Cyberspace
Abstract
In this thesis, I try to make a small contribution to this search for an Order in cyberspace. In the first chapter I study some new dimensions of freedom, which arose together with the development of the internet. I present the technology and the culture of hackers as two sources of a new understanding of liberty in cyberspace. I also highlight two moral issues, which are present in cyberspace, and that, in my opinion, were caused by this redefinition of freedom. In the second chapter, I try to apply Christian moral theology to address, interpret, and suggest some possible solutions for some ethical issues in cyberspace. In order to build a theological foundation to address further considerations, I study the relation between God’s plan of creation and the rise of the internet. In the second section of this chapter, studying the issue of hate speech online and the phenomenon of Wikipedia, I present cyberspace simultaneously as a structure of sin and a structure of grace. The theology of the Trinity, and of Jesus as the Word of God, help me to give some Christian interpretation of this discrepancy. In the last section of this chapter, I study the phenomenon of video games, particularly online multiplayer games. I identify a deep relation between the video game culture and transhumanism, and I address its implications for morality. However, I also find some ethical virtues particularly present in the community of gamers. Finally, I identify some occurrences of the three theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity, in the virtual world of video games. This helps me to give some Christian moral interpretation of the virtual world of video games.