13 新时代新哲学.docVIP

13、A New Age, A New Philosophy If we do not understand the fundamentals1 and underlying2 themes of the age we live in, then we will have great difficulty living and working in a successful and fulfilled3 manner. This is the beginning of the digital age. As we have invented the age itself, by inventing the computer and telecommunications (along with all their by- products), so now we need to invent a way to understand and live in it. We need a philosophy for the digital age. The creation of a digital age philosophy requires us firstly to understand what the underlying fundamentals are that make this age what it is. What makes this age different? Some readers might wince a little at the word philosophy, thinking that it belongs in academia4, not the real world. I make no apologies for using it because I believe that it is exactly what we need. Going forward without a digital age philosophy is going forward blind. Those of us over 30 were born and reared in the industrial age. We ate, slept and drank its philosophical tenets5. They were in front of us every day, in our homes, in our workplaces, in the newspapers, in our conversations, in our classrooms and playgrounds. In our social and economic structures. We understood terms, such as the working class, the five-day week, 9-to-5 and lifetime employment. Our children will imbue6 a digital age philosophy in a natural day to day manner, but we of the older generations must work much harder. We need to shed much of the skin of our industrial age philosophy and thinking, and then learn to wear the philosophy and thinking of the digital age. We need to understand new terms, such as cyberspace7, e-commerce8, globalisation, teleworking9 and virtual organisations. This is not an easy task by any means. It can be both frightening and unnerving10. But whether we like it or not we have no choice. If we do not move forward willingly then we will be moved sideways. If we do not become students again, regaining a child-like c