Where I am on Digital Identity Work

So much for regular posting.  Really, I had the best of intentions, but a few things have consipired against me.  Number one? The Tour de France.  I was addicted and spent far too much time over the past couple of weeks watching it live.  Floyd Landis' comeback ride was one of the most amazing things I have seen.  What an athlete!  Second?  The heat.  It has been over 90 degrees here for the last two weeks and I don't have AC.  So every time I sit at the computer, my body temp rises and I feel horrible.  So I have been spending much of my time sitting in front of a fan reading vs. conversing with you. Please forgive me!

Update on Digital Identity Work

My reading has been very interesting indeed.  Right now, I am working my way through The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque by Gilles Deleuze.  What does that have to do with digital identity, you might ask?  Well, in order for me to answer the question, "what does it mean to be human in a digital age" (at the core of digital identity, of course), I have to figure out what Being Human means.  I am, after all, pursuing a philosophy degree.  So, on the advice of my wonderful thesis seminar teacher, I have taken a headlong dive into ontology:  from Hegel to Derrida to Deleuze, with detours to Nietschze, Leibniz, Heidegger, etc.  Coming soon: Jean-Luc Nancy.  (I won't link to all of these folks now, you can find them on Wikipedia, of course.)

There is something incredibly liberating (and naughty, almost, in this day and age) in asking questions like, "What is it to be human?" and "What is freedom?"  Because when you start to think about these things, your assumptions immediately pop up.  The trick is to recognize them, question them, and figure out why you believe the things you do.  In my case, I have discovered that much of my belief is based on instinct, which doesn't cut it in a thesis!  So I am seeking proof for my beliefs.  And, quite happily, I am finding it in absolutely beautiful and rather mind-bending descriptions of Dynamic Being, Multiplicity, Plurality and Monads. 

Once I construct my foundation, I will have a much stronger primary thesis, which runs something along the lines that digital identity is an authentic part of being human, not something separate or less-than.  In fact, I have come to the position that is is utterly natural, and inevitable.  But more on that later!

So, please be patient as I battle heat waves, ontology and other distractions.  As it is, it quite honestly will be closer to September as to when I am really back on track with regular postings. 

Comments

[David Phillips FCIPR]

Great post.

I wonder how much digital identity is significant between having a digital presence, knowing about it and inter-reacting with it.

In the latter case, the identity adds values that are not available in 'normal life' because of the Internet Agency (Prof Anne Gregory's concept)can be both of human and technological derivation.

As an aside, is digital self the means by which we achieve immortality?

[Simon Collister]

Hi Elizabeth

You won't find the answer to the question 'What does it mean to be a human being?' by reading Derrida!!

But interesting stuff about digital identity... I look forward to eharing more about it!

[Lydia Mallison-Jones]

Gosh! What a lot of deep thinking and reading you're in the midst of. You're right about beliefs being instinctive when it comes to matters like freedom and humanity.
Do you end up thinking about where faith intertwines with this? There are plenty of people who believe that humanity and being human is completely meshed with being created and having a relationship with the creator? Does that come into your reading matter?
I think that expressing oneself through a blog, is a naturally human thing to do. After all we are communicators at out core, and creators too. I believe that, being made in God's image, we love communication and creativity because He does too. Blogging is, from my perspective a very natural extension of our desire to communicate, be heard, be accepted and have influence.
Good to hear you blogging again Elizabeth. I am travelling to Spain during August and will also be resuming very regular blogging in September after the rush of the beginning of the school term.

[Elizabeth Albrycht]

With apologies for the huge delay in answering your comments, thanks for sending them!

I am saddened and disappointed by Landis and the doping issue. I so don't want it to be true.

David - exactly. Good stuff to think about here - right where I have been going in my thoughts.

Simon - in fact, I find Derrida and his concept of differance quite helpful in understanding dynamic Being. Much like Deleuze's Fold.

Lydia - I had some wonderful conversations with a new friend I made at school, who is rich in faith. She always brought up this rather thorny issue in a thought-provoking way. In my view, there is no proof that God exists, therefore it must become a personal belief vs. anything that can be dictated about. In other words, you can't use the existence of God as proof for anything. Personally, I'd think we'd all be a lot better off if people actually lived as if they had a personal belief in God vs. trying to tell everyone that their God is best, right, strongest, etc. [And now, the arrows will fly perhaps - I don't think I ever discussed God here before.]

[Paul Baker]

So have you read Monadology? I remember liking it, and I should probably give it another read after all these years.