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 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.

Dates

PhiDOS will take place on following dates in the year 2024:

  • Thursday, 11 April 2024, 5.00 pm (CET)
  • Thursday, 11 July 2024, 5.00 pm (CET)
  • Thursday, 10 October 2024, 5.00 pm (CET)

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.