This book investigates the emerging phenomenon of the self as it
exists in the online world. It argues for an externalist conception of
self and identity, one that does not depend on the continuity of
consciousness of the subject. It also offers an analysis of related
phenomenon such as online friendship and games based on this analysis.
An outstanding feature of social networking sites such as Facebook and
MySpace is that it allows for the user to put forward their
“selves” or their identity onto the Internet and use the online
self as an anchor to connect with any number of “friends” each of
whom also has their own online selves. A number of questions then
arise which are deeply conceptual and philosophical in nature: What is
the metaphysical nature of this emerging online self? Is it the same
or fundamentally different from the “offline” self with which we
are already familiar? Since increasing numbers of people are
connected to the online world, this world itself seems to be taking
on a reality of its own. This much has been appreciated by a number
of scholars in the field. However, there seems to be lacking a
systematic study of the philosophical and metaphysical nature of the
self that has become a key element in cyberspace, a key topic which
this volume addresses. Apart from the problem of constitution of the
online self, this volume addresses related questions concerning
personal identity in the online world and scrutinizes computer games
and the characteristics that they share with social networking sites.
Unlike the majority of the existing literature, which discusses the
topic from a more social scientific perspective, this volume fills the
lacuna of a philosophical and theoretical study of the online
world.
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Externalism, Friendship and Games
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9783319390758
Publisert
2018
Utgiver
Springer Nature
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter