our body, including our emotions, plays a crucial role in our being able to make sense of things so as to see what is relevant, our ability to let things matter to us and so to acquire skills, our sense of the reality of things, our trust in other people, and finally, our capacity for making the unconditional commitments that give meaning to our lives.

The third philosopher is Soren Kierkegaard, who deplored the leveling of all meaningful distinctions, the dilution of all individuality's relativity and concreteness into a public sphere that is detached from passion and commitment. Witnessing the birth of the mass media, he saw the press as a cultural threat that encouraged everyone to develop an opinion about everything, but discharged everybody of their responsibility to act on these opinions. According to Kierkegaard, only a risky, unconditional commitment and the strong identity it produces can give an individual a world organized by that individual's unique qualitative distinctions.

These thoughts find echoes in contemporary debates about the internet. Some enthusiasts envision a future when each of us will be able to transcend the limits imposed on us by our bodies and will ultimately become disembodied, detached ubiquitous minds. More realistically, the internet is celebrated as the universal library that puts humanity's knowledge only one click away from one's computer screen. The net also revives the dream of distant learning as a solution to all the problems of the education system.

For Hubert Dreyfus, the promises of the internet claimed by technology pundits are mostly hype. The web offers us asymmetric trade-offs that place economy over efficacy in education, the virtual over the real in our relations to things and people, and anonymity over commitment in our lives. The ultimate choice is between disembodied nihilism and embodied meaning. For the author, the goal of a life full of meaning cannot be fulfilled by technology, and the net's supposed greatest advantage, freedom from the limits imposed by our bodies, is ironically its Achilles' heel.

Is the Internet diminishing or enhancing community? Does the Word Wide Web help us feel more connected or less? Is distance education through Internet media making knowledge more available, or is it robbing people of face-to-face learning experiences? Are online communities real communities? These are the sort of questions raised by Hubert Dreyfus' On the Internet.

If one ever wondered what influential philosophers like Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, or Martin Heidegger would have thought about the World Wide Web, On the Internet is the first, and perhaps best, place to look. Dreyfus is a leading existential philosopher who offers a compelling and persuasive assessment of the Internet's benefits and limitations.

If you are one who looks to the Web for a disembodied world of ubiquitous learning, connection, and meaningful life, Dreyfus' book is a friendly killjoy.

Dreyfus' discussion of the Internet is somewhat narrow. He doesn't write about file sharing, Internet porn, blogging, newsgroups, or chat rooms. Rather he does a much broader sweep of Internet technologies.

On the Internet is primarily a critique of cyberlibertarian principles. Dreyfus sites the authors of the 1994 document, "Cyberspace and the American Dream: A Magna Carta for the Knowledge Age," or the more "far out" example of the Extropy Institute. These groups look with great optimism to the world of cyber technology. For example, the Extropy Institute optimistically looks to a "posthuman future" when we are no longer limited by our physical bodies. Written on the eve of widespread Internet use, the Magna Carta looks with great expectation to the creation of "electronic neighborhoods," where "cyberspace will play an important role knitting together in the diverse communities of tomorrow."

At first it may seem like Dreyfus is positioning straw men to knock down. After all, who really believes computers will utterly replace human teachers? Who believes all can one day receive as good an education via distance learning as being an apprentice to the masters? Who thinks risk-free virtual worlds will some day completely replace the dirtiness of real life? Few would articulate such things.

But Dreyfus' aim is not to merely question the far-out cyber-utopian thinkers but to help us spot the corners of our own minds where we expect more from the World Wide Web than what it can truly offer. Dreyfus does not see the Internet as a phantom threat, but rather wants to help us balance offline and online life, creating a down-to-earth symbiosis of embodied life and virtual life.

The primary thrust of On the Internet is the importance the human body and physical presence plays in helping us make sense of the world, acquire skills, build community, and give lasting meaning to our lives. Dreyfus taps his knowledge of cyber technology, epistemology, and educational psychology to show that cyberspace is not the final frontier of learning or meaningful connections.

Chapters 2 and 3 attempt to show that even the best technological telepresence experience (live streaming video, live chat, etc.) cannot capture all the benefits of bodily presence in the classroom, meaning that virtual students are not likely to pass beyond mere competence and become truly proficient, let alone gain mastery in a subject.

Chapter 4 attempts to show the Internet, like the newspaper before it, creates a global "public sphere" where information is readily available but makes us into detached, anonymous spectators, guilty of endless reflection and commentary while taking neither risks of vulnerable involvement nor passionate commitment.

Chapter 5 attempts to show how virtual worlds like Second Life can become unfortunate diversions from facing the harsher realities of life, can drive us away from meaningful real-world risk-taking, and, most significantly, take us away from deeply significant communal practices where people share a "common mood" and are caught up in the contagious moments of joy, grief, nostalgia, awe, and celebration.

Hubert Dreyfus, a renowned scholar on the existential phenomenology of Martin Heidegger, brings a philosopher's mind to bear on the questions of how the Internet is affecting our culture. Citing the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Dreyfus writes of the "intercorporeality" of the human body--our physical presence in a situation which gives a holistic sense of our environment, a sense that is greater than the sum of our five senses.

Dreyfus relates his philosophical ideas to recent neurobiological studies about mirror-neurons, systems in the brain that specialize in helping us understand and resonate with the actions and emotions of others, as well as the social significance of those actions (pp. 113-115). Using current research from roboticists, Dreyfus powerfully argues that the best technology cannot simulate this crucial social/physical dynamic (pp. 54-57). In other words, we need face-to-face interactions to carry on meaningful lives.

Dreyfus fails to site a variety of opponents to his positions. Certainly many would feel like their online communities are not deficient. Many would say that the Internet has not decreased their awareness and involvement in worthy causes, but rather increased them. Many would believe their online friendships to be just as "real" to them as face-to-face friendships. Dreyfus does not engage with these opinions, but rather launches his analysis on the basis of his philosophical interests.

Dreyfus praises the limited benefits of distance learning, but he neglects to mention how schools have tried to overcome obstacles in distance education, creatively weaving together distance lectures, face-to-face apprenticeship, on-site teaching, and Internet discussion forums. The more virtual schools have begun to see the need for interaction among students and professors, the more they have begun to put in place measures to bring this about.

Dreyfus at times misrepresents the Christian/Biblical worldview as being anti-body. Dreyfus claims that Christianity and Platonism share a common desire to get rid of the body to arrive at an ideal disembodied state (pp. 143-144). Speaking of Nietzsche's battle with Platonism's and Christianity's vision of immortality beyond the body (p. 6), Dreyfus neglects to mention the strong tradition in biblical Christianity of resurrection, a belief that affirms an eternal, albeit glorified, physical state. God not only affirms the value of the body by giving it immortality, but (using Heideggerian terms) by bringing divinity together with humanity.

Some might think it ironic I found Dreyfus' critique refreshing. I make my living as a corporate blogger, I am earning a degree via distance education, and I met my wife on eHarmony. I like the Internet. It is where I spend a great deal of time. But being immersed in the virtual world, I cannot help but enjoy the overall thrust of Dreyfus' book. The Internet is a wonderful tool, but it is no replacement for real-life, flesh and blood community.

Hubert Dreyfus has attempted to take the Internet and its infinite and astronomically diverse uses and summarize it into a 134-page book. In the best of circumstances this is a difficult task.

Dreyfus does not contest that the Internet is filled with an exorbitant amount of information. He tells us, "At a recent count, it had over a billion pages and it continues to grow at the rate of at least a million pages a day." Dreyfus explains to the reader that he is concerned the Internet tempts many of its users to adopt an entirely new way of life and existence, "Web surfers embrace proliferating information as a contribution to a new form of life in which surprise and wonder are more important than meaning and usefulness."

In his analysis of the Internet's impact on our culture Dreyfus makes two major mistakes - 1) He judges the new technology of the Internet by comparing it to older and very different forms of data collection, and 2) He arrives at sweeping conclusions about most users of the Internet by maligning a few extreme and fringe proponents of the World Wide Web.

The majority of Internet users would volunteer that the Internet is not a perfect resource, but simply an additional tool. Few people believe that search engines, as an example, are anything other then a place to begin your research. However, Dreyfus alludes to the fact that all search engines are poor forms of data collection when he criticizes, "But searching for a Web page with specific intellectual content using Web search engines can be very difficult, sometimes impossible." He also states, "...it should be no surprise that no one has been able to program a computer to respond to what is relevant." The Internet is a supplement, not a replacement to other forms of knowledge gathering.

Dreyfus also criticizes the practice of distance learning on the Internet. His flaw exists in the assumption that distance learning was intended to be an equal and ideal substitute for classroom and lab learning. "There must be something more than information consumption going on in distance learning or there is no point in adding the Internet to the canned lecture.", Dreyfus says. He also states, "...mastery would seem to be out of reach of the distance learner." Few people would contend they want a mechanic, plumber or doctor who learned their trade online. Conversely, in instances where knowledge is sought by people who are limited by finances, distance or time, distance learning is an acceptable, and possibly equal, alternative to in-class instruction.

The author implies that opinions of fringe fanatics and supporters of the Internet are representative of the views and intentions of all. Dreyfus quotes industry consultant Esther Dyson when he writes, "Cyberspace is the land of knowledge, and the exploration of that land can be a civilization's truest, highest calling." Dreyfus also expresses concern that there are those who seek an alternate cyber life, "My question is a more speculative one: what if the Net became central in our lives? What if it becomes, as the developers of Second Life hope it will become, what Joseph Nye, Dean of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, calls an `irresistible alternative culture'? What if the Internet gave us access to a virtual second life? To the extent that we came to live a large part of our lives in cyberspace, would we become super- or infra-human?"

There can be little doubt that there are those who use the Internet who wish for our culture to become over dependent on what they are promoting. Businesses, cause oriented activists and fame seekers would love noting more than to have us park in their corner of the digital domain. Yet, like everything, healthy use of the Internet as a tool requires discipline of time and sites surfed. Our intimate friendships should not be confined to chat rooms and social media. Our fact gathering should not include blogs and Wikipedia.

Dreyfus takes the leap that since there are those who abuse the Internet and there are web pages that lend themselves to abusive behavior, there is therefore little redeemable from the Internet. Anything, taken to excess, is harmful. Starbucks, as an example, has created a world that invites the consumer to create a Starbucks focused life. Walk into a Starbucks and you will find free wifi, comfortable chairs, food and drinks. They sell music, coffee, social causes and news. Starbucks uses websites, advertisement, gift cards and smart pone apps to make sure we are thinking about them even when we are not there. If a consumer desired, she could create an unhealthy existence centered on Starbucks. That does not make all things Starbucks malicious. If I show restraint and only walk into Starbucks once a week to treat myself to a nonfat latte, Starbucks is providing me with a simple service.

In On the Internet Hubert Dryfus uses extreme views and bombastic logic to disparage the Internet. There are countless flaws with the Internet and mans sinful nature can definitely magnify and exacerbate those failings. Unfortunately, in using over exaggerations and rash generalizations Dryfus' book misses the mark. Dryfus fails to see the benefit the Internet brings as a research device and a gateway to opportunity.

Despite a favorable finding that Internet has made life better (p. 137), at least one other survey indicates the opposite that it leads to greater isolation, indifference (p.137), depression and loneliness (p.3). It is in light of these studies that Prof. Dreyfus does a keen eye-opening analysis that weighs the benefits versus the dangers of Internet in our lives. He presents some interesting insights on the nature of conventional library-based versus online search methodology (p.13, 16), but I would like to focus more on his views in regards to the effects of Internet on education and human personality in general. Dreyfus's conclusion on distance education is that it has the ability to bring students to the level of competence, but not expertise (p.32-46). Emotional interactions between teachers and students as well as among students are essential for a learning process that leads to a thorough knowledge and practical skills usable in the field. Conscientious teachers will not settle or be satisfied with teaching remote students. Conscientious students acknowledge the limitation of online classes and yearn for an onsite instructor they can establish eye contacts with and treat as not merely a source of information, but also as someone who is willing to encourage, compliment, correct and rebuke them personally.

The most important diagnosis that Dreyfus provides is on the subject of telepresence and disembodied interactions (ch.3-5). What makes a human being unique and distinguishes us from machines is that we not only have an intellect, emotion and will, but also the ability for them to interact with each other within ourselves as well as with other human beings. The Internet may have an impressive and seemingly infinite intelligence to provide almost any information we need and the technology to bring people all over the world closer together via social networks, text, voice and video communications. But it doesn't have emotion and will and in my opinion, will never replace a true human emotion and face-to-face, physical interaction with a virtual one. A virtual interaction not only lacks these qualities but also poses some dangers as well. First, it tends to deceive us into thinking that the Internet provides all our emotional needs (p. 68-69, 136). Second, it discourages commitment (or unconditional commitment as Dreyfus puts it) and risk-taking (or bold experimentation to use Dreyfus's term, p.102-105) due to the comfortable and risk-free nature of online engagements. Third, it numbs our ability to discern what is important. It makes us lazy and indifferent to real needs. As a corollary of the second danger, it tends to paralyze us into perpetual observers and disable us from doing anything useful (p.76-77, 79, 81). The last thing we want to happen is we care more about our online friends who live thousands of miles away at the expense of neglecting our family in our household or the people who live in our neighborhood. The Internet is the best means to escape from reality.

In summary, Dreyfus warns against inordinate infatuation with the Internet that tends to adversely affect our human personality. I can think of at least three things we can do in response if we believe his conclusion is true. First, we ought to labor to seek physical rather than virtual interactions as much as possible. Prefer face-to-face conversations with people who are present physically in front of us to the use of electronic mediums such as chat rooms or applications like Second Life. Seek as close personal interactions as possible. For example, a video is better than a phone conversation. A phone conversation is better than a text message or chatting on Facebook. Second, we ought to labor to find wise mentors who live nearby. Seek counsel and learn from them often instead of relying solely on the Internet. There are information and skills that can only be acquired from people directly through a personal interaction. Third, we ought to prefer physical to online activities. It is more beneficial for our health to go hiking at the real Yosemite than the virtual one we find in Second Life. Serving meals at a homeless shelter is a greater blessing to others than counseling people online. Dreyfus does not imply that the Internet is totally worthless. He just encourages us to use it wisely, such as to advance the causes that are dear to us (p. 137), to communicate with our loved ones who live in a distant place, and to receive education when face-to-face learning is prohibitive.

Hubert L. Dreyfus outlines a deep philosophical analysis regarding the repercussions of the Internet on our culture in this essayistic book. His comments are usually very illuminating and perceptive, using his philosophical background to criticize a force of great social change. Dreyfus illustrates the world of the net - uncontrollable, unsystematic, and incomprehensible. His criticisms range from the ineffective nature of distance learning to the uncommitted opinions formulated from the vast amount of accessible knowledge. Essentially, Dreyfus is pointion towards the perils of this disembodied space, where human connection, vulnerability, and meaning are significantly desensitized.

His dissection of this cyber-reality is extremely engaging and vital in any critical discussion of the net. However, at times Dreyfus' criticism feels inappropriate and outdated. Rather than criticize the massive size of the net, Dreyfus should first explain our unhealthy relationship to it and then guide us towards a healthy one. His philosophical reflections are often purely intellectually driven rather than constructively reflective.

This is the one aspect that may irke some viewers, his dependence upon philosophy in a discussion that should not be abstracted. Though I find this approach to be a very engaging element in Dreyfus' arguments. Often times discussions regarding current events and present-day cultural shifts don't receive any kind of deep introspective analysis foreseeing important sociological and psychological effects. Instead book are factual and concrete, and only visionary to certain extent. Dreyfus is looking past the momentary issues about the net and seeing something bigger. As he calls it in his first sentences, "The Internet is not just a new technological innovation; it is a new type of technological innovation." Dreyfus is very perceptive in his breakdown of this new (and mysterious) type of technology.

Who would of thought that surfing the web could be penetrating my primordial belief in reality? Not I, until reading this book.