Digital Monism: Our Mode of Being At The Nexus of Life, Digital Media and Art
Résumé
Digital Monism is the idea that the contemporary human world is inseparably digital and non-digital, online and offline or, in obsolete terms, virtual and real. In contrast to Digital Dualism, “the belief that online and offline are largely distinct and independent realities” (Jurgenson 2011), Digital Monism states that the human reality is a digital-centered hybrid environment made of mixed systems and matters constantly interlinked, that tends to form a single continuous multimaterial artifactual substance. This idea was first presented by Stéphane Vial at #TtW13 under a theoretical form and is related to his recently published book ‘Being and Screen : How the Digital changes Perception’ (Paris, 2013). Thanks to Neal Stimler’s contribution, this paper is articulated as a brief, a memorandum for the public calling attention to our changing modes of being in response to the new convergences in life, digital media and art. The purpose of this paper is not only to introduce to the theoretical principles of Digital Monism, relating to other concepts such as Augmented Reality or Digital Humanities (1st section). It aims to further people’s awareness that they are in a Digital Monist world by identifying Scenarios of Practice (2nd section). Scenarios of Practice include the actions, platforms and roles utilized in multimodal Digital Monistic experiences. Scenarios of Practice are informed by media theory and social practice art, particularly as they are engaged using digital technologies within cultural institutions such museums. Museums are networked centers of consciousness and thus critical social sites for identifying Digital Monistic experiences. Humans connect to our sense of the past, our emerging present and possibilities for future when they bear witness to our pan-human ancestors in relationship with museums. For example, a scenario of practice may include an examination of how mobile devices are used to connect museum constituents to content and are subsequently used as instruments for new creation in community with others. A key source of inspiration for the convergence of these ideas is “Digital_Humanities” (Cambridge, 2012). We will conclude by exploring Digital Monism’s meanings and outcomes (3rd section). Here we aim to express what Digital Monism means for people’s lives and how it impacts their future. Digital Monism will be investigated in relation to the individual, institutions, the Digital Divide, collaborative production, learning, the environment, and humanistic value.
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