Reassessing the Nature of IS

David presented at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) ‘Digital Innovation at the Crossroads’ Dublin 11-14 December 2016, in the Methodological and Philosophical Foundations of IS Track.

David was one of nine nominees (out of over 200 papers) for the Best Theory Paper Award.  The full paper is available on the AIS Electronic Library website.

Abstract: This paper draws upon the work of three different philosophers, from America (Thomas Nagel), France (Henri Bergson) and Britain (Alfred North Whitehead), to argue for (i) the reality of subjectivity, (ii) the nonphysical nature of subjective consciousness that is dependent upon but not determined by the physical nature of the body, and (iii) the potential unity of a new concept of nature-on-the-move, as distinct from the bifurcation of nature that views only the objective as real. It then presents arguments for new understandings of positivism, interpretivism and the critical stance, in a unified and more coherent frame, going beyond Habermas, Foucault and Bourdieu, to a more fundamental understanding of the philosophical context, situating IS within a more inclusive concept of nature.

Reference:

Kreps, D., (2016) Reassessing the Nature of IS. Paper presented at ‘Digital Innovation at the Crossroads’ International Conference on Information Systems 2016, Dublin, Ireland, 11-14 December 2016