PhiDOS

What is this about?

Digital phenomena are omnipresent nowadays and they are not restricted to the hardware, e.g. computers or smartphones. The process of the digital transformation affects each and every part of our life – how we work, how we connect with friends, how we do politics and medicine, how children grow up, how we travel, how we do science. The grammar and logic of the digital, the sphere of bits and bytes, of (hyper)referentiality, of multimedia and of artificial intelligence transcends its materiality and reshapes the way we act, think, talk and feel. To understand this global transformation, the sciences and humanities have to collaborate to conceive a theoretical framework for the digital and the digitality itself.

For this undertaking philosophy can contribute immensely. Questions of the ontological status of digital objects or virtual reality, of the epistemic status of the infosphere and digital methods in research (like simulations), of ethical issues regarding artificial intelligence, of the social implications of the digital death or the development of new cultural techniques are genuinely philosophical questions. Some approaches are already on the table but there is still a lot of work to do.

PhiDOS – a Philosophy of Digitality Open Space

Here comes PhiDOS into play. It means the „Philosophy of Digitality Open Space“ and is a virtual get-together format for philosophers who are working on topics described above. It is organised by the working group „Philosophy of Digitality“ of the German Society for Philosophy (https://www.dgphil.de/home/). It will take place three to four times a year for one hour each and function as a platform for discussion, the exchange of news and ideas and connecting with other researchers. The program of the meetings is very open so please feel free to bring your own ideas and questions! There will be a short talk at the beginning of the session but then the floor is open for you! To stay in touch between the meetings, there is a Discord server where the discussions may continue. The language of the meetings and the Discord server is English.

How to attend

If you are interested, please fill out this form. We will get in touch, send you the Zoom link as well as the Discord link and keep you updated on our event.

Current Dates

PhiDOS will take place on following dates in the year 2026:

  • Thursday, 15th Jan 2026, 5.00 pm (CET)
  • Thursday, 9th Apr 2026, 5.00 pm (CET)
  • Thursday, 9th Jul 2026, 5.00 pm (CET)
  • Thursday, 8th Oct 2026, 5.00 pm (CET)

Past Dates

2025

9th Oct 2025:

10th Jul 2025:

10th April 2025:

  • Topic: meet the editors (Phenomenology of Technology)
  • Referees: Bas de Boer, Jochem Zwier

2024

10th Oct 2024:

  • Topic: conference report (Practical Philosophy and the digital)
  • Referee: Sebastian Weydner-Volkmann

11th Jul 2024:

  • Topic: workshop report (Agency and Intentions in AI)
  • Referee: Anna Strasser

11th Apr 2024:

  • Topic: conference report (Digital Humanities in Germany with a focus on digital philosophy)
  • Referee: Jonathan D. Geiger

2023

12th Oct 2023:

  • Topic: workshop report (Humans and smart machines as partners in thought?)
  • Referee: Anna Strasser

12th Jan 2023:

  • Topic: workshop reports (ethics of AI in higher education)
  • Referee: Sebastian Weydner-Volkmann

2022

13th Oct 2022:

  • Topic: Robotics and control
  • Referee: Sven Nyholm

14th Jul 2022:

  • Topic: digital transformation of the lifeworld
  • Referee: Christoph Durt

14th Apr 2022:

  • Topic: Social Media and boredom
  • Referee: Frodo Podschwadek

13th Jan 2022:

  • Topic: Human-Machine-Interaction
  • Referee: Catrin Misselhorn