What do we mean by "Digital Theology"

What might be meant by ‘Digital Theology’

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• relevant and important question• no simple answer• digitisation of sources?• digitisation of hermeneutics or systematics?• impact of digitisation - future of the (e)book?• digital pedagogy – KhanAcademy/Sugata Mitra• digital exploration of theology• theological exploration of the digital• Re-engineering the categories

Might Digital Humanities

hold the key?

• Digital Humanities à la Berry• Lyotard and infinite knowledge• -> new infinite archive• two waves/layers/moments• 1 -> infrastructure, imitation, inputting• 2 -> born-digital artefacts, distant reading• 3 -> reinventing humanities – colaboratories

• Digital Humanities à la Berry• The Power of Code• Not the Humboldt Bildung• But Hofstadter’s Intellect• Berry (ed.), Introduction: Understanding the Digital Humanities, pp.1-20

Just hold on a moment?

• What might be meant by Digital Theology

• Hofstadterian meta-comment moment…• Conceptual ambiguity about “digital”• Berry’s waves:• Digital as “Techne” - digisation• Digital as “Episteme”- born digital artifacts

• What might be meant by Digital Theology

• Marshall McLuhan• Technology as extension of human capacity• Extends reach into new space/place/state (*)• Four rules:• Extend:Reverse:Retrieve:Obsolesce• But focus not on the tech but on the medium• The medium is paramount

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• McLuhan• “The content or message of any particular

medium has about as much importance as the stenciling on the casing of an atomic bomb”

• Issue is the episteme that techne represents• Techne and episteme – which comes first?• Medium sustains(?) figures • Episteme sustains(?) techne

• Medium as cultural milieu/sociological canvas/the ground of being?

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• Latour – Reassembling the Social• ANT - actor/network theory• focus on the actors but realise the network is what

gives them the space to act in a particular way• “Network” as cultural milieu/sociological

canvas/the ground of being?• Medium Network≣• Figure Actor≣• Kittel, Buribunks, Hansen, Campbell on this…

The polyvalence of the term ‘digital’

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• Heidegger – ‘Die Frage nach der Technik’• “Die Technik ist nicht das gleiche wie das Wesen

der Technik…So ist denn auch das Wesen der Technik ganz und gar nichts Technisches.”

• Technik (Techne) ≠ Wesen (Episteme)• “Die Technik ist eine Weise des Entbergens”• But also “Wir nennen jetzt jenen

herausfordernden Anspruch, der den Menschen dahin versammelt, das Sichentbergende als Bestand zu bestellen – das Ge-stell”

Hold on, Martin!

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• …. eine Weise des Entbergens?• Revelation of what exactly – Enframing! Control!• (ed. > co-creators – in God’s image?)• Heidegger and technological determinism rests on

the refusal to ask the question about revelation and instead to be sucked into the question of Enframing (Gestell)

• Towards the end – art as techne – “Weil sie ein her- und vor-bringendes Entbergen war und darum in die poietis gehorte”

Ummm…Digital Humanities?

• “Digital” Humanities

• Wave 1 – techne – digitisation, archiving• Wave 2 – episteme – born-digital, DH manifesto

• Digital Humanities Manifesto• The genre here is all M’s: • mix :: match :: mash :: manifest.• An array of convergent practices• Called upon to shape natively digital models of

scholarly discourse• To model excellence and innovation• Multi-purposing, multiple channelling• Generative Humanities, co-creative• Re-engineering, repurposing, translating• Reconfiguration, dedefinition, triangulation

• http://www.humanitiesblast.com/manifesto/Manifesto_V2.pdf

• “Digital” Humanities• Wave 1 – techne – digitisation, archiving• Wave 2 – episteme – born-digital, DH manifesto

• ??? Wave 3 – poesis ??? - ???

• Synthesising, forming new pedagogies• Embedding Dasein into the Vorhandenheit of the

Academy? • Creating new tools • Dangers of Enframing rather than revealing?

• Digital Humanities – Presner (DHM)• “…must be engaged with the broad horizon of

possibilities for building upon excellence in the humanities, while also transforming our research culture, our curriculum, our departmental and disciplinary structures, our tenure and promotion standards, and, most of all, the media and format of our scholarly publications.”

A whole herd of Vorhandenheit

Elephants?

• What might be meant by Digital Theology• What is this ‘digital’ epistemology?• Does techne reveal episteme?• Does techne create episteme?• Which came first – tools or the need to use them?• Will to mastery or the tools to master?• Or both at the same time?• Is Heidegger right about Enframing?• What about social shaping of technology?• What about Epstein’s call to pour our humanity

into the technology to give it the gift of humanity?

• What might be meant by Digital Theology

• McLuhan – Latour - Heidegger• Medium Network≣ Wesen der Technik≣• Figure Actor Technik≣ ≣

• ‘Digital’ as a polyvalent term• Digital Theology is about digital technology• Digital Theology is about digital culture• But it is probably about so much more as well