Special issue of the journal Philosophy of Law and General Theory of Law “Digital Technologies, Human Experience and Law”

The journal Philosophy of Law and General Theory of Law (Ukraine, open access) announces a  call for papers for a special issue on digital technologies, human experience and law. The topic is  multidisciplinary and aims to combine the perspectives of sciences, philosophy and jurisprudence of the transformation of law in the digital age. Digital technologies are radically changing the human experience, from whose structure such  seemingly purely human components as thinking and action are gradually disappearing. Technology, which was initially designed to be part of our lives, is displacing the human  experience as such. For the first time, the unprecedented pace of technology development provides one with a tangible opportunity to get rid of all the difficulties that accompany the action, and which are combined in the concept of responsibility. On the other hand, technology itself is becoming increasingly autonomous and independent of human intervention. Concepts such as freedom of will, self-awareness and self-determination become too vague to serve as defining criteria for a legal subject. The range of potential carriers of autonomy is growing broader. At the same time, the ideas of autonomy, action and responsibility remain the basis of present day legal institutions. However, hasn’t this foundation become too fragile to continue to support the great building of law?

Suggested topics or questions that a paper could address include:

• How radically does the human experience change in the digital age and does it remain human? Or, perhaps, technology only sheds light on the fact that we have never been who we think we are?

• Does a human being still maintain a monopoly on the agency in the world of digital technology?

 • Should we not reconsider our traditional notions of free will and human agency, and along with them the classical notions of jurisprudence and the concept of law as such?

• Does the idea of democracy still make sense in the context of governance automation and given the broad range of opportunities for manipulation through technology?

• Could justice be algorithmized and can decisions based on artificial intelligence promote justice in society?

• Is there still room for legal responsibility in a world where free action is replaced by risk minimization algorithms?

• Is there still a place for law at all, and if so, how should we rethink the latter in the digital age?

Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2022.

Articles should be sent to email: philosophyoflawjournal@gmail.com 

The author’s guidelines can be found on the journal’s website: http://phtl.nlu.edu.ua/about/submissions.Publication date: June 2022