The Digital Mind: How Computers (Re)Structure Human Consciousness

Philosophies

article

Brian L. Ott¹ 

[1] Department of Communication, Missouri State University

关键词: digital culture;    media ecology;    habits of mind;    digital computing;    microprocessors;    binary code;    closed system;    machine logic;   

DOI  :  10.3390/philosophies8010004

学科分类：内科医学

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Technologies of communication condition human sense-making. They do so by creating the social environment we inhabit and extending their structural biases and logics through human use. As such, this essay inquires into the prevailing habits of mind in the digital era. Employing a media ecology of communication, I argue that digital computers and microprocessors are defined by three structural properties and, hence, underlying logics: digitization (binary code), algorithmic execution (input/output), and efficiency (machine logic). Repeated exposure to these logics cultivates a digital mind, a model of thinking, communicating, and sense-making characterized by intransigence, impertinence, and impulsivity. I conclude the essay by exploring the broader implications of a digital mind, paying particular attention to the challenges it poses to democratic politics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY