Soul in Cyberspace
Overview
While many Christians are content with a superficial and pragmatic assessment of the new information technologies, Dr. Groothuis probes more deeply. He wisely recognizes the symbolic power of technology: machines don't just do things, they shape us by equipping our imaginations and language with powerful new images, metaphors, and assumptions. Topics addressed include disembodied existence in a digital world, the future of the book, cybersex, technoshamanism, and others.
Top Highlights
“Removing a television from a typical teenager’s room is not simply the subtraction of a piece of furniture; it alters the entire environment or ecology.” (source)
“The virtual Allison had taken up residence in the real Avram, thus destabilizing his real-life family” (source)
“One who aspires to understand the nature of the soul ought, then, to be an auditor of culture” (source)
Product Details
- Title: Soul in Cyberspace
- Author: Douglas R. Groothuis
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 1997
- Pages: 192
Douglas R. Groothuis (PhD, Philosophy, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He has also been a visiting professor or adjunct faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs extension), Metropolitan State College of Denver, Westminster Theological Seminary (California campus), University of Oregon, New College Berkeley and Seattle Pacific University. His articles have been published in professional journals such as Religious Studies, Sophia, Theory and Research in Education, Philosophia Christi, Themelios, Think: A Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Christian Scholar's Review, Inquiry and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has written several books, including Truth Decay, In Defense of Natural Theology (coeditor), Unmasking the New Age, Jesus in an Age of Controversy, Deceived by the Light, The Soul in Cyberspace, and, in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series, On Pascal and On Jesus.
Reviews
3 ratings
WooJoo Moses Kim
9/27/2023
The content of the book is still relevant today. Essentially, Groothuis sought to apply Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Ellul, and Neil Postman's teachings to the early stage of the Internet. About the format and citing the book... The official Turabian guide says that ebooks can be cited via the chapter number and the subheadings. If you're a seminarian, I would encourage you to talk to the leadership and ask if they are willing to consider making this change based on the official Turabian guide.
Alan Myatt
5/5/2022
My rating is based on the print version. I read it when it first came out over 20 years ago. Very insightful analysis of the internet as it was at the time. While no one could have predicted the coming changes and the impact of social media, Doug’s warnings about the potential pitfalls turned out to be on target. He was perhaps a bit more negative on the effects of the new (at the time) tech than I was, but it appears that he was mostly right after all. The book is still worth a look. I just wish I could talk him into updating it, but Doug’s pretty busy writing new material that you ought to read as well.Fabian Maysenhölder
10/7/2015
Unfortunately I read the previous review after already buying it. I need to citate the book, and the Logos-Version doesn't allow that due to missing page numbers. That's a shame! The book is completely useless to me in this form.
Dr. Charles Sanger
1/16/2015
The Logos version of this book is worthless for research as it has not page number or locations.
