ABSTRACT
Postphenomenology, the centerpiece of this volume, was first described by Idhe in an analysis of human-technology relations. It entails an elucidation of the social and cultural roles of technology through a blend of empirical and philosophical research methods. Technology has come to be the major force shaping the interactions between Human Beings and World, the world of other human beings and the exterior world of physical objects, the Mitwelt and the Umwelt, if you will. Unlike Idhe and other Postphenomenologists, I take the position that it has a much wider temporal range; from the Neolithic Period, 9000 BCE, give or take, to the present, and beyond. This implies that Phenomenology and Postphenomenology have, for a time, existed as parallel schools of ontology, supplementing rather than competing with each other.
After situating Postphenomenology in this way, the effects of technology that have rendered us into virtual cyborgs will be considered. The terms internet, social media, avatar, metaverse, and cyberspace will all be considered and differentiated. Personal computers, tablets, and, ultimately, the smartphone are portals into this space that manifest increasing levels of Artificial Intelligence. The space itself is being created by Advanced Information Technology (AIT). The relevance of Postphenomenology to clinical is, again, discussed.
