AoIR Abstract

Author(s): Miguel Sicart

Title: " The Other Self: Layers of the Subject and Internet Ethics"

*** The Other Self Introduction This article intends to answer these questions through an approach to the structure and the nature of the self on the Internet. This paper will give an overview on issues like embodiment and information privacy on the Internet, relating them with the corpora of ethical guidelines proposed for Internet research. The goals of this paper, therefore, are these: to propose an understanding of the self as a layered structure depending on the control of the information flow by the subject; the relations between this shattered self and embodiment topics; and the need for an ethical approach to the questions concerning information privacy. What is what we call self in cyberspace? The question of the self on the Internet is obviously related to the philosophical attempts to define what does it mean to say “I”. In the western world, which will be the focus of this paper, this question started with the ancient Greek philosophy, making a religious turn with Augustine that prevailed until the Enlightment first, and then modernity and postmodernity, moved the issue away from theology. The modern notion of subject is closely related to the classic liberal project of modernity, started with the French Revolution. This project is grounded on a deep relation between self, identity and freedom. The rational and free control of our identity led to the concepts of privacy, shaping therefore the concept of the self dominant in the western world now: self as our subjectivity and our (protected) identity, free to take choices within the limitations of the laws and the ethics. The modern reading of Descartes’ mind over matter philosophy made the issue of embodiment crucial for the arising the questions on embodiment that are crucial to understanding the importance of the Internet (an apparently disembodied medium) in the contemporary reflection on the self. Given these premises, this paper will argue that the structure of the self on the Internet has two identifiable layers: - The active, conscious self, linguistic and sensorial based: the self that browses the net, that takes decisions concerning which information is relevant to give and to take. - The passive, unconscious self, the information automatically stored by the hard drive of the computer and the servers of the visited web pages: an invisible self portrait of the individual as a cybernaut.. Disembodied selves? How is it possible to link the theories of embodiment with this dual vision of the self? A tentative answer is: the conscious self is subject to online embodiment or disembodiment, being that a relevant decision taken by the cybernaut, and projected to the others that might join the flow of information. On the other hand, the unconscious self is just stored data, therefore not likely to answer to notions of embodiment/disembodiment, unless seen from a sociological perspective, not interesting for the purposes of this paper. Therefore, the conscious self on the Internet can be considered as a self-reflective embodied subject, constituted nevertheless by an unembodied amount of data. The Right to Information Privacy This reading of a dual self on the Internet suggests new challenges on the topic of Information Privacy rights. The conscious self is aware of the acts that constitute it while surfing the net, so it has to take an active position in the defence of these privacy rights, both by accessible information and education on Internet culture; and by agreed policies when visiting sites. The unconscious self, given its passive nature, has to be protected, as it is invisible for the unaware conscious side. Many of the dangers of the Internet concerning Information Privacy are related with the misuse of data mining software and other similar technology in the revealing of this information for unethical purposes. The Ethics of the Other Self The invisibility of the unconscious self implies certain ethical questions that will be examined in this paper too. The questions that will be addressed by this article are: - The abuse of the information concerning the subconscious self can imply a constraining in the expression of the conscious self. - The use of data mining software and similar technologies based on the profile of the unconscious self can end up in a loss of information privacy. Conclusions This paper wants to give a comprehensive approach to the question of the self on the Internet. By the proposal of a conception of the self based in two different layers or degrees of consciousness, ethical questions will be analysed and, if possible, answered.

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AoIR 5.0

	*Author(s):* Miguel Sicart
	*Title:* " The Other Self: Layers of the Subject and Internet Ethics"

***	The Other Self Introduction This article intends to answer these questions through an approach to the structure and the nature of the self on the Internet. This paper will give an overview on issues like embodiment and information privacy on the Internet, relating them with the corpora of ethical guidelines proposed for Internet research. The goals of this paper, therefore, are these: to propose an understanding of the self as a layered structure depending on the control of the information flow by the subject; the relations between this shattered self and embodiment topics; and the need for an ethical approach to the questions concerning information privacy. What is what we call self in cyberspace? The question of the self on the Internet is obviously related to the philosophical attempts to define what does it mean to say “I”. In the western world, which will be the focus of this paper, this question started with the ancient Greek philosophy, making a religious turn with Augustine that prevailed until the Enlightment first, and then modernity and postmodernity, moved the issue away from theology. The modern notion of subject is closely related to the classic liberal project of modernity, started with the French Revolution. This project is grounded on a deep relation between self, identity and freedom. The rational and free control of our identity led to the concepts of privacy, shaping therefore the concept of the self dominant in the western world now: self as our subjectivity and our (protected) identity, free to take choices within the limitations of the laws and the ethics. The modern reading of Descartes’ mind over matter philosophy made the issue of embodiment crucial for the arising the questions on embodiment that are crucial to understanding the importance of the Internet (an apparently disembodied medium) in the contemporary reflection on the self. Given these premises, this paper will argue that the structure of the self on the Internet has two identifiable layers: - The active, conscious self, linguistic and sensorial based: the self that browses the net, that takes decisions concerning which information is relevant to give and to take. - The passive, unconscious self, the information automatically stored by the hard drive of the computer and the servers of the visited web pages: an invisible self portrait of the individual as a cybernaut.. Disembodied selves? How is it possible to link the theories of embodiment with this dual vision of the self? A tentative answer is: the conscious self is subject to online embodiment or disembodiment, being that a relevant decision taken by the cybernaut, and projected to the others that might join the flow of information. On the other hand, the unconscious self is just stored data, therefore not likely to answer to notions of embodiment/disembodiment, unless seen from a sociological perspective, not interesting for the purposes of this paper. Therefore, the conscious self on the Internet can be considered as a self-reflective embodied subject, constituted nevertheless by an unembodied amount of data. The Right to Information Privacy This reading of a dual self on the Internet suggests new challenges on the topic of Information Privacy rights. The conscious self is aware of the acts that constitute it while surfing the net, so it has to take an active position in the defence of these privacy rights, both by accessible information and education on Internet culture; and by agreed policies when visiting sites. The unconscious self, given its passive nature, has to be protected, as it is invisible for the unaware conscious side. Many of the dangers of the Internet concerning Information Privacy are related with the misuse of data mining software and other similar technology in the revealing of this information for unethical purposes. The Ethics of the Other Self The invisibility of the unconscious self implies certain ethical questions that will be examined in this paper too. The questions that will be addressed by this article are: - The abuse of the information concerning the subconscious self can imply a constraining in the expression of the conscious self. - The use of data mining software and similar technologies based on the profile of the unconscious self can end up in a loss of information privacy. Conclusions This paper wants to give a comprehensive approach to the question of the self on the Internet. By the proposal of a conception of the self based in two different layers or degrees of consciousness, ethical questions will be analysed and, if possible, answered.