Philosophy of Media: A Short History of Ideas and Innovations from Socrates to Social Media

by Robert Hassan, Thomas Sutherland

Since the late-1980s the rise of the Internet and the emergence of the Networked Society have led to a rapid and profound transformation of everyday life. Underpinning this revolution is the computer a media technology that is capable of not only transforming itself, but almost every other machine and media process that humans have used throughout history.



In Philosophy of Media, Hassan and Sutherland explore the philosophical and technological trajectory of media from Classical Greece until today, casting a new and revealing light upon the global media condition. Key topics include:





the mediation of politics the question of objectivity automata and the metaphor of the machine analogue and digital technological determinism.
Laid out in a clear and engaging format, Philosophy of Media provides an accessible and comprehensive exploration of the origins of the network society. It is essential reading for students of philosophy, media theory, politics, history and communication studies.

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Genres: Philosophy

262 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Robert Hassan is Professor of Media and Communication at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of The Condition of Digitality, The Age of Distraction, and other books.

Reviews

[Suzanne Tanner]

I'm glad Goodreads has academic books on here, because I am having a super weird summer of reading. I DNF'd a handful of fluffy beach reads (my usual summer fare), yet this caught my interest and I read it cover to cover (first full book I finished in the month of June). Should I be proud of this, or concerned? I'll save my thoughts for my academic writing, no one who follows me here actually cares why I think Hassan is wrong about Plato, but this is the book I wish I'd had back when I was writing my dissertation. Fully recommend if you are into media studies...

[Paul]

A much needed and highly savvy examination of the contribution of philosophy to our understanding of media, especially social media, with refreshing attention to ancient philosophers.