Software Development and Reality Construction

This book takes up a variety of themes relating to human questions in computer science. The main topics addressed are: - The relationship between human beings and computers, - Software development as a human activity, - The use of computer programs in the human world, - The nature of computer science as a scientific discipline. Contributions by 33 authors belonging to different scientific disciplines are assembled to form a coherent whole. Some authors reflect on their own professional practice in computer science and system design. Others start from approaches developed in the humanities and the social sciences for understanding human learning and creativity, individual and cooperative work, and the interrelation between technology and organizations. Drawing on different philosophical traditions, they discuss the nature of software development and use as social processes in which we play an active role in constituting what we hold for real. The book will provide readers with theoretical foundations and a constructive orientation for practice in science and design.