Identity as an Issue of Constraint and Recognition: a Question of Fundamental Ethics

Abstract

Transhumanism generates an outdated conception of humanity, its identity being itself susceptible to being reduced to a set of digital traces and information. The processes of the construction of subjectivity are subject to major changes in the digital age. This is a metamorphosis stemming from the very fact that digital technologies produce new ways of being with oneself and others, new worldviews and new social norms. The strength of online social networks is in accentuating horizontal dynamics in the construction of identities. For the time being, it is appropriate to formulate a set of questions in context to reflect the various ethical issues entailed by digital identity. Why ethical issues and not moral? The moral subject is in no way reducible to a series of information that would be deductible from its digital traces. Digital practices are social practices that are often based on very strong demands for autonomy, freedom of expression and recognition.