CALL FOR PAPERS - The Dialectics of Digital Humanism

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Dialectics of Digital Humanism

Digital humanism is a normative concept at the heart of which lie ongoing debates about ethics in science and new technologies. It implicitly proposes that we make the digital “human-centric” – for example, by integrating human values in the planning, design, and deployment of digital technologies. This sounds appealing but the initiative is not straightforward due to the ambiguity present since the Enlightenment in the concept of humanism, which has been used not only to justify exclusions and oppression, but also to expand the circle of moral personhood.

Likewise, digital humanism contains both illiberal and progressive currents: on the one hand, it has been used to confine the digital to boundaries pre-established by an implicitly immutable idea of what should be conceived as “human”. Some accounts of the distinction between medical treatment and human enhancement through technology belie the arbitrariness of the underlying concept of “normal functionings”. On the other hand, digital humanism has provided philosophers of a critical bent (feminist and postcolonial theorists) with a concept ripe for developing ideals that are inclusive, innovative, and sustainable.

Given this tension, what are the risks of tying a contemporary ethics of the digital to a concept that carries such baggage? Is there a way of carefully selecting which parts of humanism to discard, and which parts to salvage–and, if so, what does a defensible digital humanism look like? This topical issue invites the submission of original papers that investigate how a more critical and political conception of digital humanism might help us confront open moral questions in the applied areas affected by digital transition. We welcome papers that broadly address digital humanism from philosophy, AI ethics, and related disciplines like law, policy, and information technology.

List of topics for the call for papers:

1) How to conceive of digital humanism?

2) How can digital humanism prompt us to care for the environment and take into account the needs of those who are most vulnerable?

3) What are the results of a conceptual analysis for a more critical and political digital humanism?

3) How can technology-driven visions of the future foster inclusive societies?

3) How can digital humanism endorse epistemic values as explanation?

4) What are the main ethical and political issues arising from the development of robotics and AI?

5) How can the legal regulation of Robotics and AI guarantee ethical and political principles?

6) How can ethics and political theory guide legal rules on Robotics and AI?

7) Is contrasting humans with nonhumans a useful way to engage in digital humanism?

8) Could digital humanism promote international peace?

Deadline for submissions: 31.01.2026

Publication of the Special Issue is expected by December 2026

Papers should be between 8000 and 10,000 words (including abstracts, footnotes, and references). Authors are required to follow the instructions and submit manuscripts through the Humana.Mente Submission section: https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/about/submissions

Please follow the Author Guidelines: https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Only papers in English will be accepted. Contributions must be original and not under review elsewhere. For further information, do not hesitate to contact the editors: fiorella.battaglia@unisalento.it