Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
1.3
0.6
Journals
Philosophies
Special Issues
Philosophy and Communication Technology
share announcement

Philosophy and Communication Technology

A special issue of Philosophies (ISSN 2409-9287).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 11299

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Brian L. Ott

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Communication, Media, Journalism, and Film, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897, USA
Interests: communication technology; media and society; critical media studies; communication and popular culture; rhetorical theory and criticism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The international, peer-reviewed journal Philosophies invites submissions for a Special Issue devoted to exploring the philosophy of communication technology. Scholars in diverse fields acknowledge that the most central force in social change is the development and spread of new communication technologies or mediated forms. Indeed, the whole of human history and civilization can meaningfully be divided into three major eras based upon the technologies of communication that prevailed at a given time: primary orality, the literate era, and the electronic age. The literate era is often further subdivided into written (chirographic) and print (typographic) cultures, while the electronic age is often organized according to analog and digital media. Scholars further agree that technologies of communication shape both what we know (i.e., ideology) through the content of their messages and how we know (i.e., epistemology) through their structural form. In short, technologies of communication create the underlying conditions of our social world; these conditions, in turn, condition us, shaping both what and how we know.

This Special Issue invites essays exploring any aspect of the relationship between philosophy and communication technology. In the context of this special issue, communication technologies are understood to be any extension of the human sensorium. Potential topics include but are not limited to (1) historical studies related to the development of communication technologies and their role in transforming some aspect of our social, cultural, educational, religious, and/or political lives and experience; (2) explorations of ethical questions and considerations raised by new and emerging communication technologies, especially digital media, related to artificial intelligence, the proliferation of mis- and disinformation, free speech and censorship, the spread of hate speech, and other online anti-social behaviors such as bullying, doxing, or mobbing; (3) analyses of specific media texts or messages that pay attention to how the form and content of those messages foster particular habits of mind; and (4) examinations of the dynamic interplay between communication technologies and contexts, inquiring for instance into how interpersonal, family, organizational, and/or public communication is altered by changing communication technologies, and the consequences of those changes for knowledge, thought, feeling, and their expression.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 6 November 2023

Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 11 December 2023

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editor ([email protected]) or the Philosophies editorial office ([email protected]). The guest editor will review abstracts to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Brian L. Ott
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Philosophies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • communication technology
  • media ecologies
  • medium theory
  • digital media
  • ideology
  • epistemology
  • media ethics
  • media history
  • human sensorium

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 297 KiB  
Article
When Communicative Worlds Collide: Strategies for Negotiating Misalignments in Attentional Social Presence
by Jeanine Warisse Turner and Sonja K. Foss
Philosophies 2024, 9(6), 173; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060173 - 11 Nov 2024
Viewed by 690
Abstract
A significant issue facing communicators in the current multicommunicative environment is securing the attention of potential audience members who are likely to be engrossed in their digital devices. The theory of attentional social presence suggests that communicators secure their attention using one of [...] Read more.
A significant issue facing communicators in the current multicommunicative environment is securing the attention of potential audience members who are likely to be engrossed in their digital devices. The theory of attentional social presence suggests that communicators secure their attention using one of four types of social presence—budgeted, competitive, entitled, and invitational. In this essay, the theory of attentional social presence is extended by identifying strategies interactants use to resolve misalignments in expected or preferred types of social presence. The research design involved interviews with 32 individuals about their experiences with misalignment in attentional social presence. Transcripts of the interviews were coded following the qualitative approach of grounded theory. Three primary strategies emerged from the analysis—prescribing to eliminate misalignment, rationalizing to overlook misalignment, and co-creating to resolve misalignment. Understanding various methods for negotiating mismatches among chosen types of social presence will allow communicators to create more satisfying and productive interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
17 pages, 234 KiB  
Article
The Future of Knowledge, and the Fate of Wisdom, in the Age of Information
by Lance Strate
Philosophies 2024, 9(6), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9060160 - 24 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1728
Abstract
John Henry Newman defined the university as “a place of teaching universal knowledge”, which suggests that it is also an environment for the teaching and creation of knowledge, and therefore a medium for the teaching and creation of knowledge. Based on the field [...] Read more.
John Henry Newman defined the university as “a place of teaching universal knowledge”, which suggests that it is also an environment for the teaching and creation of knowledge, and therefore a medium for the teaching and creation of knowledge. Based on the field of media ecology, defined by Neil Postman as “the study of media as environments”, and following Marshall McLuhan’s famous maxim that, “the medium is the message”, we can understand knowledge to be the product of a particular type of medium or environment. Taking inspiration from the poetic questions posed by T.S. Eliot, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”, this essay takes issue with the view expressed among internet boosters that information is the basis of knowledge, and knowledge is the basis of wisdom. Instead, an alternative understanding presented in which information as a contemporary phenomenon is a product of the electronic media environment, knowledge is a product of the literacy associated with the chirographic and typographic media environments, and wisdom is a product of the oral media environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
14 pages, 232 KiB  
Article
From Subjects to Assemblages: Insights from Oldboy
by Gordana Lazić
Philosophies 2024, 9(5), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9050148 - 20 Sep 2024
Viewed by 872
Abstract
Drawing on the insights of media ecology, this essay explores the potential of media to mobilize representations, feelings, and habits to transform individuals into extensions of media themselves. Specifically, I undertake an analysis of the South Korean film Oldboy, which I argue [...] Read more.
Drawing on the insights of media ecology, this essay explores the potential of media to mobilize representations, feelings, and habits to transform individuals into extensions of media themselves. Specifically, I undertake an analysis of the South Korean film Oldboy, which I argue demonstrates how, in the contemporary moment, media narratively and affectively mobilize individuals to become not only ideological subjects but also media appendages that, consequently, carry out cinema’s central functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
17 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
Belarus’s Sound Body
by Justin Eckstein
Philosophies 2024, 9(5), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9050141 - 5 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1161
Abstract
This study delves into the creative protest tactics of Belarusian activists in 2011, highlighting their use of “sound bodies” created through clapping to challenge authoritarian constraints. The research posits that these ethereal sound bodies exert significant normative pressure on the regime by challenging [...] Read more.
This study delves into the creative protest tactics of Belarusian activists in 2011, highlighting their use of “sound bodies” created through clapping to challenge authoritarian constraints. The research posits that these ethereal sound bodies exert significant normative pressure on the regime by challenging the regime’s legitimacy. By analyzing the clapping protests as civil disobedience, this study illustrates the effectiveness of this non-visual form of protest in compelling the authoritarian regime to address the collective call for change. Through this lens, this paper contributes a nuanced understanding of how decentralized protest strategies, particularly those leveraging sound, can serve as potent mechanisms for challenging oppressive governance in a digitally connected global landscape. This essay thus intervenes into the realms of argumentation theory and sound studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
9 pages, 209 KiB  
Article
Serres’s Philosophy of Media
by Peter Zhang
Philosophies 2024, 9(4), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9040129 - 19 Aug 2024
Viewed by 813
Abstract
Contemporary French philosopher Michel Serres has out-of-the-rut thoughts about many things, including media. This article focuses on his understanding of the genealogy of media, the notion of exo-Darwinism, and his forward-looking attitude toward new technologies. An alternative, counterintuitive take on human nature is [...] Read more.
Contemporary French philosopher Michel Serres has out-of-the-rut thoughts about many things, including media. This article focuses on his understanding of the genealogy of media, the notion of exo-Darwinism, and his forward-looking attitude toward new technologies. An alternative, counterintuitive take on human nature is revealed as the discussion proceeds. This article also touches upon what is irreplaceable about humans in an age when artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
16 pages, 210 KiB  
Article
On Splits, Big and Little: Towards an Intensive Model of Media and Mediation
by Eric S. Jenkins
Philosophies 2024, 9(4), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9040102 - 10 Jul 2024
Viewed by 805
Abstract
This essay forwards an intensive model of mediation contrasted with the extensive model implicit in much of media theory, which conceives of communication media as an extension of human faculties. An intensive model, instead, conceives of mediation as a phenomenological process of splitting [...] Read more.
This essay forwards an intensive model of mediation contrasted with the extensive model implicit in much of media theory, which conceives of communication media as an extension of human faculties. An intensive model, instead, conceives of mediation as a phenomenological process of splitting or folding affective capacities. An extensive model results in a dualistic, essentialist theory of communication media and unresolvable normative debates about the connecting or disconnecting consequences of media. An intensive model avoids these limitations by diagramming various modes of mediation and illustrating how their consequences stem from alterations to intensive properties, thereby helping constitute subjects and media objects alike rather than presuming a media bridge between pre-existing subjects and objects. The essay employs a number of examples to illustrate the extensive model, including telephone conversations, cinema, animation, and social media. The essay concludes with the division of families over QAnon conspiracies to illustrate the analytic gain from an intensive model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
19 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Navigating the Complex Terrain of Photography and Temporality
by Liv Hausken
Philosophies 2024, 9(3), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9030060 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1454
Abstract
In recent years, discourses on photography have undergone a transformative shift from a focus on the individual photograph’s connection to memory, pastness, loss, and death towards exploring photographic imagery as shared, networked, and continuously circulating in a ubiquitous present. The general claim for [...] Read more.
In recent years, discourses on photography have undergone a transformative shift from a focus on the individual photograph’s connection to memory, pastness, loss, and death towards exploring photographic imagery as shared, networked, and continuously circulating in a ubiquitous present. The general claim for the temporal dimension in this shift is that photography is no longer seen as a mere witness or reservoir of the past but instead points to or participates in an active present. Against this claim, the article argues for broadening the perspective, drawing on resources across C.P. Snow’s “two cultures”—the arts and humanities vs. the natural sciences—to develop a better conception of time and a more varied and useful selection of photographic practices. In this connection, the article provides a reading of Paul Ricoeur’s compound concept of “the third time”, cutting across the two cultures. Drawing on insights from Patrick Maynard and Kelley Wilder, basic premises for photographic practices in the natural sciences are brought into the discussions of the discursive shift from a preoccupation with photography and the past to an interest in photography and the present. The purpose of this paper is to develop a better ground for navigating intricate questions about the relationship between photography and time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
28 pages, 2977 KiB  
Article
Academics’ Epistemological Attitudes towards Academic Social Networks and Social Media
by Jevgenija Sivoronova, Aleksejs Vorobjovs and Vitālijs Raščevskis
Philosophies 2024, 9(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9010018 - 18 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2727
Abstract
Academic social networks and social media have revolutionised the way individuals gather information and express themselves, particularly in academia, science, and research. Through the lens of academics, this study aims to investigate the epistemological and psychosocial aspects of these knowledge sources. The epistemological [...] Read more.
Academic social networks and social media have revolutionised the way individuals gather information and express themselves, particularly in academia, science, and research. Through the lens of academics, this study aims to investigate the epistemological and psychosocial aspects of these knowledge sources. The epistemological attitude model presented a framework to delve into and reflect upon the existence of knowledge sources, comprising subjective, interactional, and knowledge dimensions. One hundred and twenty-six university academics participated in this study, including lecturers and researchers from different higher education institutions in Latvia. The study employed two methods: the Epistemological Attitudes towards Sources of Knowledge Questionnaire and the Epistemological Attitudes towards Sources of Knowledge Semantic Questionnaire. The data analysis involved several procedures, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and test statistics. By implementing these methods, the study gained valuable insights into the sources of knowledge, examining them from two perspectives. The first perspective brought attention to the differences in academics’ appraisals by discussing their understanding, approach, use, and valuations of these sources. By scrutinising the constructs of meanings, the second perspective sheds light on the anticipated knowledge which is deemed ideal, the concrete knowledge that is both social and objective, and the subjectively valuable nature of academic social networks and social media. The findings underscore the specialised knowledge and qualities that academics rely on for producing knowledge. In terms of epistemology, methodology, social science, and education, the study holds theoretical and practical implications, especially in comprehending knowledge and its sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy and Communication Technology)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-8
Back to TopTop