Strategic Frameworks for Understanding Information Systems

• The nature of computer systems - including the artificial intelligence question, "Do computers possess intentionality?"
• The shape given to information technologies - knowledge representation formalisms, etc.
• Information systems development - creating computer systems for human use, employing those technologies.
• Human usage of computer systems - both ease of use (user interface) and usefulness (benefits and detrimental impact)
• Our technological ecology - What it means that information technology is an environment in which we live: world views, expectations, inscription, etc.

A Dooyeweerdian approach, which denies that anything 'is' anything 'in itself' because it is based on Meaning rather than Being, cannot start at the first and work along the list, nor with the last and work backwards. Instead, it must start with the meaning of information technology, and that entails human usage. This gives us first a pivotal framework.

The page is only a first draft, and is a summary of the results in Basden's forthcoming book A Philosophy for Information Systems; apologies: many of the entries are as yet terse, but I plan to expand them in due time. If you want clarification, please email me.

A box just below an entry, on right hand side, gives the part in Dooyeweerd's philosophy that relates to that entry.

('FFU' = framework for understanding)

The Pivotal Framework

Where to start:

• Not with nature of technology.
• Nor with societal perspectives.

  Those presuppose technology and society are something 'in itself'; Immanence standpoint.

• But with human use of I.T. artefact or computer systems.

  Priority of Meaning over Being. What makes computers meaningful are the human aspects (centrality of human as responsible).

Computers and information can only be understood by reference to human beings and human usage of computers.

Thus all FFUs pivot on human usage of computers

• Human usage is:

  Multi-aspectual functioning

• Three types of functioning ...

  Three sets of aspects

  • Ease of use, 'driving' machine

    Aspects of functioning regardless of application: esp. psychic to lingual

  • Usefulness in Applications Task

    Aspects of applications task.

  • Usefulness in user's role

    Aspects of user's role.

• Link between them:

  Lingual aspect of driving enables symbolizing the meaning of application.

Constructing Frameworks for Understanding Human Use of Computer Systems

Philosophical basis for differentiating driving (ease of use) from using (usefulness)

FFU Ease of Use, Driving the UI:

• 1. Aspects of UI are psychic to lingual
  • Provides basis for evaluation, design, clarification, etc.
• 2. Paradigm shift underway: distal to proximal
  • Therefore what contribution appropriate for philosophy?
  • Extant philosophical understanding of the difference
    • Winograd + Flores (Descartes distance v. Heideggerian at-hand-ness).
    • Critique by Spaul and Critical Theory: W+F disallows critical reflection.
    • Need to allows for critical reflection of the applications task whil allowing proximal UI.

      Dooyeweerd: Lingual rather than Cartesian distance. Dooyeweerd also allows both distal and proximal. Distal as lingual Gegenstand, proximal as multi-aspectual functioning.

      Dooyeweerd's theory of tacit knowing.

• Philosophical FFU Distal driving
  • Learners

    Learning qualified by lingual.

• Philosophical FFU Proximal driving
  • Enriching existing work

FFU Usefulness in Application:

• No existing paradigm yet; therefore can suggest one
  • Paradigms chosen r.t. provably corrent

    Paradigms as extra-theoretical (pistic) commitments to a world view or FFU; Dooyeweerdian theory of presuppositions.

• What is Usage? How do impacts arise?
  • Issues: diverse, stakeholders, indirect, unexpected, long-term
  • Usage is Human aspectual functioning

    Response to aspectual Law, some of which is normative . Dooyeweerd's notion of Law- and Entity-Side, Dooyeweerd's theory of aspects.

  • Impacts occur as repercussions of this functioning

    Dooyeweerdian theory of ethics: aspects pertain; simultaneous realization of norms.

  • Unexpected impacts

    Aspects pertain.

  • Diversity

    Diversity of aspects.

  • Indirect impacts

    Human self as integration point of aspects; Dooyeweerd's non-Cartesian notion of subject and object

  • Long-term impacts

    Longer response times for later aspects.

• Difference between benefit and detriment?
  • Needs philosophy that embraces normativity

    Normative Aspects imply norms

  • Aspect tree as visual device

Observations on how Dooyeweerdian philosophy has been useful.

Constructing Frameworks for Understanding Nature of Computers

Nature of computers is their Meaning before their Being

• Ask "What means computer?" before "What is computer?"

  Dooyeweerd's theory of entities; Being arises out of Meaning.

• Therefore we understand nature as aspects

  Aspects are irreducible distinctions of Meaning.

• We consider aspects of driving, regardless of application

"What means computer?": aspectual functioning

• Which aspects to consider?
  • Lingual aspect as qualifying

    Notion of qualifying aspect.

  • Physical to Formative to support it

    Inter-aspect dependency

• Examination of kernel meaning of each aspect uncovers many issues

  Dooyeweerd's notion that each aspect has a kernel meaning.

  • Whose suites of aspects do we choose?

    Our taking of Dooyeweerd's suite as better than other suites.

    • Note: in all aspects after physical, the computer responds as object within human subject-functioning in each aspect; in physical the computer responds as subject.
  • Physical (subject-functioning): reliability
  • Organic (object-functioning): hardware, distinct from environment
  • Psychic (object-functioning): signals and states
    • pixel and gestures of UI, and shapes, colours, etc.
    • memory, bit patterns, CPU instructions
  • Analytic (object-functioning): basic data types,
    • their storage and manipulation as bit patterns,
    • ways of expressing them in UI.
  • Formative (object-functioning): structure and goals
    • data structures
    • algorithms and what we do with the data; information processing
  • Lingual (object-functioning): applications meaning symbolized
    • 'direct' meaning
    • cultural assumptions

      Anticipation of social

  • Other aspects:
    • Social: see lingual cultural assumptions, 'pragmatics'
    • Economic: limitations on screen space, memory, speed, etc.
    • Aesthetic: style and decoration of UI.
  • Note: difference from e.g. Searle "What the computer is really doing."

    Dooyeweerd's critique of Immanence Standpoint (Existence-Orientation).

• This can throw light on several issues:
  • Newell's levels
  • Intentionality and the AI question

"What is computer?": aspectual beings (reified aspects)

• Enkaptically related to whole

  Enkapsis - part of Dooyeweerd's theory of entities.

• Part and whole
• Several issues
  • Ontic status of mouse pointer etc.

Observations on how we have used Dooyeweerd's philosophy:

Constructing Frameworks for Understanding Shaping of Information Technologies

Link to pivotal framework: Develops the set of aspects of application task

FFU the process of researching and developing information technologies

• process led by the formative aspect: shaping
• multi-aspectual, so all aspects important

  Dooyeweerd's view of multi-aspectual functioning, and shalom principle.

FFU the shapes that information technologies take:

• Note: Plethora of information technologies extant.
• Vision: information technologies should be shaped around the aspects, a distinct

  technology for each aspect, since it is not known which aspects an applications task will involve

  Aspects are irreducible. All applications undertaken within framework of aspectual law.

• in the main we are talking about representation of knowledge.

  Lingual expression of what we want computer to be/do in symbols of KR language.

  • Note: we do NOT assume textual languages only.

    Anything can be a symbol to Dooyeweerd.

• Each aspect provides a complete KR formalism (The generation of a KR software

  should implement all these):

  Philosophical roles of each aspect.

  • A central KR-ontology for the aspect

    Constellation of concepts.

  • A language and user interface style appropriate to the aspect

    Distinct way of describing

  • Objects

    Aspectual beings

  • Types of properties, attributes

    Aspects define basic types of properties.

  • Methods (functions, procedures, inferencing)

    Aspectual functioning.

  • Constraints and tests

    Aspectual law defines what is meaningful.

  • Relationship types, and what happens when they are activated

    Aspectual law.

  • (not yet known)

    Aspectual ways of knowing

• Examples given for each aspect.
• analogical inter-aspect echoes: each KR formalism echoes others
• Integration of KR:

  The aspects are in harmony

This points to major new research programme, since it does not seem to have been attempted before.

Observations on how we have used Dooyeweerdian philosophy.

Constructing Frameworks for Understanding Information Systems Development

FFU that looks forward to eventual usage

• all sets of aspects of the pivotal framework
• but employs the extant shaped technologies.

FFU the process of development

• Methodology is major issue

  Qualified by formative aspect.

• But a diverse human process

  Multi-aspectual functioning.

  • all aspects important: we can go through the contribution of each
  • social aspects especially important since the process involves multiple stakeholders, e.g.:
    • involving all stakeholders in process

      Social aspect.

    • perspectives of stakeholders

      Pistic aspect.

    • due to each stakeholders

      Juridical aspect.

    • generosity and service

      Ethical aspect.

FFU looking forward to eventual use:

• identification of stakeholders

  Aspects of their roles in application (see pivotal framework).

• Diversity of domain knowledge

  Application functioning involves every aspect ...

• Problems of tacit

  ... but we often unaware of it.

• Ensuring no factor is overlooked

  Every aspect important.

• Useful methods of aspectual analysis:
  • Aspect checklist

    Every aspect important.

  • Aspect tree

    +ve, -ve functioning in each aspect.

  • MAKE: Multi-Aspectual Knowledge Elicitation

    Important aspects; Interwovenness of aspects. Dooyeweerd's theory of aspects.

• Distribution of domain knowledge between human and technological parts of information system:

  Dooyeweerd's notion that humans are central to any technological artefact.

  • human parts: training
  • technological parts: developing the technological artefacts and systems (design, implementation, validation)
    • employing extant technologies (link to FFU-Tgy)
    • Note the tiny fraction of attention given to programming etc. compared with many
  • ensuring good interaction between them
• Quality of knowledge elicited: seek to separate understanding from context in experience. /

• Valid because the aspects are law-side and pertain for us in general ways, whereas experience is entity-side and is thus context-dependent; Dooyeweerd's notion of Law- and Entity-Side.

• Knowledge refinement (iterative process):

  Because knowledge is inherently non-absolute.

Observations of how Dooyeweerdian philosophy has been used.

Constructing Frameworks for Understanding Technological Ecology

The difference from other frameworks: humans inside information technology;

• predispositions to live, work, act in certain ways
• changes in expectations, aspiration, outlook
• changes in what we see as the solution
• [new]: perspectives

  All the above: World views; 'religious' root.

FFU Technology: Schuurman's Account of Technology

• The transcedentalists and positivists - and post moderns
• My own view that these rationalizations do not accord with my everyday experience.

  Dooyeweerd: listen sensitively to the everyday lifeworld.

• Absolutized perspectives on technology:

  Dooyeweerdian notion of absolutization and its harm.

• Schuurman's 'liberating vision of technology' based on Dooyeweerdian thinking
  • technology as meaning-disclosure

    Centrality of Meaning. Dooyeweerd's theory of progress.

  • must be led by other aspects

    All aspects important.

  • future is open, not closed

    Formative is Normative.

  • importance of the human designer and their responsibility

    All human aspects imply norms; shalom principle.

  • problems explainable in terms of aspectual norms

    Dooyeweerdian theory of ethics.

FFU Inscription of Technology:

• Feminist critique: I.T. inscribed with 'masculinity'.

  World views of society that develops I.T.

• Critique from developing nations: I.T. inscribed with Western values.

  World views of society that develops I.T.

• Other types of inscription: problems e.g.
  • standardization

    Undue elevation of aspects.

FFU perspectives on technology:

• why we submit:

  Idolatry

Observations on how we have used Dooyeweerdian philosophy.

This page is part of a collection that discusses application of Herman Dooyeweerd's ideas, within The Dooyeweerd Pages, which explain, explore and discuss Dooyeweerd's interesting philosophy. Email questions or comments would be welcome.

Written on the Amiga and Protext.

Compiled by (c) 2003 Andrew Basden. You may use this material subject to conditions.

Created: Last updated: Created: 14 November 2003 Last updated: 7 September 2013 rid unet, new .nav, .end.