Ethos in the Information Society and the Development of “angeletics”

Abstract

Rafael Capurro is one of the pioneers of the hermeneutic approach to information studies, especially with regard to ethical issues. One of the main goals of his study is to understand “ethos” in the information society. Capurro’s ideas concerning the information technology are different from those of Dreyfus although they both have hermeneutic viewpoints. The scope of his study is widened in his latest study named “angeletics” which means “message studies.” Angeletics, hermeneutics, and mediology are complementary to each other. Capurro’s idea concerning ethics in the information age is based on “technologies of the self” which are not “act-oriented” but “self-oriented.” It is also expected that interactions between Capurro and Japanese thought patterns produce some important contributions to information ethics.