This doctoral dissertation in philosophy at Northwestern University
considers the two most important philosophers of the modern age. I
conducted my research during three years in Germany: at Heidelberg,
where Heidegger's work was continued, and at Frankfurt, where critical
theory extended Marx' thinking. In recent years, I have applied
conceptual and methodological perspectives from Marx and Heidegger to
the theory of CSCL. In particular, Marx countered the ideology of
individualism by analyzing social structures and interpersonal
interactions at different units of analysis than the individual person.
Heidegger also questioned the traditional ontology of natural objects
with innate attributes by proposing dynamic interactive processes of
beings in their ecological context. Today, the philosophies of Marx and
Heidegger are still extremely relevant-provided one adapts them to the
current socio-historical context and adjusts each to the implicit
criticisms of the other.