Is cyberspace the new heaven? The idea of achieving some form of immortality via the upload of personal data and the interactions within cyberspace, bring to light speculation that we have a dual split between mind and body. But just as Stephen's lecture discusses, it is our body that is immortalised, rather than the mind/soul. This reversal is in direct opposition to Descartes dualism expounded in the 17th century (Custance 1997, Ch. 2). Perhaps it's not a 'heaven', an escapism, but a form of reality. My previous post discussed Gibson's rhetoric that Google is now making cyberspace physical. "Physical" connotes reality, as we believe that the physical is a way of determining what is real and thus separate it from the virtual or fantastical.
This polarity, this distinction, is now blurred. The sensations, the emotions and the connections created and felt within this virtual space, called 'cyberspace', are physically manifested in our selves. Our body reacts through an interaction with our mind, which is consumed within this hyper-reality. And so our bodies become timeless. Who's to say this isn't real? I am playing with other physical beings, reading information and traversing forums created by other real people, so the world between worlds must be certain, actual. Plato believed the world we perceive is merely a poor copy of reality (the shadows on the wall in "the allegory of the cave") (Kreis 2000, lecture 2), and the only way to perceive the 'real' was to be shown the light by the truly wise. I'm assuming the reality we perceive currently is dominated by media and technology, and if Plato were around today he would remove us from illusion and show us the light of reason and rationality.
This rationalism is now in question. There are no despotic stories ruling the power/knowledge relationship when the screen allows the multiplicity of tales, and the embracing of difference.
Bibliography
Custance, A 1997, The Mysterious Matter of Mind, viewed 26th August 2011 <http://custance.org/old/mind/ch2m.html>
Kries, S 2000, Plato, Allegory of the Cave, viewed 20th August 2011
McNett, G 1999, Is internet the new Heaven?, viewed 26th August 2011 <http://www.salon.com/tech/books/1999/07/15/cyberspace/index.html>
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