Software, Design, Architecture and Whatever Else
“It’s not difficult, Manuel. This is not a proposition from Wittgenstein.” –Basil Fawlty “Yes, it is.” — Me Introduction As the odd book title suggests, Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is very intimidating. He did not write for a general audience. He wrote for a handful of fellow logicians who already knew and understood Boole, Frege and … Continue reading "Wittgenstein’s Tractatus"
Introduction I’m going to talk about post-truth. The term burst onto the scene when Oxford Dictionaries made it their word of the year in 2016 in the wake of the Brexit Referendum and Donald Trump’s election. Oxford defines it as a circumstance where “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to … Continue reading "Truth and Post-Truth"
Introduction When I was studying Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time a few years ago I came across a brief essay by Hannah Arendt entitled “What Is Existential Philosophy?” She had several interesting insights that went beyond the usual survey. Her most intriguing point was that German philosopher Immanuel Kant paved the way for existentialism by … Continue reading "Kant’s Destruction and the Rise…
1. Every software project is constrained by time, budget, and scope. 2. The old truism has it that the customer may choose only two of the three. 2.1. Vendor promises, hype cycles, new methodologies, new tools, artificial intelligence, and silver bullets cannot alter these project constraints. 2.2. In large organizations there is no single customer. … Continue reading "A Developer’s Manifesto"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction First Thoughts My overall reaction after reading Heidegger’s Being and Time was that I had a vague sense something important was being said but I wasn’t sure what it was. Heidegger is repetitive, opaque, baffling, and difficult. But he also has some central insights … Continue reading "Being And Time: Final Opinions"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction Previous Post in Series: Care The preparatory analysis in the previous post reached the preliminary conclusion that our being is care. Heidegger goes on to conclude later that our being is time, or more specifically ecstatic temporality. This is the main topic of the … Continue reading "Being And Time: Temporality"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction Previous Post in Series: Authentic Self In the previous post I mentioned that we are concerned about our being. Or as Heidegger puts it “Dasein is a being which is concerned in its being about that being” (191). What does this mean? Basically, in … Continue reading "Being And Time: Care"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction Previous Post in Series: Average Everydayness In the last post, I surveyed the threefold structure of fallenness (ambiguity, curiosity, and idle talk). For Heidegger, this is the typical way in which we are in the world or as he says our “average everydayness”. We become … Continue reading "Being And Time: Authentic Self"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction Previous Post in Series: The Others Heidegger uses the word Verfallen to describe our regular everyday way of being as a they-self in the world with others. Variously translated as fallenness, falling prey, or entanglement, it does not represent a fall “from a purer … Continue reading "Being And Time: Average Everydayness"
This post is part of a series. Go to the Introduction Previous Post in Series: Being-In-The-World So where are we thus far? Heidegger has said that my essence lies in my existence – that is, who I am is determined by the actions I take given the possibilities that lie before me. I’m surrounded by … Continue reading "Being And Time: The Others"
