Bioinformational Philosophy and Postdigital Knowledge Ecologies

The book presents a cross-disciplinary overview of critical issues at the intersections of biology, information, and society. Based on theories of bioinformationalism, viral modernity, the postdigital condition, and others, this book explores two inter-related questions: Which new knowledge ecologies are emerging? Which philosophies and research approaches do they require?

The book argues that the 20^th century focus on machinery needs to be replaced, at least partially, by a focus on a better understanding of living systems and their interactions with technology at all scales – from viruses, through to human beings, to the Earth’s ecosystem. This change of direction cannot be made by a simple relocation of focus and/or funding from one discipline to another. In our age of the Anthropocene, (human and planetary) biology cannot be thought of without (digital) technology and society. Today’s curious bioinformational mix of blurred and messy relationships between physics and biology, old and new media, humanism and posthumanism, knowledge capitalism and bio-informational capitalism defines the postdigital condition and creates new knowledge ecologies.

The book presents scholarly research defining new knowledge ecologies built upon emerging forms of scientific communication, big data deluge, and opacity of algorithmic operations. Many of these developments can be approached using the concept of viral modernity, which applies to viral technologies, codes and ecosystems in information, publishing, education, and emerging knowledge (journal) systems. It is within these overlapping theories and contexts, that this book explores new bioinformational philosophies and postdigital knowledge ecologies.

Michael A. Peters is Distinguished Professor of Education at Beijing Normal University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois. He is the Editor-in-Chief (with Xudong Zhu) of The Beijing International Review of Education https://brill.com/view/journals/bire/bire-overview.xml and  Editor-in-Chief of Educational Philosophy and Theory https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rept20. His interests are in education, philosophy and social policy, and he is the author of over 100 books. He has recently published The Chinese Dream: Educating the Future (2019), Wittgenstein: Anti-foundationalism, Technoscience and Philosophy of Education (2020), Wittgenstein, Education and the Problem of Rationality (2021), Moral Education and the Ethics of Self-Cultivation (2021), The Methodology and Philosophy of Collective Writing (2021), and is working on a book about civilizational cultures in a multipolar international system.

Petar Jandric is Professor at the Zagreb University of Applied Sciences, Croatia, and Visiting Professor at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Petar’s research interests are at the postdisciplinary intersections between technologies, pedagogies, and the society, and research methodologies of his choice are inter-, trans-, and antidisciplinarity. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Postdigital Science and Education journal https://www.springer.com/journal/42438 and book series https://www.springer.com/series/16439. His recent books include Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology (2020), Knowledge Socialism. The Rise of Peer Production: Collegiality, Collaboration, and Collective Intelligence (2020), and The Methodology and Philosophy of Collective Writing (2021). Personal website: http://petarjandric.com/.

Sarah Hayes is Professor of Higher Education Policy in the Education Observatory at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Previously Sarah worked at Aston University, where she led programmes in Education and Sociology and is now an Honorary Professor. Sarah has also taught at the University of Worcester, at international partner institutions, and has led a range of research projects. Sarah’s research spans sociology, education and policy, technological and social change and she has published in a variety of related journals. Her recent books include The Labour of Words in Higher Education: Is it Time to Reoccupy Policy? (2019) and Postdigital Positionality: Developing Powerful Inclusive Narratives for Learning, Teaching, Research and Policy in Higher Education (2021). Sarah is an Associate Editor for Postdigital Science and Education (Springer). Personal website: https://researchers.wlv.ac.uk/sarah.hayes.