Social networks as inauthentic sociality

Article (Published Version)

Staehler, Tanja (2014) Social networks as inauthentic sociality. Metodo. International Studies in
Phenomenology and Philosophy, 2 (2). pp. 227-248. ISSN 2281-9177

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http://sro.sussex.ac.uk
Soc
ialNet
wor
ksasI
naut
hent
icSoc
ial
it
y

Ta
njaSt
aehl
er
Univer
sit
yofSuss
ex
t
.s
taehler
@sus
sex.
ac.
uk

ABSTRACT.Thi sarticl
ear gue st hats ocialnetwor ksc onst
ituteaninaut he nticform of
sociali
ty.Thet woc ompone ntc onc eptsoft hisclaim,i nauthenti
cit
yands ociali
ty,
aree xploredinor de rtoa voi ds omewi de s
pr eadmi si
nterpret
ati
ons.I naut hent i
cit
y
isexami nedont hebas isoft her elevants ec
tionsinHe idegger’sBei
nga ndTi me ,fi
rst
withr especttoi tsmai nc har acterist
ics,theni nte rmsofwhatmot ivate sitandi t
s
bene fi
ts,and finallywi t
hr espe cttoi tsstatusasanon- normati
vec onc ept.The
secondpa rtofthepape re xplor essoc i
alit
y.He r
e ,amai ne mphas i
si st hewa yin
whi chmybodyi mpos esc ons t
raintsonmys ocialrelati
onsi nthehe reandnow,
whi chvi r
tualit
yappe a r
st oove r c
ome .Yets uchane scapef r
om corpor eali
tyi snot
ult
imat elypos s
ible.Thet hirdandf i
nalpa rttakest heanal ys
istothewi de rlevelof
wor ld,thati s,ourc urrenthi st
or i
calwor ld whi ch hasgi venr iset os uch an
unde rst
andi ngofs ociali
ty.

Whe nc e
lebrit
iescomme ntont hedange rsofsocialnetwor ks, theyoftenappe ar
old-fashioned,orpar anoid,orbot h.Fore xampl e,Germans inge rUdoJ ürgens
lame ntedt hefactthatwhatmake sitswa yont ot heI nterneta lsostaysthe re
,
1
some whe r
e,sti
llretrievable
.I tiswor ri
somet hatanybodyc a
nwr iteanything–
truthorl ies–a boutanybodye lse,whi chope nsupt hepos s
ibi l
it
yofaki ndof
unive r
salvi r
tual“mobbi ng”t hata c t
ressUs c
hiGl ashasde scribedasa«publ i
c
2
stoning [öff
entl
icheSt ei gung]
ni ».The sepos si
bili
tiesar ec reated by al ack of
censorshipa s we llas by t he s evere diff
iculti
esi nvolve di n attr
ibuting
respons i
bilit
yforwhatha sbe ens aid(sincethosewhoc r
eatet hepos tscant ake
onvi rt
uali dentit
ies).Ofc ourse,thi ssamel ackofc ensorshipa lsoha seff
e c
tson
thequal ityofwr it
ing.
Thei ssueofappe aringold- f
ashione di simportantforf rami ngt hediscussion
int her ightwa y.I tisby no me anst hepur poseoft hec urr
e ntartic
let o

1 SüddeutscheZe itung,Ma r
ch23,2011.
2 DIE ZEIT, February 23, 2014.

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recomme nd abs ti
ne nc ef rom t heI nt erne torf rom c onte mporaryi nf ormat ion
technologi es .Theadvant age soft he set ec hnologi esf ore verydayl i
fe,r esear ch,
and inf ormat ioni nt hewi de sts ensear ee normous .Inge neral
,iti snott he
pur poseoft hec urr entar ti
clet opr ovi deanyr ec omme ndati
onsaboutwhat
should ors houl d notbedone ,i nl inewi t
ht henon- normat i
vec onc eptof
inauthe nticityase xpl ainedbe low.
Yetthi sar ticleput sf orwar dt hec laimt hats ocialne twor ksareani naut he ntic
form ofs oc iali
ty.Thi sc laim wi llbeunf olde di ns uc h a wa y ast oa void
simplisticc onc l
usionsa ndi mpl ications .Thef irstpar toft hear t
icleexpl ainst he
ma in t he sis by e xa mi ning s ocial ne tworks i n l i
ght of He idegge r’s
cons i
de rationsoni naut he nticity.Thi spar tha st hre es ubs e
cti
ons ,whi chmove
from themai nc harac teri
sticsofi naut he nt i
citytot heunde rl
yingmot ivationsor
advant age sofi naut henticity,be forepr opos i
ngt hati naut hentic
itys hould,i n
linewi thwhatHe ide gge rhi ms e lfins ist
s ,ber eadasanon- normativec onc ept.
Thes ec ondpar ttac klest het opi cofs oc ialitybyf i
rstf ocus s
ingonc or poreal i
ty,
from whi chvi rtualr ealityappe arst of re eus ,andt he ndi scusseshow s uc han
es c
apei si llus ory.Thet hirda ndf inals ectione xplor est het hemei nr e l
ationt o
ourc ont empor arywor ldi nor de rt os how t hati naut hentici
tys houl d notbe
unde rstoodi nt e r
msofwhatani ndi vidua ldoe sordoe snotdo,butr athe rin
termsofhow i tref lectst heunde rstandi ngofs oc i
al i
tyt hatde termi ne sour
histori
ca lwor ld.

1.
Inaut
hent
ici
ty
Int hiss e ction,Iwi lle xpl ainwhys ocialne tworksqual ifya sani naut hent i
c
form ofs oc i
a l
it
y.Thi swi llbedonebyf i
r s
tfollowingandappl yingHe idegge r’
s
analys isofi nauthe nticit
yi nBe inga ndTi mebe foree xpandi ngont het opicmor e
ge ner
al ly.
Firs
t ,abr iefnot eont er minologyandt rans l
ati
on.Tr ans l
ator
sa nds cholars
largelya gre e on “a uthe nti
city” a nd “i naut hent i
c i
ty” as t he t er ms f or
translatingHe i
de gger’s“Ei g
entlic
h k
eit”and“Une i
g entlichkei”.Thi
t st rans l
ation
inde e
ds trike smea sappr opr i
atebot hi nge ne r
ala ndf ort hepur pos esoft his
articl
e.I ti sof te
nnot edt hatt heGe rman“e i
g e
ntl
ic h”hast heconnot ationsof
true,ac tualand ge nuine .The se me anings arei nde edr el
evant f or our
reflec
t i
ons .Ye titmi ghts eem par t
icularlyuns urpr isingt hatsoc ialne twor ks
woul dpr es entac aseofi naut henticsocialit
yi nthes e nseof“notac tual”or“ not
ge nuine ”s oc i
ali
ty,sinc et heyar eobvi ous lyv ir
tual.Howe ve r
,vir t
ual i
tyi snot
whati sus uall
y me antby i naut henti
c it
y,a nd inr e l
at i
on t ot hec l
a i
m put

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29

forwar dhe re,iti simpor tantt onot et hatwhi let hevi rtuali
tyofs oc i
alne t
wor ks
isundi sput e
d,i tisus uallya ssume dt hatde spitet hisvirtuali
ty,soc i
alne t
wor ks
arer e alorge nui neasf ara st he irs oc ialityisc once r
ne d.Inot he rwor ds,i tis
assume dthatge nuines ocialit
ybe twe e nvi rtualpar ti
esi satstake.
Thec l
aim putf orwar dhe rei si nste adt hatthes oc i
alityofs ocialne tworksi s
notge nuine;i ti si naut he nti
ci n He idegge r’ss ense.I n ordert ounde rstand
He ide gge r’
sc onc e
ptofi naut he nticity,i ti sc r ucialt o notet hatde spi
tet he
privat ivepr efix“i n-”He idegge ri she rede scribingournor mal ,gene ral
,mos t
ever yda ywa yofbe ing.The rei ss ome thi ngnotqui tege nuinei nhow wea l
wa ys
already ar e,be caus e we be ha ve how e verybody be have s wi t
houtas king
whe the rt here ar e good r eas ons f or ac t
ing i nt he se wa ys and wi thout
inve stigati
ngwhe the rourc ompor tme nti sinl inewi thorc onduc ivet owhatwe
actual ly wa nt.Ye t,a sHe ide gge ral s o affirms ,we ha ve “valid” – t hati s
,
existent ial
ly pl ausibl e– r easonsf ort hi ski nd ofe va s
ive beha viour.The se
reasonsar ec onne ctedt oourf initude ,thegr oundl essnessofoure xistence,the
abse nc eofuni versa lprinc iplesa ndt hec orrespondi ngdi ffi
culti
e sinc omingt o
gripswi thexis tentialque sti
onsc onc e rningt her elevanc eandme aningofour
actions .Wewi llre turnt ot hemot ivat i
onsbe hind i nauthe nti
citybe low.For
now, wear econc erne dwi t hitsma i
nc har ac t
eristics.

1.1Ma i
nCha ra
c t
erist
ics
Thef ir
s tc haracteris
ticofi naut hent i
cit
ya sdi scussedi n Being a nd Timei s
3
distantialit
y( Ab st
ändigkeit)
. Asweope ratei nt hewor ldlikee verybodye ls
e
doe s,wear econc ernedt onotf al
lbac kbe hindot her s.Oure xist
encei nt his
modei sde termi nedbyt hef actthatwec ompar eour s
e lveswi t
hot he rs
,maki ng
suret hatwedonotc ompar ebadl y .Thisc harac te
ris
tici sbroughtt oas imple
yetpowe rfull eveli ns oc i
a lne twor ks,s inc e ours oc i
alr e
lationshe re are
quant if
ied.Thenumbe rof“ f
riends ”,“followe rs”,“like s”,“cl
icks”,and“hi ts
”
aregi vene xpl i
citl
y.Mor eove r
,the s
enumbe rsar ethems elve
smadepubl i
c,and
asa r esult,ot hersc an al sos e e how Ic ompar e,thusmaki ng i tvi r
tuall
y
impos siblenott oc are.Luc kily,ther earewa yst oimpr oveour“ score”int his
respec t
;butt hi
sonl yc onf i
rmst heinaut hent icc haract
e rofme asurings ocial
it
y
4
inthisf ashion.
The ne xtde fining c harac t
eristi
c ofi naut hent i
cit
yi sa de li
vering ofmy

3 SeeHEIDEGGER2010,BeingandTime[abbre
viatedBTthr
oughoutt
hises
say]
,p.126.
4 Oneoft hemos tconvenientwaysforPhD student
stomakemone yf
rom homewi t
houtanyspe
cial
computers kil
lsi
sbyma nipul
ati
ngi ncertai
n waysthenumbersofcli
cksand conne
cti
onsthat
impac
tons e ar
chengine sandsi
milartool
s.

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5
existenc et ot heot herst hatHe ide gge rc alls«s ubs ervi e nc e[ Botmä β igkeit]».
He ide gge re xpl ainshow t heot he rst owhom Ihandove rmye xistenc ear enot
de f
ini t
eot he rs,butaki ndofne utr aloranonymousmul tipl icityofot he rs.Thi s
captur est hec har a ct
erofs oc i
a lne twor ksqui t
ewe ll,sinc et hef ramei nwhi ch
me mbe r se nc ount ere achot he ri spr e-seti nana nonymousf ashion.Eve nf or
thos ene twor ksi nwhi chmypr ofi
l ei sonl yvi s
ibl et omy“f r iends”,Ic annotbe
surewhi choft he sef r
iendsmi ghts pr eadi nformat ionaboutmys elf–a ndt he r e
isals ot hepos s ibili
tythatpr of ilesma yha vebe enc orr upt e d.Fur the rmor e ,we
know bynow t hatt hes ecrets ervic esofc ount r
iess ucha st heUni t
e dSt at esand
Br i
tainha vea c ce ssinpr inc i
pl et oe ve rythingt hati spr e se nt edande xc hange d
ont heI nt erne t,andt hiswoul dhol df ors omeot he rc ount r iesaswe ll,t hough
pe r
hapsnota sf ullyanduni ve r
sal ly.Buts ince“e verybody”i sdoi ngi t,and
“the y”donots e emt obec onc er ne d,whywoul d Ibe ?I nt hiswa y ,Iha ve
de l
ive redmye xis t
ence–e spe c iall
ymyvi rtualone–t ot he“t hey”;butl uc ki l
yI
donotne edt owor ryaboutt hi sbe c aus enobodye ls eiswor r ied.
6
He ide gge rpoi ntst othe«di ctator ship»oft he“ the y”, butheal sodi scus se s
how i naut he nt icity unbur de ns us .I ti st he unbur de ni ng c har ac ter of
inaut he nticityt hatmake si tpowe rfuland t husc ons olidat esi t
sdi ctator ship.
Thedi c t
at orshi pc ome saboutbe caus et hec harac teroft he“ they”i ss one utr al
thatnobodyt ake sr espons ibilitya ndt he r
ei st husnobodyt owhom onec an
turnf orque stionsorc ompl aint s.Ther esultbe arss omer es embl anc et oc ertain
scenar iosf rom Kaf ka’
swr iti
ngs .Thepowe roft he“ the y”c r uciall
yde pe ndson
itspe rva sivene ss :everybody ,atl e as tinhi sorhe re veryda ye xistenc e,isapar t
ofit.Tobes ur e,t hes amedoe snothol df ors ocialne twor ks :note ver ybodyi sa
me mbe r.Butt hos ewhoar enotme mbe rsdonotha vea c ce sst oc ert
ai npi ecesof
informat ion.Compani es,bus ine sse sandi nstit
ut ionsnowada ysha veFac e book
page s,andwhi lei tcertainlyr e mai nspos siblet os impl yadmi tt onotha vi ng
suc ha cc ess–t husappe aringol d-fas hione d–i ti smuc hmor edi ff
icultt ogi vea
7
brief expl anat ion f ornotwa nt i
ngt obe comeame mbe r.I nt hiswa y,s oc ial
ne t
wor ks“ l
e ve ldown”( eineb ne n)e x ceptionsande ns ur et hatmos te ver yone ,or
8
atleas tt he“ a ve rage ”pe rs
on,i same mbe r.

1.
2Benef
itso
fInauthe
nti
ci
ty
Whenitcomestotheasse
tsoradvant
age
sconfe
rre
dbyi nauthe
nti
cit
y,dif
fer
ent
le
vel
sneedtobec onsi
dered,f
rom t
hemoresuper
fic
ialtothedee
per.Inorder
5 BT,p.126.
6 BT,p.126.
7 Short
erthanwr i
ti
ngane
ssa
y,t
hati
s.
8 SeeBT,p.127.

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toe xpl a int her oleoft he“t he y”,He ide gge rpoi ntsoutt hatwee nj oy,r e ad,s ee
9
andj udget hewa yt he ydo.Wel ett he m de cidef oruswhata ppe arswor th
re ading a nd s eeing,and whatpr ovi de spl eas urea nd e nj oyme nt.On t he
Int erne t,wear ec ons tant lya lert
edt ot hemos tvi e wedYouTubec lips,t hemos t
re adar ticl
e s,t henumbe rsofhi tsandc l
icks,a ndwear et oldt hatot he r swho
likewhatwedoa lsol iket hisandt hat .Undoubt edly,t hisc anbehe lpf uli na
numbe rofwa ysa ndc anal e rtmet oopt ionsa ndal t
e r
nat ive sIwoul dnotha ve
not icedot he rwi se .Butf rom t hetimeofSoc ratesandPl atoweha veknownt hat
ma j
or ityagr eeme ntdoe snotguar ant eet r
ut h ore ven qua l
ity.Fur the rmor e
,
the sear es e l
f-pe r pe tuat ingme chani s msaswe l
la sbe ingme chani s mst hatar e
ope nt oma ni pul at ion.
Ourde siret oe xpl orewhatot hersha ves eenandr eadi snotj ustba se dont he
se nset hati tmi ghts aveust i
meoral ertust oopt i
onswewoul d notha ve
not icedot he rwi s e.Thi sde sirei sba s edont heur get os tay“upt odat e”,whi ch
10
int ur ni sgr ounde di nac ra vingf orne wne ssands ens ation. Ont hel eve lof
“nor mal ”s ociality ,thi sc r
a vingmani fe st
si tselfinque stionsl i
ke“what ’sup? ”
and“ what ’sne w? ”andi nt hehunge rf orgos s i
p.Ourhunge rf orne wne s sand
se nsationi sba sed onwhatHe i
de gge rt reatsunde rthehe adi ngofc ur i
os i
ty
(Ne ugi er).Oure ve ryda ye xis t
encei sde t
ermi ne d by c ur ios i
ty .Cur ios i
ty,a s
He i
de gge re xpl ains ,e xpr es sest hede s ires i
mpl yt ope r
c eive ,i nc ont ras tt owhat
goe soni nourpr a cticall ife,e spec iallyi nt hewor ldofwor k.Whe nwer est–
andr esting,ofc our se,i sa lr eadyi ni tse l
fde s
irabl e–ourc ircums pe ctioni sno
longe rc aughtupi nt hewor k-wor ld,buti sf r
e e.Fr eeforwhat ?Wear ef reet o
se ewi thoutanys pe cificpur pos e
,me ani ngt hat«Da sei
nl e tsi t
s elfbei nt rigue d
11
byj us tt heout war da ppe ar anceoft hewor ld». Cur i
os itys ee sf ort hes akeof
se ei
ng,notoutofge nui nei nt erestinwhati tsees .Asar es ult,t he rei snone ed
tos taywi thwhati ss ee n;c ur iosit
ys wi ft
lymove son,t hr ivingont hepos sibil
ity
12
ofdi st
r action( Ze rstreuung) .
Cur ios i
tyi sf arr emove df rom phi los ophy .«Cur iosit
yhasnot hi ngt odowi th
thec ont empl ation t hatwonde rsatbe ing,t hauma zein,i thasno i nt eresti n
1
3
wonde r i
ngt ot hepoi ntofnotunde rs t
andi ng». Curios ityc ollec t
sa lls or t
sof
cur iousf act s;itdoe snotpaus et oc ont empl atet hebi gge ront ologi ca lpi ctur e
,
whi chc ane vokewonde ra tt her ealis ationt hatt he reiss ome thi ngr athe rthan
not hing,a nd t hatwe c an ne it
he rf ul l
y unde rs
tand t hi ss ome thi ng nor

9 Se eBT,pp.126 -7.
10 Psychologist
s have name
dthe c
orr
espondi
ng c
ondi
ti
on “Fe
ar ofMi
ssi
ng out(
FoMo)
”.Se
e
PRZYBYLSKIETAL.2013.
11 BT,p.172.
12 SeeBT,p.129.
13 BT,p.172.

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compr ehe nd how i tc ome sabout .Wonde rbr ingsaboutphi losophywhe reas
cur iosity onl y gi vesr iset o mor ec ur iosity. Fur the rmor e
,c ur i
osity i s
14
«e ve r
ywhe reandnowhe re »,it«upr oot s» Da sein–andi tt hust hr ivesont he
upr oot edne ssornon- locat i
onofvi rtua lspa c e.
Ye tt oful l
yunde rstandt heat tractionofi naut he ntici
ty ,wene edtomovet oan
eve n de e perl eve l and a sk what make s distraction,ne wne s s,a nd t he
de liveranc eofr espons ibilitys oappe aling.I not herwor ds ,whati sitt hatwear e
runni nga wa yf rom whe nwef leei nt oi naut henticit
y?Ac cordingt oHe i
de gge r
,
we ar ef leeing f rom t he not hi ng t hat a lwa ys t hr eatens t he “ therei s
(some thing) ”.Mor epr e
c ise l
y,on t hel eve lofe xistenc e,Iam e ngage di na
cons t
antf lightf rom t henot hi ngt hatc onc e rnsmye xistenc e,name lyde ath.The
rea lis
at i
on oft hef ac tofmyf i
nitude–t hatmye xiste ncei sofat empor ar y
rathe rt hanape rmane ntnat ur e–gi ve sr iset oa nxiety.Bus yingmys elfinl otsof
ac ti
vi t
iesa ndpur suingdi stractionj us tast heydowi llhope f
ullymakemea s
unc onc erne daboutf initudea sthe ys eemt obe .Be i
ngc ur i
ousaboutgos sipa nd
ne wne sss us pendsque st
ionsofme ani nganda ne ngage me ntwi tht he( veryol d
rathe rt hanne w)f actt hatal lofusar emor tal.
Fi nitudei sapr obl emf oroure xist enc ebe caus ethef ac tthatwewi lldiec asts
doubtont heme ani ngf ulne ssandr ele vanc eofmye ngage me ntsint hehe reand
now.I fne itherGodnors omeuni ve rsalande ter
nalpe rspe ct
ives t
abi lis
est he
me aningofe xistenc e,ni hilism be come sas pe c
ialc hallenge .Thes our ceoft he se
doubt si st hef actofmymor tality,butt hec ir
cums tanc esofhow de atha ssails
usc reat eane venbi gge re mot ionalc hal l
e nge .Thef ac tthatwedonotknow
whe norhow wewi lldi ec ontribut e st ot hea nxietywef e elinr elat iont oour
finitude .I naut he nticityt huse me rge sa sar espons et oc ertainf eatur esofour
exi stence,name l
yi tsf i
nitudeandt het hre atoft henot hing,andt hi sal ready
indi catest hati naut he nt i
c i
tyi snotune qui voc all
ya“bad”t hing.Aswewi llse e
pr es e
nt l
y,i tisnotat hingf orwhi cht hede signat i
on“bad”make smuc hs ense.

1.3Inauthentici
tya sNo n-Normative
He i
de ggerstatesthatthedi st
inct
ionbe t
weenauthenti
cityandi nauthenti
cit
yis
1
5
«notmor alizing». Hedoe snott el
luswhatwe“s houldnotdo. ”Similar
ly,he
1
6
ma i
ntainst hati nauthe nt
ici
ty doesnotc onst
it
utea«ne gati
vee val
uati
on».
Inauthentic
ityi snots ome t
hing“ bad”,somet
hingwes houlda voi
d.The seare
thekindsofr emar ksmanyi nterpret
erscont
est
.Des pi
teHe idegger’si
nsist
ence

14 BT,p.173.
15 BT,p.167.
16 BT,p.175.

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thati naut he nticityi sne ithe rmor al

izi ngnore va luat ive ,manyc omme nt ar ieson
Be i
nga ndTi mer e adt hedi s ti
nc tiona sa ne val uat iveone ,andi nter pre te rst end
toc laim t hatHe ide gge rc ons ider saut he nt i
c ityt o be mor a ll
ys upe riort o
inaut he nti
city.I fa nar gume nti spr ovi dedf ort hisc onvi ctiona tal l
,He ide gge r’s
17
“tone ”i sus uallyi nvoke dase vide nc e . Ye tt he“t one ”ofa na ut hordoe snot
suf fi
cea sa phi los ophi calar gume nt ;“t one ”i sa vague c at egor y,ope nt o
inte r
pr etati
onsandi ntui tionsofvar iouski nds .Fur t he rmor e,suc hr eadi ngsar e
pr esumpt uous ,s inc et he yi mpl yt hate ithe rHe ide gge ri snots inc erewhe n
claimi ngt hatt hedi stinc ti
onbe t we enaut he nt icitya ndi naut he nticityi st obe
readi nane utralf as hion, ort hathef a ilstounde rstandhi sownpr ojec t.Ins tead,
thec ur rentr eadi ngat te mpt st ot akeHe ide gge r’swor kandwor dss e rious ly.
Oner easonwhyt hedi sti
nc t
ions houl di nde e dnotbec ons i
de r edmor alizing
ist hati tisnotc le arwhats uc hane va luat ionwoul de vene ntai l,how i twoul d
bemot i
vat ed,andhow i twoul dbej us ti
fied.I fi naut he nticityi s“ bad”t he nwe
ne edt oknow what“ bad”me ans ,a ndwepr e ferabl yne e damor alt he or yor
sys temt ounde rstandt hec laim.Phe nome nol ogyc annotr elyons uc ht he or ies
and s ys tems unl esst he ye me rge f r
om t he phe nome nol ogi cale nqui ry;
othe rwi se,wear ec onf ront edwi t hanunmot ivat edpr esuppos ition.
Ove r
al l
,i ts ee ms t hati naut he nt icity and aut he nt ici
ty ar e mor ec los ely
inte r
twi ne dt han mos ti nt erpr eter sa ssume .He ide gge rs tate s:«Aut he ntic
Be ing-one ’s-Selfdoe snotr e stuponane xce pt ionalc ondi tionoft hes ubj ect,a
condi tion t hathasbe e n de tache df rom t he “ the y” [ Ma n];i ti sr at he ra n
1
8
exis t
ent iel
lmodi fication oft he “t he y”». Aut he nt ic i
tyi snots epar ate d or
de tache df rom i naut he nt i
c i
ty .A modi fic
at ionofac e rtains tatei mpl iest hatt he
modi fi
e ds tatedoe snotf ul ly di sappe ar,butc ont inue st oe xist,al be iti na
modi fi
e df ashion.
Int hisar ticle,i naut he nticityi sunde r st
ooda st hes tateofe xis tencei nwhi ch
wea lwa ysal r
e adyandus ual lyf indour se l
ve s.I tisas tatewet akef orgr ante d,
andphe nome nol ogyc ans e rvet ounde rmi net hist ake n-for -
grant edne ssandt o
puti ntoque st
ionourc ommonc onvi ctions .I nt hepr evi ouss ection,wes awt hat
the re ar e de finite advant age st oi naut he nt icity,or pl aus i
bl er ea sons t hat
mot i
vat eust oe xi sti nt hatf ashi on.Onc eweha veunde r
stoodt hos er e as ons ,it
be come smor edi ff i
c ultorl es se njoyabl etor e mai ni nt hes tateofi naut he nticity;
ye titise venmor edi fficul ttos eewhatt hea lter nat ivewoul dbe .Aut he nt icityi s
an e xtre me lye nigmat icc onc ept ,and be c aus eoft hi si ts e
e msa ppr opr i
at e
rathe rthanas hor tc omi ngt hatHe i
de gge rs a yss ol itt l
eabouti t.
Fur the rmor e,i ts ee mst hatHe ide gge rus e st het ermi nologyofaut he nt icit
yi n

17 E.
g.,ADORNO 2003,p.427.
18 BT,p.130(
ave rysimilars
tat
eme
ntc
anbef
oundonp.267
).

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Being a nd Ti me i n di ffere ntwa ys .Whe n He i

de gge ra sks whata c e r
t ain
phe nome non“e ig
e nt l
ich”oraut he ntical lyamount sto,hei sas kingf oramor e
fundame nt alunde rstandi ng oft hatphe nome non ( and s uc h a que s tion i s
usual lye as ie rt ot ac klet hant heque stionofa naut he ntice xis tence )
.Butdo
attr
ibut esl ike“de e pe r” and “mor ef undame nt al” notpoi nte xact l
yt ot he
supe rior ity of a ut he nt i
c it
y? Admi ttedl y,a ut he ntic i
ty i s “be tter” t han
inaut he nt icityi f“ be tter ”me ans“mor edi sclosive.”Ye tt hisobs e r
vat ion i sa
tautologywhe ns tar tingf rom aut he nt i
c ityasame thodol ogi calde signat ion,
thati s,a s a que stioni ng off irstappe ar anc es and a r e ve aling ofde epe r
dime ns ionsofagi ve nphe nome non.Mor eove r
,t heus ualme ani ngof“ be tter ”
isnot“ mor edi sclos ive ”,butc ar riesmor ali mpl ic
at ionswhi chwe ,f ollowi ng
He ide gge r ,woul dl iket oa voi d.
Toputi tqui tebl unt l
y:be i
ngi naut he nt i
cdoe snotmakes ome bodyamor a l
ly
repr ehe ns ibl epe r
s on.I nf acti tbe come squi tedi ffi
cul tt os e e,ont hebas i
sofa
phe nome nol ogi calpr ojec t,whatmor alitye ve namount st o.Et hic sisadi ffe rent ,
mor ei nt ere stingye tmor ec ompl exi ss ue ,a ndHe ide gge r’sc ons iderationson
the c a llofc onsc ienc e ar e qui tee luc idat oryi nt hi sr es pe ct.Butr us he d
conc l
us ionsaboutamor aldi me ns i
on t oi naut he ntic itymus ti nanyc a sebe
avoide d. I ts eems qui tel ike l
y t hat He idegge r’s abandonme nt of t he
authe nt icity/i naut he nt icitydi stinc ti
on af terBe inga ndTi me( e vent hough he
cont i
nue st ous etheadj ect i
ve“e igent li
c h”i nc e r
ta i
nc ont exts )isawa yoft ryi ng
to a voi d t hos e mi sunde rstandi ngs t hat e me rge e s pe cially f rom an
indivi dua lisingunde rstandi ngofaut he nt icityandi naut he nt icity.Itwoul dbe
mor eus ef ult oc ons ide rt he mi nt hec ont extofawor ld,t hati s,ac ultur al -
historica lwor ld.Thepoi nti snott oa sk,“ How c anIbr e akoutofa ni naut he nt ic
form ofs oc ia li
ty?”( andi ts houl dnotbeas sume dt hati twoul dmakeorpr ove
me t o be a be tter pe rson i f I di d) ,but r athe r,“ Whatdoe sa c e r
t ain
unde r standi ng of s oc iality s how about us , and e spe c ially about our
cont empor ar ywor ldast hewor l
di nwhi chwec ur rent lya lwa ysal readyf ind
ours elve s? ”
Thet hi rd par toft hise ssaywi llt husmovet hedi s cussion t ot hel e ve lof
wor ld.Howe ver,bot hi nor dert ounde rs tandwor l
dbe tterandt oe xami net he
topicofs oc ialne twor ksasani naut he nt icf or m ofs oc ialitymor et hor oughl y,
our ne xt t opi c wi ll be s ociality.So f ar ,we ha ve s e ent hat t he mai n
char acte ristic sofi naut he nt i
city pr ovi de d by He ide gge r
’sa nal ys i
sappl yt o
socialne twor ks,andweha ves ee nwhatmake si naut he nt ic
itys oat tr
ac ti
vef rom
an e xis tent ialpe rs pe ctive .I n or de rt os eemor ef ul ly how s oc i
alne twor ks
inde edc ons tituteani naut he nticf or m ofs oc ialit
y ,its ee msappr opr iatet onow
reve r
s e di re ction a nd pr oc eed “up”,f rom t he de e pe stl eve lofe xiste nt ial

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35

finit
udet ot hemor emundanel evelofe veryda yengage me nt s,ands eemor e
pr ec
iselyhow t heattrac
tionofi naut henticit
ypl aysouti nt er msofours oci
al
relati
ons.
Tot hisend,wene e
dt oe xpandt heanal ysisandmovebe yondHe idegger’
s
explicitrefl
ecti
ons .Thisi snots urprisi
ng,s i
nceHe i
de gge rc ould notha ve
cons i
de r
ed virt
ualr eali
ty,a nd evens ocialit
ywasnotc ons idered byhi mi n
muc hde t
ail
,ass ubsequentFr enchphe nome nologist
sl ikeJe an- PaulSartr
eand
Emmanue lLe vinas repeatedly poi nted out .Fur the rmor e,e xamining the
relati
onbe tween“ nor mal”s oc
ialit
yands ocialnetwor ksr equi resattendingto
1
9
ther oleofthebody ,whi c
hdoe snotr ecei
vemuc hattent i
oni nBe ingandTi .
me
Ye titi son theba sisofHe idegger i
an r esourcest hatwewi llexpand his
cons i
de r
ati
ons.

2.
Soc
ial
it
y
Ordi nar ys ocialr elationsar erelationsf rom Das e i
nt oDas ei
n.Whe nHe ide gge r
poi ntsoutt hatoure xi
s t
encei sal wa ysand e ssentially Mitsen,Be
i ing- with(-
othe rs),thisi sthec as ebecauseoure xistenc ei sde f
ine dbywor ld( ase xi s
tence
isBe i
ng- in-the-wor ld),and wor ldi ss har e d wor l
di n whi chthepr e senc eof
othe rspl aysac ruc ialrole.Fur the r
mor e ,mye xistenc eise mbodi ed,a si sthe
Othe r’
s.Hus s e
rl’sappr oacht ot her elationbe twe enpe rcei
vingt heOt he rand
per ceivingt he irbodyi spar t
icularlyhe lpf ulf orr ef
lec t
ionsont hes oc i
albody ,
whi chi s ourc onc e rn he r
e.Admi ttedly ,Hus serl’
st extha se voke d muc h
cri
t ici
sms inc ehi sde scr
iptionf ocus esone stabl i
shingananal ogybe twe enmy
body a nd t heOt he r’
s;butupon c l
os erc ons ideration,t hes it
uat i
on i smor e
2
0
compl icatedt hanHus serl’
sc r
iticsadmi t. Ther oleoft hebodyf orours ocial
relationsi snott hatwef ir
stpe rceiveabodya si fitwe r
eame rephys icalobj ect
andt hena l
soe st
abl isht hatthisbodys eemss ufficie
nt lys i
milartomi net os tart
expl oringas ocialr elati
on.Rat he r,as ocialr elationi sar el
ati
onofi nt e
r acti
on,
andt hisi nteractionhappe nsonane mbodi edl eve l
.Soc ialinteracti
oni nvolves
relatingt oe ac hot he ront hebodi l
yl eve l,andi tme ansc ommuni catingwi t
h
eac hot her,whe ree arspl ayapar adigmat i
cr ole,a sint hel i
nef r
om Höl de rl
in’
s

19 Closercons i
derati
onwoul dshow thatt hebodydoe se mergeasat opicinBe ingandTime,though
mos t
lyi ndirect
ly by wa y ofnot i
ons s uc h as r
eady-t
o-hand (zuhanden)and pr ese
nt-at
-hand
(vo
rhanden),whichc annotbeunde r
s t
oodwi thoutre
ferenc
et oourbodyast hewa yinwhichwear e
embe ddedi nandr elatet
oourc los
e s
te nvironingworld(Umwe l
t)
.None theless,ot
hert
hinkerssuch
asHus serlandLe vinasaremor eus ef
ulf orourpur posesinthene xts e
c ti
ons i
ncewear emor e
concernedhe rewitht hesoci
albodyort hebodyi nr
elat
iontoother
st hanwi ththeprac
tic
albody.
20 SeeSTAEHLER2 008.

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6 Ta
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“Frie
densf
ei
er”thatHeideggerplace
se mphas
ison:«Si
nceweareaconver
sat
ion
21
and can hearfrom oneanot her». Communi c
ati
on isnotl
imit
edt over
bal
language,and the convers
ation i
snotj ustfr
om mout htoear,butmor e
generall
yfrom bodytobody.

2.1Corpo r
e ali
ty
Corporea l
ityc reatesde finitec ons traints,a nd i tist ot hes ec onstraintst hat
soci
alne twor ksr e s
pond.Be i
ngabodyme ans
• Be ingt iedt othe“he re ”and“now. ”Soc iali nteractiont husnor mal l
y
requi rest woormor ebodi est oge the rinas har eds pac e,a ndt hatt akes
effortonvar iousl evels.Tradi tiona lly,the reha vebe enwa ysofe vadi ng
thisc ons traint,by s e
ndi ng l e t
tersormaki ng phonec alls
.Butt hese
forms of c ommuni cation ar ec le arl
y de rivative,bui lding on and
pre paringf orac tualme e t
ingsi nt hef lesh.Vi rt
uals ocialr elationsar e
differents incet he y of t
e n be gi n and r emai ni n vi rtuals pa ce,t hus
2
2
turningi ntoa nor iginalr athe rthande rivativef orm.
• Be ingt iedt ot hispar ti
c ularbody .Asmos tofuspe rceiveourbodyas
impe r
fe ct,ourc or porea l
ityi mpos e sc ons t
raint sons oc ialr el
ations ,not
me re l
y butpe rhaps pr edomi nant ly whe re an e rotic di me nsion is
involve d.Whi l
es oc i
alne t
wor kst e ndt oi nvol vephot ogr aphs ,the ydo
notha vet o;f urthe rmor e,Ic ans ele ctthephot ographofmys elfa ndi n
thiswa ye xe r
c i
ses ignif
icantc ont rolove rhow Iappe ar .
• Be ing e xpos edt ot ire
dne ss,e xhaus t
ion,a nd ot he rbodi lys t
atesi n
whi ch we s e ekt he c omf ortoft he home .Ofc our s e,one mi ght
imme di atel
ywa ntt oobj e c
tt hatpe opl ee ngagei ns oc i
a lne twor kingnot
j
us tf rom home but ,e spe cially due t ot he ne w ge neration of
smar tphone s,t abl et
s and phabl e ts,f rom anywhe re.Howe ver,t he
phe nome nol ogicalnot i
onofhomei snotl i
mi te dtoone ’
shous e ,butc an
beanyl ocationinwhi c
hImakemys e
lfc omf ortablewi thmys e lfandf or
mys el
f.A ge nuines ocialr elationwi thot he rs,inc ont ras t,requi r
e sme
23
toe ntera s hareds pac e. Itc an al s
o me an be ing hos pitablea nd

21 «SeiteinGe sprächwi rs indundhör enkönnenvone inander»,HÖLDERLIN 1953,p.430;HEIDEGGER

1996,p.39.
22 Onef urthe rindicati
ont hats oci
alnetworksareconceivedasanor igi
nalrathe rt
hande r
ivati
veform
ofsociali
tyi sthee xtentt owhi chvirt
ualreali
tybecome sthetopicofact
ualc onvers
ati
ons.Al t
hough
Idonotha vea nye mpi ricaldatatoc onf
irmt hi
se s
timate,itseemstomet hatatle
asthalfoft he
conversationsa mongs ti nfantand pr i
ma ryschoolchildre
nnowada ysfocusonvar i
ousf ormsof
vir
tualit
y( mostlygami ng,butt hepr edominantgami ngplatfor
msha ves oci
alne t
workdi mensions
buil
tintot hem,s uc hasBi nWhe evi
ls
).
23 Phenome nologicallys peaki ng,ape r
sonc omplete
lyimme r
sedi nhersocialme diawhiletravel
ling

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37

ope ni ngmyhomet ot heOt he r ,asIwi l

ldi scus satt hee ndoft hi se ss ay.
Eac h oft he ser estri
c ti
onsofe mbodi ede xistenc ec oul d bee xplor ed
furt he r,ands imi larfe ature sc oul dbee st
abl ishe d.
Att hi spoi ntwec oul di magi net hepr opone ntofs oc i
alme diaa s king:buti sit
notamaz i
ngl yl i
be rating t o ove rc ome t hos er e stri
c ti
ons ?Ye s:i ti sa llt oo
li
be rating.Movi ngi nvi rtua ls pac eme ansbe i
ng,i nac ertainwa y ,a blet ole ave
mybody .Notphys ically,ofc our s
e ,buti na smuc ha smyf ocus ,mypos sibiliti
es
and mye xpe rienc ear ec onc erne d.Fr om t hephe nome nologi ca l,e xpe ri
e nc e-
ba s
e dpe rspe ctive ,thi swoul di nde e dc ons titutele avingmybody .Howe ve r
,my
bodyc anannounc ei tselfbywa yofdi scomf ortsa ndne eds,a ndt husi nt e
rr upt
myvi rt uale xpe rie nc e;andwewi lls e emor ec l
ose l
yi nt hene xts ubs e ctionhow
thee s capepr ovi de dbyvi rtua lityisi nde edi llusory .
Itisunde r standabl et hatl e avingone ’sownbodyt empor arilyc anbeve ry
attractivea nda ppe aling.Whywoul dt hi sbepr obl emat ic?Fir stofal l,wene ed
tor eme mbe raga i
nt hatde si
gnat i
ngadi me nsiona sinaut hent icdoe snotme an
de s
ignat ingi ta sbad.Ye titi ss ome whatpr oblemat i
ct obe comee ngr os s
e di n
thisf or m ofs oc iality ,ifonl ybe caus ei ti ss oa ddi ctive .Itisa ddi c ti
vepar t
ly
be c
aus ei ti sa t
trac tive( duet ot hea dvant age sofi naut hent ici
t yasout l
ine d
above )a nd par tlybe caus eofc ertai ns elf-pe rpetuat ingf eatur espos se ssed by
socialne twor ki ng.Thi saddi ctivepowe rc anbee luc i
dat e dwi tht hehe lpofa n
essay by Da vid Fos t erWa l
lac ee nt itled E Uni busPl ur am:Te levisiona ndUS
Ficti
o n.I nt hi se ssa y,Wal lacede scribe sanaddi ct
ionas“mal i
gn”i f«( 1)i tc aus es
realpr obl emsf ort headdi ct,a nd( 2)i tof fe rsitselfasar eli
e ff rom t heve ry
24
probl emi tc aus es». Thes econdf e atur es t
r ikesmea smor eimpor tanta ndl e s
s
vaguet hant hef irst.Wal lacee xpl ainshow t elevisioni spar t
icul arlyat trac t
ivet o
thos epe opl ewhoha vedi f
ficultiesr elat ingt oot he rs,of tenbe caus et heydonot
feelve r yc onf ide ntorve rya tt
rac tive t o ot he rs.As a r esultofwat chi ng
television,t he yf ee le ve nl essa ttrac tivebe caus ethos ewhom t heywa t
c honTV
tendt obenotj us tphys icall
ymor eat tra ct
ive ,butal sos mar te r
,wi ttier,c ool er,
mor eate ase ,e tc.
Onemi ghtobj ec tt hats ocialne twor ksdi fferfrom t elevisioni nt hatr espe ct,
sincet he yf eatur e “nor mal ” pe opl er athe rt han a ctors.Thati st r ue;but
compar inghappe nsnone thele ss.Eve r ybodyt riest opr es entthe ms elve satt he i
r
be s
ti ns oc ial ne twor ks . Thi si s whe ret he af or eme ntione df eat ure of
distant ialit
yc ome si n:It ryt onotf a llbac kbe hind ot hers.Fur the rmor e,as
Da vid Fos te rWa llac epoi ntsout ,t e levision and s imi l
arvi rtua ls pac esar e

onpublictr
ans
portisst
il
lape
rsonl
ocke
dupi
nhe
rhomer
athe
rtha
nshar
ings
pac
eint
hes
oci
al
publ
ic.
24 WALLACE1998[
1993]
,p.38.

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8 Ta
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aehl
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par t
icul arlyat trac tivet ot hos epe opl ewhoar es elf-cons cious,s hy ,agor aphobi c,
ori not he rwa ysappr e hens iveaboutpubl icpl acesa nds oc i
alc ont e xts.I nt he se
cases,t he s elf-pe rpe tuat ing c har acter of s taying i n one ’s home a nd
expe rienc ing ot he rsi nt hevi rtua lr ealm be come spar ticularly obvi ous .The
mor eIs eebe aut iful,c onf ide nt,c har mingpe opleont elevision,t hemor es elf-
cons c
iousIbe comeaboutmyowns hor tcomi ngs .Themor eIr e latet oot he rs
throughvi rtuals oc ialne twor ks,themor edi ff i
culti twi l
lbe comet of unc tioni n
25
actuals oc i
als pa ce s. Ifmydi fficul ti
esint hi sr espe ctmadevi rtual ityat t
r ac ti
ve
tomei nt hef irstpl ac e,t he nt he sedi f
ficul t
iesc anonl ybee xa ce rbat edbymy
imme rsioni ns oc ialne twor king.
From t heHe ide gge rianpe rspec tive,wene edt obemi ndf uloft hepos si bility
26
ofe nter ingi nt oapur e lyont ical –int hi sca se,ps yc hologi c
a l–ar gume nt .We
arenoti nte r
e stedi ni de ntifyingt hos ewhoar e,ona ccountoft he irps yc heor
2
7
pe rs
ona lity,mor e dr awn t ot ele visi
on or s oc ialne twor ks t han ot he rs.
Existent ialphe nome nol ogy s eekst oi de ntify de te rmining s tr uc ture sofour
existenc e,ont ologi cals truc tur est hatde fineourbe ing,notont i
c aldi ffere nc es
betwe e npe rsona lities.Ye tuponc los erc onside ration,t hos ege ne rale xi ste ntial
structur esar ei nde edats takehe re.Al thoughs omeofust hr ivei nt hes oc ial
realm whi leot he rsf ind s oc ialc ont extsdi f
ficult,be i
ng- wi t
hi si nanyc as ea
de f
iningf eatur eofoure xistenc e.Be i
ng- wi t
hi sther ealm ofbe ingwi thot he r
Das ein,t hati s,r elat i
ngt ot hos ewhos ee xistenc eha st hes amege ne r alc har ac ter
asmi ne .Ot he rsar eal s odi recteda tthewor l
da nde xpe ri
e ncet hi ss har eds pac e
asar ea lmt hati si nt rigui nga ndt hatof fersmul tiplepos si
bilities ,anda tt he
samet ime ,asar eal mt hati sfundame nt all
yunc anny .Iwi llne ve rbea blet o
fullymakes ens eofwor ld.Thi si satl e astpar tl
yduet ot hef ac tt hatot he rs
shapewor ldandha vea lwa ysal readys hape dwor l
dwhe nIc omei nt oi t.My
wor ldandmye xiste nc ear et husf undame ntallyi nfluenc edbyot he rs.Eve non
this ba s icl eve l,t he re ar ea lr
e ady i ndi cat i
ons t hatot he r
s ar et he mos t
interestingt hi ngsi nt hewor l
d,muc h mor ee ni gmat ict han obj ec t
st hatar e
ready- to- handorpr e se nt-at -hand.
Becaus eoft hes pe cialpl ac ethe yha veinr elati
ont omywor ld( andf ors e ve ral
otherr e as ons ,s omeofwhi chwewi l
ls eebe low) ,ot hersaf fectmemor et han
anythi ngi nt hewor ld.The yaf fec tmei nvar i
ouswa ys,maki ngmehappyor

25 WALLACE1998[ 1993],p.38.
26 Theonticalrealmi sthereal
m ofbe i
ngsi ntheirdiversi
tya ndconcer
nsthepe r
spe
cti
veweus uall
y
takeonthe m,whe reastheontologic
allevelexami nestheirbei
ngore xi
ste
nce.Ont
ologi
calenqui
ry
isthusconcernedwi ththebeingofbe ings.Thesedi st
incti
onsneednotbee xaminedhereintoo
muc hdepth,andi tshouldbecomeobvi ousfrom thepre s
entparagr
aphhow theyarerel
evantt
othe
argument.
27 Foradiscussi
onoft her el
ati
onbe t
we entheseme dia,se
eBOLTERETAL.2000.

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39

upse t,e xcit

edora ngr y,intr
igue dori rri
tated.Soc ialityme ansbe inge xpos edt o
thesedi ve r
seaf fects.Theps ychol ogicaldi ffe rence sme ntione da bove ,thati s,
diff
er enc esofbe ingf earfulofot he rsorc omf ortablewi tht he m,c onc er nt he
extentt owhi chwear eawar eoft hes ubstant iali mpa ctot he rshaveonus .The y
alsos te mf rom ourpe rsonalhi stor i
esa ndt hee xpe rience sweha vehadwi th
others ;ye tthesear e,again,ata nont icalleve l,whi chisofnopar t i
c ulari ntere s
t
here.None the l
ess,theobs ervationaboutt hee nor mousi mpa ctwhi chot hers
haveonourl ivesandoura ff
ectshol dstruef ore xistencei nge neral.
I
tt huss eemspl ausibletoc la
i mt hats oc i
a lne twor ksar es oat trac ti
vebe caus e
socialityi singe ne r
albot hut te
r l
yi nt r
iguinga ndpr ecarious .Mor e ove r,the reis
anur get opr otectmys el
finr el
ationt omys oc ial
ity,tobea bl etowi thdr awi nto
my home ,whi chi s a ge ne rale xis
tent i
alde siree ve nt hough i tont i
cally
mani fe st
si tselfmor es tronglyi ns omet hani not hers.Soc i
alne t wor ksar es o
appe alingbe causet heyf ulf
ilb ohourde
t s i
ref ors ociali
ty( give nt hatot hersar e
themos tinter es
tingt hingi nthewor ld)a ndourde si
ret obepr ote ctedi nour
home( givent hatothe rsaffectusmos t).

2.2TheI l
lusi
ono fEs cape
Weha ves eenwhys ocialne t
wor ksar es oat tr
ac ti
veands oa ddi ctive.Thene xt
que stion i s
,do t hey wor k?Do t heyi nde e
df ulfilt he doubl ef unc ti
on of
sati
s fyingbot ht hede s iresout li
ne dabove ?Thec urrente ssayar gue st hatt he y
donot–f ora tleastthre ereas ons.
a.
)Soc i
alne t
wor kss tillleaveusvul nerable,a ndt hes a f
etyoft hehomei sin
manywa ysa ni ll
us i
on.The r
ei sa ni mpr essiont hats oc ialne twor ksar emor e
manage ableanda ll
ow f orane asierwi thdr a
walf rom s ociali
ty.None the l
ess,ifI
am af fecteda dve rsel
y,mydi str
essisnotvi rtual,butr eal.The rear et wowa ysi n
whi chpe oplet hinkt he ymi ghtbeabl etoe scapet hisvul ne rabi
lity,butt hos e
alsopr oveill
usor y:
b.)I tmi ghts eem t hats oc i
alne twor ksar el esspubl ict han a ct
ua lsoc ial
spac es,butt heyar einc e r
tainwa yse ve nmor epubl i
c.Whathappe nst omei n
virtua lrealit
yhappe nsi nf rontofwi tne s
ses,inf rontoft hir
dpar t
ie s,infrontof
“fri
e nds ”a nd“f ollowe rs”;iti spa ssedont of riendsoff riendsandpot entially
toe ve rybody .Ot hersc omet oobs er vemys oci
a lr e
lationsi nvi rt
ua lspa ce.We
havea lr
eadys e ena bovet hats oc i
al i
tyi squant i
fiedi nvi rt
uals pace ,sot hat
othe rsc ans eehow “ l
ike able”Iam,andt hisals oaddst ot hea ddi ctivenat ur e
ofs uc hne t
wor ks.Itisnotj us tmyi magei nt ermsofnumbe rsthati sa tstake
he r
e ,a lt
houghs uc hnumbe rsappe arqui t
er el
e vanti nt ermsofc ompar ability
anddi stantial
it
y .Stil
lmor epot ent,ont helevelofaf f
ects,ar ehur t
f ulwor dsa nd

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compr omi sing pi c ture s.I ft he se ar e“pos ted” i nf rontofwi tness e

s– and
pote ntiallyi nf rontofe ve rybody–wes tartt os eehow i tc ouldc omeaboutt hat
reals uicide sandr ea lmur de rsar es ome t
ime st her esul tofvi r
tualdi sclos ing.
c.)Itmi ghts ee mt hatt her eisa ne as ywa yofpr ot ec tingmys elfandmyhome
from vi rtua ldi sclos ur e,name l
ybyc hangi ngmyi de nt i
ty .Somene twor ksa l
low
fort hismor ee as il
yt hanot hers ,ye tr egardl essofhow muc he f
f ortise ntailed
byt aki ngonamodi fiedi de ntityi nane twor k,int erac tivegami ngpl atfor m,or
chat room,t he r
ewi lls t
illalwa ysbee noughofmei nvol ve dt obea ffected.The r
e
isadi ffere nc ebe twe ent hee xpe rienc ingmeandt hepr esentedme ,ye teve n
though Ima y ha ve c r eate d as ubs tantialc has m be twe ent he s
et wo,t he
expe rienc ingmei ss til
lt heonet or es pondt ot hes ituat ion,andi fitge tshur t,
thisa ffectisr eal.
The sef indi ngsar ec onf irme dbyps ychol ogi ca
la nds ociologica lrese archon
the s ubj ect,i nc ludi ng e mpi r i
c als tudi es.She r
r yT ur kle has obs erve da nd
intervi ewe dus er sofc omput ersands ocialne twor ksf orove rthi rtyye ar s,and
inhe rmos tr ece nts t
udys hec onc lude sthats ocia lne twor ksar ear espons et o
ourhumanvul ne rabi l
ityande spe cial l
yt hef earofl one l
inessi nc ombi nat ion
wi t
ht hef earofot he rsandofi ntimac y:«Wede fendc onne c t
ivit
ya sawa yt obe
28
closee ve na swee ffective l
yhi def rom e achot he r
». Shec onclude st hatwel ose
cruc i
ali nte rpe rs onals kills and e xac erbat et he ve ry pr oblems t hats oc ial
ne t
wor kswe res uppos edt or esol ve .
Whati si tt hatge tsl ostofs oc ialityi nt he sevi rtua le nc ounters?Thi sque stion
wi l
lbea ppr oa c he dhe rebya t t
e ndi ngt oaque st
iont hatmi ghtwe l
lar isef rom
thec ons i
de rationspr esent edi nt hisar ti
c l
es of ar ,aque sti
on t hatvoi ce sa n
obje cti
on:whata boutt heobvi ousadvant age sofvi rtuals pace,e s
pe ciallyf or
wome n?I si tnotar eliefanda s sett obea bl et os tayi nt hes afetyoft hehome
rathe rt han t hepr ecarious nessofpubl i
cs pac es ?Thes hortans we ri s :ye s,
pe r
hapsi ni tially–butt het rans iti
ont o“r eal”s ociale nc ount erswi l
ls t
illha vet o
bemade ,atl e as ton c ertain oc ca sions ,a nd t he ni tbe come sa l
lt hemor e
difficult.
Itisi mpor t antt onot et hats uc he nc ount ers ,nomat terhow t raumat ising( i
n
thewi de r,non- clinicals ens e)t he yma ybe ,ar einanyc asei nevi t
abl e
.Ont he
ontica lleve l,i ti sc leart hats ta yinge ntirelyi none ’shomeandl imi t
ings oc ial
enc ount erst ovi rtuals pa ceamount st oapat hology .Ont heont ologic all evel,
Emmanue lLe vi nasf amous lypoi ntsoutt hatt heot he ri sa lwa ysal re adyi n
29
me . Thist ropei ss ome whate ni gmat i
c,and t he rear eundoubt edl yqui tea
varie tyofpos sibl ei nterpr etations ,whi c hcannotbec ons ide redhe r
e.Butont he

28 TURKLE2011,p.281.
29 E.
g.,LEVINAS1981,p.69.

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mos tba sicl evel ,thiss tat eme ntc anber e ad a sar emi nde rt hatot hersha ve
alwa ysal readyi mpac tedmeands hape dmyl ife,andwi llcont inuet odos o.
Notonl yiswor lds hare dwi t
hot hersands hape dbyot he rs
,butot hersar e
cruc i
albe caus et he y ha vet hes amewor ld-re l
ation asmys elf:exi st
ence ,or
standi ngouti nt owor ld.Si nc eitisinanyc asei mpos siblet oe s c
apef rom othe rs
ort oa voi dthe m,i tse emsa dvi s
ablet oc onf rontt hem,f ac e-to-face,forbe tt
e ror
wor se ,a nd toe ngagewi tht hem.Themor ec omf ortabl ewebe comei nt he
allege ds afetyofvi rt
uals pac e–whi c his,a sweha ves ee n,onl yt hei ll
usionof
safety–t hemor edi ffi
cul titbe come st oadj usttoot her sint hef lesh.Soc ial
ne twor kspl acemeatt hec ent r
eofmyuni ve rsea nda l
low f orahi ghl e
ve lof
fanta syi nmys oc i
a lrelations .Ont heba sisofhow ot he r
spr es e
ntt he mselve s
,I
ca nfant asizeabouthow Iwoul dbewi t
ht he m,andmypr ese ntati
onofmys e
lf,
ormy“ profil
e ”,i sbas edonhow Iwoul dl iket os eemys elfandhow Iwoul d
likeot he rstos eeme .Itisobvi oust hats uchs elf-c
ont roll
e ds oc i
a lf
ant asys pac e
give slittl
er oom f orr adicaldi f
ferenc eorf ort heOt hert opr e sentthe ms el
ve sin
at rulyot he r
,s ur prising,unf oreseeabl efashi on.Ye titisonl ybyc onfrontingt he
Ot hert hatt het raumaoft hee ncount erwi tht heOt herc anpot ent i
allyturni nto
wonde ratt he Ot her.Wonde rc an i nspi re phi l
os ophy ,a nd i n a di f
ferent
hi s
tor i
calwor ld( name ly
,t heAnc ientGr ee kwor ld),ithas .Wonde rc anal so
ope nupwor ldt omea sadi me nsiont hate xcee dsthel imi tsofvi r
tuals pac eas
ani llusor yretre at.

3.
Wor
ld
Inor de rtos eet hepot entialofinauthent i
cityasanon- normat ivec onc e
ptmor e
full
y,wene edt omovebe yondt hemor e“i ndividualis
tic”readi ngofBe inga nd
Time ,whi chi nvit
es mi sunde rst
andings l ike those di sc
us sedi n pr evious
sections ,t owar ds a r eadi ng that ide nt i
fi
esi naut henti
c it
y a sas ocial
phe nome non.Mor epr e ci
s el
y,thes uggestionputf ort
hhe r
ei st or eads pecific
mani fe
s t
ationsofi nauthe nticit
ya ssympt omat icofac ertai
nhi storicalwor l
d.
Theque stionwoul dthe nnol ongerbe ,“Shoul dIors houldInots ubscri
bet o
socialne t
wor ks?”butr ather,“ Whatdoe si tr e
veala boutourc ont empor ary
wor ldt hats oc i
alne twor ksha vebe comes uc hape r
vas i
vef orm ofs ociali
ty? ”
Weha vea lreadys eent hatt hec onceptofs oc i
ali
tybe hinds uc hmani fes
tations
involve sahi ghl evelofc ont r
olandf antasyonmypar t
.Int e
rmsoft he“vul gar ”
ormundaneunde r
standi ngofourhi st
oricalwor ld,thisispar tofwhat( usual ly
older ) pe oplec ompl ain about whe n t hey de scr
ibe c ur r
e nt s oci
e t
ya s
“indi vidualistic
”.Buthow c anweappr oac hthes tat
eofourc ur r
enthi storical

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worldi namor ephi l

osophicalfashi
on?Whatphi losophi c
aldi agnos i
sc anbe
providedt hatwoul dexplainands t
andbe hindthemundanec har ac t
erisat
ion
ofsoc i
etyasi ndivi
dua l
ist
ic?
Althoughi twoul dbeave ryinteres
tingt asktor e
s pondt ot he seque sti
ons
witht hehe lpofHe idegger’
sphi l
osophy ,thereist oomuc hpr ovis ionalwor k
30
necessaryt opr ovidet hegroundsf ors uchane xplor ati
on. I nste ad,Idr aw
upon t wo phe nome nologi
sts who al low f or a mor e s t
raight f
orwar d
phenome nologyoft hehistor
icalwor l
d,name lyHe gelandHus s
erl.Thec rucial
conceptt hatHe gelandHus serlal
low ust oi ntr
oduc ea nde xplorei sthatofa
cri
sisoft hehistori
calwor l
d.Inauthenticformsofe xis
te nce,sowema ys uspect,
woul dbe comema nifes
tinas enseofc r
isis.

3.1Cr isi
s
How c anc risi
sbemadepl aus iblea saphi los ophi calc oncept,thati s,a sa
“conc ept”i nt hege nuines ense( whe reconc eptorBe grif
f,forHe gel,impl ie
sa
me anst hati sc rucialt o gra s
pi ng t henat ureofwor ld Spi ri
tatahi stori
c al
mome nt),s uc ht hati tc ont ainse nough “r i
gour ”( Stre
ng e,asr eque st
ed by
Hus serlf orany t heoryt hatqual ifiesa s phi los ophy)f ora phi l
osophic al
anal ys i
s?Wi thoute nteringi ntoaf ul lphilosophi c aldi scus si
onoft hec ompl e x
term“ cr
isis”,letmes impl yi ndi catehow,f orHe ge la ndHus se
rl,ac ris
isoft he
his toric
alwor ldbe come snot ice able.ForHe ge l,ac risisofanhi s
tor i
calwor ld
3
1
oc cur swhe nt herei sa c las h be twe en «inne rs triving and out err eal
ity».
Wi t hintheHe gelianf rame wor k,s uc hac lashbe twe enthoughtandr ealityi s
pr oduc ti
ve ,s i
nc eitbr i
ngsaboutadi al
ecti
calde ve lopme nti nwhi c hr e
alityi s
trans forme di ns uchawa ya stoe ve ntua l
lyr esolvet hec lash.Thei nitialdriving
powe r,acc ordingt oHe ge l
,i sthei deaoff reedom,whi chbe come spr omine ntin
phi losophyandl eadst oac orres pondi ngt r
ans format ionofr eali
ty.
Pr obablyt hemos tprobl emat icr es ultofHe ge l
ianphi l
os ophyi sthei deat hat
thisdi alecticalde ve l
opme ntul t
imat el
yl eadst o as t
atei n whi chc risisi s
ove r c
omes ucht hatt hought( ori nHe gel’ste rms ,Spi ri
t)andr ealitybe come
rec onc i
led.For Hus serl
,i nc ont r
as t,the rei s no phi los ophicalr eason or
ne ce s
s i
tyast owhyhi storywoul dbeade velopme ntofpr ogr es
s.Thec ri
sisthat
he de scribe sa sa c r
isisoft he Eur ope an s cienc e si sa c r
isi
sofEur ope an
humani t
y( ast het i
tleofhi sor igina lVi ennal ectur ehasi t
)andi sduet ot he

30 He i
degger’
swor kson enf raming (
Geste
ll)and tec
hnology would becruci
alhere
,aswould his
consi
derati
onsont hehistoryofBe i
ngast heyareprepare
df orintherel
evants
ecti
onsonworld-
hist
oryinBe i
nga ndTime.Ye tt
hismaterialisit
sel
ftoocomple xandint
erwovenwithanumberof
evenmor edif
fic
ultconce
pt stobeusefulher e
.
31 HEGEL1974,p.71.

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enor mousr ol ewhi cht hes cie nc espl a yforourunde rstandi ngofwor ld;ye ti ti s
32
ac ris
iswhi c hha si tsbe gi nni ngsi nAnc ientGr eece.I tisac ri
s ist hate me rge s
from aone -
s i
de di nterpr e tationoft hewor l
d,whi chhasi tsor igi nsi nt heGr e e k
focuson uni fied,s ingl e,obj ectivei de asatt hee xpe ns eofs ubj ec t
ive ,pl ur al
appe aranc es.TheGr eeksa ls ode ve lope dt heba si
cmat he mat icalf rame wor ks
thatallowe df ort hemat he mat izationofnat ure,whi chHus serli de ntifiesi nt he
mode rne r
aandl inkst ot hena meofGal il
eoGal i
lei,t hought hel at t
e rf eatur e s
onlyasa nex empl arofage ne raltre nd.
The seHus serl
ianc ons ide r ations ,pr e se nte dhe reonl yi nt hemos ttr unc at ed
form,ar er elevantf orourpur pos e sbe caus e oft he c har a cterofc risisas
identifi
e d byHus serl.Thec risise me rge sbe caus eofone -side de xpl anat ions
thatpr ior it
isequant i
ficat ionand obj ect ivitya sde l
ive re d bymat he mat ics .A
similare mpha sison obj ec tivity and pr ecis i
on pl a ysouti ns oc ialne twor ks .
Firstl
y,t herei sthequant if i
c ationofs oc ialr e l
ationst hatc ome swi thme as ur ing
frie
nds ,c licks,a ndl i
ke s,a se xpl aine dabove .Inaddi ti
on,t he rei sas ens ei n
whi cht hevi rt
ualwor l
di s,inge ne ral,ne atlys tructur e dandor gani s edi nt e rms
thatc reateani mpr essionofac cessibi l
ity ,e qual i
tyandf a i
r ness ,duet ot hef ac t
thatther ulesar ec learanda ppl yt oe ve rybody .Fort hi sr ea son,s ocialne twor ks
appe arnon- thr e
at ening;buta sweha ves eenabove ,t heaf fectst he ye vokear e
entirel
yr ealandar ebynome ansl imi t edt ot hepos itive.Fur the rmor e,c lear
rulesdo note xcludepos sibi li
t i
esofvi olation,s ubve rsiveac tion,mobbi ng,
expos ur e,ori dent i
tyt he ft–and t hepr obl emi se xa ce rbated be caus ea llof
thesehappe ni nfr ontofanaudi enc e,asout line dabove .
Ati t
sbas is,thevi r t
ua lwor ldi sbui ltonnumbe rs,orr athe r,di gi t
s.Wedonot
ne edt o unde rs
tand how c omput e rswor kt ot akef ulladvant ageofs oci al
ne t
wor ksa nd ot he rs e rvi ces .Ye tt hepoi ntr emai nst hatj us ta st henat ur al
sciences ,duet ot he irbas icr elianceonmat hemat ics ,onl ya llow f orac e rtain
present ation and i nterpr e tation ofwor ld,s ot he vi rtua lwor l
di na lli ts
colourful nes snone theles si nhe rit
sc e rtainl imi tationsf rom t hewa yi tf unc tions
ati tsbas i
s,i ncludi ng ac ertain “f l
at ne ss”de spiteal lt hepr ete nceoft hr e e
dime ns ionality.Compl exdi s cus sionsa boutar tifici
ali nte l
ligenc eande mot ions
aswe lla st hepopve rs ionsofs uc hde bat e sins cienc ef ict
ionf il
ms( suc ha s
BladeRunne r)t estif
yt ot his .I t
sba sicne ut ralit
y,ac ce ssibilit
y ,obj e ctivitya nd
rule-organi sation make t he vi rtualwor l
d ut terl
ya ttrac ti
ve a nd c reate an
il
lusionofmanage ability,e qual itya ndc ont rol.Ye te ve nt het erm “ne twor ki ng”
pointst ot hes ignif i
canti mpac tofc onne c tionsandpowe r.
Re t
ur ningt otheHe ge liande f i
nitionofc risis,wec ans e ehow t heat tra ctive

32 HUSSERL 1970.The or
igi
nalVienna l
ect
ure on whic
ht he Cri
si
ss tudy i
s basedcomesasa
supplementaryt
exti
nthevolumeandbearst
hetit
lePhi
los
ophyandtheCri
si
sofEuro
peanHuma
nit
y.

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anda ddicti
vepowe roft hevi rtualwor ldinge neral(andofs oci
alne t
wor ksin
part i
cular)ma yc reateapul lt hatl eadsnoti nt oadi alect
icaldeve lopme ntof
transforming r eali
tys o ast o be be t
teradj us t
edt ot hought,butc reatesa
dime ns i
on ofe vasion thatal lowsust ot urna wa yf rom r eal
ity.Thevi rt
ua l
wor lda ppearsmuc hmor eor gani se
d,pr edictablea ndr eadablet hant her eal
wor ld,a nd itiss uff
icientl
y de epa nd compl ex,e special
ly give ni t
ss ocia
l
dime ns i
on,topul lusa wa yfr om r eali
ty.Ift heHe ge li
anc onceptofc risisis
appl i
ed,ye tt houghti sc once rned notwi th phi losophy butwi th avi rt
ual
replace mentforr ea l
it
y,wemi ghtbel e
di ntoade velopme ntnotofpr ogr ess,
buts tandsti
ll
,orpe rhaps e ve nt o a de cli
ne ,a sf arast he realwor ldi s
conc erned.Al t
hought he recont inue stobeami smatc h,thisclashwi l
lnotbe
imme diatel
ynot iceableifthevi rtualwor l
di ss uf f
ici
ent l
ye ngaging.Ye ti nt he
longe rrun,itwi llbecomenot ic eableifcruciala spe c
tsofoure xistencer ema in
eclipsed or ne glected,s uch as ae st
hetic
,e mot ional,s ocialand hi storical
dime ns i
ons.Thisl eadsusbac kt ot heque st
ionofhow aphe nome nologyoft he
historicalworldispos sible.

3.2OurHi s
to r
icalWo rld
The c ur rentar ticle ar gue st hatphe nome nology a s pur s ued by Hus se rl
,
He i
de gge r,De rridaa ndot he rsinde eda c compl i
she sa na ccountoft hehi storical
worl d.Tos eemor ec los elyhow aphe nome nologyoft hehi st
or i
calwor ldc anbe
poss i
bl e,wene edt of ol low Hus serl’
st rainoft houghtabi tfur t
he rtos eehow
thec laim aboutne gl ecte ddi me nsionsofe xis
tencer e l
atest oourt opicofs ocial
networ ks .Hus s
e rla dmi tsthatt hes cie nc es’hist
or yofs uc ce s
smake sitdifficult
tose et hes ignifi
c anc eofmar ginalise d di me nsionsbe yond avagues e ns eof
therebe ings ome thi ngmi ssing.I nor de rt os earchf orthef orgottendi me ns i
on,
he pr opos esc ons ide ring He l
mhol tz’si mage oft wo- dime nsi
ona lc reatur es
33
whic har euna war eoft hee xi s
tenceofat hirddime nsion. Hus serl
’sideai sthat
the wor lde xplanat ion pr ovide d by t he natur als c
ienc es ha s an i nte r
nal
cons i
s tenc yt hatc reate st hei mpr es s
ionofac ompl e t
epl anei nwhi c htomove–
yets ome thing,awhol lyot herdi me nsion,i smi ssing.Ac cor di
ngt oHus se rl
,
thati st hedi me ns i
onofs ubj e
ctivity
,whi chc reatesandgi vesme aningt owhat
ishappe ningi nt hepl ane .
Trans pos edt oourt opi c,thei mageofami s
singdi me ns iona ppe arsus eful
becaus es oc i
alne twor ksi nde edc reatea nimpr ess i
onofac ompl etewor ldof
soci
a lity.Ye tuponc los eri nspec t
ion,de pt hismi ssing:na me ly,thede pthof
encount e rswi thot her si nt hef l
e sh.Thi sde pthi sc reatedbyt heimpac toft he

33 HUSSERL1970,p.118f
f.

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45

Ot he ronmyaf fec tivel ife,forbe tterorwor se ,andt hepot ent ialoft heOt he rt o
de epl yandt rul ys ur pris eme .The“c risis”t hisl ac kbr i
ngsa bouti sac risisof
cont inui ngl one li
ne ss,de spiteal lt he“ socia l
”i nvol ve me nt .Thi si st hec aseal s o
bec aus et hepl aneofs oc i
a li
tyt hats oc i
alne t
wor ksope n up r ema i
nsas elf-
cent redwor ld,awor l
dt hatgi ve st hei mpr es sionofanope ningt ot heOt he r
andye tr emai nsul timat el
ymypl anet hatIor gani sear oundme ,sur veyi nga nd
expl or i
ngi tasIs e ef it
.I nt hel a nguageofl iterar yt he ory ,thec har ac tersoft hi s
planear ea ll“f lat”c har ac ters,a ndt he irs hor tcomi ngsi nc ompar is ont omeas
theonl y“r ound”c har ac t
e rdonotgounnot i
ce d.
Howe ve r
,i si te ve npe rmi ssibl et oa pplyHus serl’st hought st oourc ur rent
histor icalwor ld?Thes ugge stiont hatt hec r
isisa side nt ifi
edbyHus ser lisnot
j
us tac risisthathasbe e ni nt hemaki ngs inc et hee me rge nc eofs ci
e nc ewi tht he
Anc ient Gr e eks ( as e xpl aine d above )
, but al so c ont inue st o be our
cont empor ar yc ri
s iss t
andsatoddswi thatl e astonec rucialdi me ns ionoft he
crisisa si dent ifiedbyHus serl:theme dicali de aofc risisasat ur ningpoi nt ,t hat
is,a c riticals tatet hatwi lll e ad t oe ithe rr e cove ry orde terior ation,a nd
pot ent i
al l
ye ve nt ode ath.I not he rwor ds,i fthec onc eptofc risiswe res uc ht hat
ther ei sa l
wa ysac risisofs orts– a l
be itonet hatmani festsi tselfdi ffere ntly
throughouthi s torya ndi se voke dbydi ff
er entpar adi gms–i st hename“ crisis ”
sti
llj ustified?
Tor esolvet hi sdi fficul t
y,itma ypr ovehe lpfult oinvokeaHe ge lianc onc e ptof
crisisandhi st ory( e veni fnote xa ct l
yHe ge l’
s).Pe rhapswear ede alingwi tha
diale cticalde ve l
opme nti nt hebr oade sts ens e;t hati s,noti nt hes ens eofany
(cont inuous )pr ogr e ss,buti nt hes ens eoft hee me rge nc eofane w hi s toric al
wor ld af tere ac hc risis.Thene w wor ld( int hephe nome nol ogi cals ens eofa
me ani ngf ulc ont ext)woul dbeat rans for mat ionoft hepr eviousi nanat temptt o
ove rcomec ertai npr obl e ms ,butwoul ds t
illremai nl inke dt ot hepr e viouss hape
ofwor ld.Thene w hi stor i
c alwor ldc oul dbec alledane we poc h,be ar ingi n
mi nd t hatt he c onc eptof e p oché ,whi c h pr ove ss oc ruc ialf or Hus s erl’s
phi losophy ,inc lude sas us pe nsionofa nol dbe liefs yste mt hatgi ve sr iset one w
par adi gms .Thi sne w hi st
or icalwor l
dwi t
hi tstr ans f
or me dpar adi gm doe snot
eme rgeoutofnowhe re,butc ons titut espr e ciselyac ont inuat i
onoft hepr e vious
one ,modi fiedi na c cor danc ewi tht hec r i
sis.I n ourc ase ,t hi smi ghtbea
cont inuat ionoft hepar adigm ofmat he mat i
zat i
on,butnol onge rwi t
hama jor
empha sis on t he nat ur al s c ienc e s, whi ch ha ve pr ove n s ufficie ntly
incompr ehe ns iblet hatt he e ve ryda y pe rson c an de alme rely wi tht he ir
produc t
sa nd c an onl yt aket he s ei n apr edomi nant lyc ons ume ristf ashi on.
Al t
hough ne w par adi gms us ual ly be come mor e vi siblei nr etros pe ct,t he
cur rentones ee msde finitelyt oi nvol vea powe rfulc ombi nat ion and c los e

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udi
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nol
ogyandPhi l
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aehl
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li
nkageofe c onomi csa nd pol i
tics.Thewor ship ofnumbe r
sha st ake n an
extremes hapei nwhi chmone y,bondsands har esha vebe comei nc r
ea singl y
de t
ache df r om whatt heyr epr esent.Thi sde tac hme nthasmadei tpos siblet o
makemone yf rom mone yi ns uch af a shion t hats impl yc ont empl ati
ngt his
proce ssc reate sas ens eofi nt ellectualve rti
go.Ye tf ors omer eason,wer emai n
convinc edt hatt he rewoul d beac hanget ot hewor s e( int ermsofours e l
f-
gratifi
cat i
on)i fs uc hboundl es scapi t
alism we r et obepr ohi bit
e dors ignificant ly
restr
icted.Gi vent hec l
osea lli
anc e,s i
nc eAnc i
e ntt i
me s,be twe e npol it
icsand
rhetoric,i ti sofl it
tl
es urpr iset hatt he rei ss uchr eluc tancet oque st
ion t he
34
currente c
onomi cpar adigm.
Ther e ade rmi ghtatt hispoi ntbes haki nghi sorhe rhe adi ndi sbe l
ief,gi ve n
thats oc i
alne twor ksandme diaar eof tenpe rc ei
ve dasawa yofove rcomi ng
3
5
politi
ca lpr opagandaandor gani singpol iticalr es i
st anc e. Ye tthe res eemst obe
noc learr eas onwhyt he see ndsc ouldnotbea c hie vedt hr oughadi fferentki nd
ofe lectroni cpubl i
cation,s uc ha sa n or dinar y we bsite .Int he c a se ofan
ordinar y we bpage ,t hepubl icnessi swe llknown and c a n bec ons idere di n
3
6
de si
gningi t. I
nc ontrast,thede c
e pti
vec har ac teroft hepubl i
cne ssi nvolve di n
socialne t
wor ks ,a longwi t
ht he i
rpot e ntialf orf or gingi dentities,f orvi rtual
mobbi ng,t hemi splace df oc uson quant ifi
cat ion and t he i
rove r
alladdi c ti
ve
naturear ethemai nre asonsf orf oc ussingont he mi nt hisar t
icle.
Secondl y,i nl inewi tht hee mphas isonhi stor icalwor ldsa se xplor edhe re ,it
mi ghtbe wor thwhi ler e me mbe ring t he or igi nsofpol it
icale ngage me nti n
actuals ocialdi scus si
ons ,forwhi c
ht heGr eekmar ke tplac e( agora)func t
ione das
mor et haname taphor .Theunde rlyingpol i
ticali s sue sar etooc ompl exf ort he
currentar ticle .Among many ot herpr oble ms ,we mi ghtha ve a dopt ed an
unac knowl edge d He ge l
ian as sumpt ion ofe xac tlyt he ki nd whi ch nobody
woul dope nl ywantt oac ce ptnowada ys,na me ly,t heas sumpt iont hatt he rei s
onlyonet e lost owor l
d hi stor y.Thi st ime ,howe ve r,t her eali
s ationofwor ld
Spiritwoul dpr e s umabl yha vehappe ne di nt heUni t
e dSt ates.Thos ewhoha ve
notr eac hedt hist e l
osar e,ac cor dingt ot hisc onc ept ion,s impl ynott herey et–
thatis,t heyar es tuckatane arlierleve lofSpi rita ndt husi nne edofs pir i
tua l
37
rescue. Suc hr e scue a lwa yshappe nsi nt he na me off reedom,a c onc e pt

34 FinancierNi c
ol asBe r
ggrue ns tat
e sin an intervi
e w:“ Thef i
nancialindustr
y producesfi
nanci
al
we aponsofmas sdestr
uc t
ion”( Wo rh.I
t ssueOc t
obe r/Novembe r2012).
35 Fora nexampl eofthispos i
tion,seeMASON 2012.
36 Anot herque s
tionwor the xploring,whi chhast obel eftope nhere,conc er
nsthenatureofawor k
(We r
k),i
nwhi chHe i
de ggerlocatesthenatur eofa r
t.A wor kwouldbet hatwhi chcanst
andinits
elf
,
orbewi thoutitsfatherorc reator.A l
iterarytextont heI nter
netdi s
playeda sawork–t hati
s,in
it
self–ca nbes uchat hing.Ye tt
he rearece r
tai
nt hings,bet he
ys t
ateme nts
,procl
amati
ons,orst
yles
,
whi chsimplyshoul dnotbel ef
ttos t
andi nthems elves.
37 Theque stionast owhe t
hert herea reanyal t
ernativestos uchamono- te
leol
ogyistoocomplexfor

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47

impos sibletor ej
ec tye ts oe xtreme lydi fficultt ounde rstand.J ean- LucNanc y
ha ss ugge stedt hatal lc onc eptsoff reedom i nt hepol it
icalre alm ar ebas edona
muc hde epe rconc e ptoff reedom,whi c hi ss ynonymouswi the xi stenc eorat
leaste me rges nat ur allyf rom i t.Suc h ac onc eptoff r eedom c a l
lsf ora n
inve sti
gationofwhowear eont hemos tbas i
cl e
ve l
,inoure xistenc easas ocial
anima lora sc reatur esf orwhom be ingwi thot hersisac ruc ialdi me ns i
onof
existenc e.
Fur the r
mor e,wear ec omi ng t ol ear nt hatvi rtuals pac ei st her eal m of
compl etetrans pare nc y.Thi smi ghtnotbea c tua l
lyt hec ase,buti tist hec asein
princ iple.TheAme ricanNS Aa ndBr iti
s hSI S,mos tlikelyanumbe rofot her
nationa lsec rets ervi ces,and nume roushac kersar ound t he wor ldc an in
princ ipleha vea cces st oe ve r
ythingwedoand s ayonl i
ne .Weha ver e centl
y
learne dt hatt heNS A ha sus edFa cebookt oobt ai
ni nformat i
ona boutpe ople.
Mos tlikely,thema j
or ityofusar enotac tual lyi nteresti
nge noughf oranybody
topa yat tent i
on;ye tt hi sdoe snotc hanget hef actthatt he rei si npr incipl
e
38
compl etetrans pare nc yi nvi rtualspac e.
Ye twear ea lsoc re ature swhor eque s tandgi vehos pitalityt ooneanot her,
anda sJ acque sDe r ridar ight lypoi ntsout ,the rec annotbehos pi talityift he r
eis
compl etet rans pare nc ya nd t husno pos sibility off ormi ng and of fering a
39
home . I
ti sc ertainl ya ni nt ere
sting and i roni ct wistoff atet hatt hemos t
pe rva si
ves oc i
alne t
wor k,Fac ebook,i sappar ent l
ynow atr iskofbe comi ngl es
s
popul arduet ot hedi scomf ortbroughtaboutbyt hef actt hat“one ”’spar ent
s
areal soonFac ebook( si
nc et heol derge ne rationpr ovesl essol d-fas hione dt han
expe c t
e dand/orde sired,andi sforva lidr eas onsope ntot hea ddi ctivepowe r
s
fuelled by t hei ll
us i
on ofove rcomi ng t hel imi t
ationsofc or por eality).The
signi f
icanc eoft hedi stinctionbe twe enpubl icandpr i
vat ei st huspr ove nye t
agai n.I fthisdi stinc ti
oni sunde rmi ne d,wel os emuc hofwhatwec anbet o
eachot her.

thec urre nta r

ticle.Hus serl’
sideaofat el
eologyi nhi storydoesnoti mpl ythei de aofjustonet el
os,
butofvar ioust e
loit hatcanbemodi fi
edove rtime .I nthatsense,ahi s
tori
c alepoc hmightalsobe
characte rised by i t
s de fi
ning tel
os,or s ett hereof .DERRIDA 2005 c al
lsf or a mor er adical
reconce ptual i
zation,as kingust othinkbe yondwhathec all
s«teleologism».Ont helevelofmor e
practicalpol it
icalc ons i
derati
ons,BERGGRUEN & GARDELS2013s ugge s
tt hatthe r
ec ouldbeanEa st
ern
alt
e r
nat ivet ot heWe sternideaofc ompe t
ingpol i
ti
c als yst
emsinwhi c hthepoi nti st
oc onvertthe
other.Thi salternativewoul dbeabal ancewhe reoppos e
ds yst
emshol de ac hothe ri
npl ace
,s oto
speak( andmi ghte ve nhelpeachothertos el
f-
crit
ique ).
38 Itiswor thnot ing,t houghi tisprobablygoingtor emai ninconse
que nt i
al,thattheEur opeanCour t
ofJus t
iceha sinApr il2014ruledtheuniversalrete
nt ionofdat ai
llegal.
39 DERRIDA 2000.

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Re
fer
enc
es
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hk eit.Frankf ur ta.M. :Suhr kamp.
BERGGRUEN,N.& Gar dels,N.20 13.I ntell
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MiddleWa yb etwe en We sta ndEa st.Ca mbr idge:Pol i
t y.
BOLTER,J .D.& Gr us i
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DERRIDA,J.20 00. OfHo spi
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HEIDEGGER,M. 2010. Beinga ndTi me .Al bany:SUNYPr es s[abbr e viate dBT] .
—1 996.Erläuterung e nz uHö l
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insDi c htung.Fr ankf ur t:Vi ttor ioKl ostermann.
HEGEL,G. W. F.1 97 4.Le cture so nt heHi st o
r yo fPhiloso phy ,3Vol ume s.Ne w Yor k:
TheHumani t
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HÖLDERLIN,F .1 95 3.Sä mt l
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HUSSERL, E. 1 97 0. The Cr isi
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e ncesa nd Tr ansce
nde nt al
Phenome nology .Evans ton:Nor thwe st ernUni versityPr es s.
LEVINAS,E.1 98 1.Ot herwis eTh a nBe i
ngo rBe yondEs s ence .Pi t
ts bur gh:Duque sne
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MASON,P .2 012.Wh yI t’
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:TheNe w Gl oba lRe volut
io ns.
London:Ve rso.
NANCY, J.
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enc eo fFreedo m.St anf ord:St anf or dUni ver sit
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PRZYBYLSKI, A. K. , MURAYAMA, K. , DEHAAN, C. R. & GLADWELL, V. 2 01 3.
«Mot i
vat i
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Out».Co mput e rsinHuma nBe haviour ,Vol .29, I
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STAEHLER,T.20 08 .«Whati st heQue st i
ont oWhi chHus ser l
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Me dit
ationi st heAns we r?». Hus serlSt udies,24( 2) ,pp. 99 -11 7.
TURKLE,S.2 01 1.Al oneTo g ether.Wh ywee xpe c
tmo r
ef ro mt echno log ya ndl essfro m
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ASupp osedlyFunThi ngI 'llNe v erDoAg ain. London:Aba cus .

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udi
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Vol
.2,n.2(2014)