THE INTERNET AND OUR WORLD; A PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY
Copyrigh©
Hilary Umeoka C. (2004)
Email: hilumeoka2000@yahoo.com
umeokahil@justice.com.
First published 2004
With ecclesiastical approval
All Right Reserved
No part of this may
be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the author,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews or other scholarly uses that advance the
interest of the cyber world public.
ISBN NO.
DEDICATION
To
The Divine Intelligence in the Great Beyond
And To
Great Thinkers and Noble Minds.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In calling man to thinking, Being has endowed the nature of man
with a thinking that is thanking, a thinking that recalls and gives thanks.
In a thoughtful, thankful thinking, man perceives himself as beholden, as indebted.
(Martin Heidegger).
Indeed
when I sit down to think of how it all began, I cannot but keep on thanking the Almighty One in the Great Beyond and so many
others out there who have really contributed to the production of this work.
In the
first place, I thank my parents; Mr. Marcel and Mrs. Celina Umeoka, for their love and care, and also my brothers, Tony, Casmir,
Chinaemerem; and my sisters; Vivian, Toochi, Scholar, Ndidi for their emotional support.
I thank
my Bishop; Most. Rev. Dr. G.O Ochiagha (Bishop of Orlu Diocese); and Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Josephat Obiajunwa (vocation Director-
Orlu Diocese) for what they have been to all of us. My sincere thanks also goes to Very Rev. Fr. Dr. D. Udoette; (Rector St.
Joseph Major Seminary Ikot Ekpene) for his motivating conferences that greatly spurred me up to achieve this goal.
In a special
way, I thank Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Sylvanus Ifeanyi Nnoruka (Dean of Philosophy Faculty, S.J.M.S. Ikot Ekpene) and Rev. Fr. Dr.
Nathaniel Ndiokwere, for carefully proofreading the work, making wonderful suggestions and writing the Foreword and Preface
respectively. I thank also Fr Dr. Isidore Igwegbe for going through the work and for his words of encouragement.
My unalloyed
thanks also goes to Rev. Mr. Martin Okonkwo for allowing me freely use his laptop in typesetting this work. I owe a lot to
him. I also thank Messrs Tony Mecha and Iyke Nwagha for helping me a lot with their respective computers throughout the whole
period of working on the project. I am very much indebted to them. To my Internet friends Charles and Jude Keenan I also salute
with thanks for feeding me with pieces of information during the course of my research for this work. The same goes to Fr.
Mike Manning (Svd) for his words of encouragement.
At this juncture, I
thank in a very special way those who sponsored and contributed a lot in cash and in kind towards the publication of this
work. They include: Rev. Frs. G. Chikata, I. Ezeonyeasi, A. Ndiukwu, O. Ezeani, C. Obiji, M. Ukwandu, E. Emechebe, K. Uwaoma,
and J. Andem, Others are Messrs Tony and Casmir Umeoka (my beloved brothers), Hon. and Mrs Barth. Nwaiwu, and Eze Bon Egwuogu (Agu Na-eche Mba),
Again,
I appreciate the emotional support of my diocesan classmates in Ikot Ekpene; C. Ekwommadu, E. Ilozulike, A. Anudu, B. Duru,
R. Udeze, T. Ihionu, A. Okwuaku, F. Ogbehi and also T. Igbokwe (My final year room mate). In the same vein, I appreciate the
love of all my 2003/2004 diocesans in St. Joseph Major Seminary Ikot Ekpene; (Umunna kpoonu yiii)! I thank them all for the
common brotherhood we shared. I also appreciate the love of all my classmates; the (2003/2004) 4th philosopher
kings of St. Joseph Major Seminary Ikot Ekpene.
Permit
me to end this litany of thanks by acknowledging the love of the rest of you not mentioned here. May the Lord reward you abundantly.
May your
remain blessed in the Lords name!
I am grateful
to you all!
Hilary Umeoka
C.
14th
January 2004
(Op. Mem. Of St. Hilary.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication.
Acknowledgments..
Foreword
Preface
Table of Contents.
Introduction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 1.
The Origin And Historical Background
of the Internet.
1.1. The
Issue of definition of the term "Internet"-----------------------
1.2
The Origin and History of The Internet-------------------------------------------------
1.3 Philip Emeagwali; An African Computer Wizard
in The Contemporary Internet History.
CHAPTER 2.
Surfing Or Browsing The Internet
2.1. Internet
Service Providers ISPs---------------------------------------
2.2
Search Engines------------------------------------------------------------
2.3 An Easy Way of Browse
2.4. Building
A Web Site /Home Page--------------------------------------
2.5 An Easy way to Create A Free Web site/homepage..
CHAPTER 3.
The Importance and Role of the Internet
In Our Todays World.
3.1. Electronic Mail System (e-mail)---------------------------------------
3.1.1 A Simple Way to Open a Free Email Account
3.2. Electronic
Commerce (e-commerce). ---------------------------------
3.3. On-libraries,
E-books, On-line encyclopedias and
Dictionaries. --------------------------------------------------------------
3.4 Philosophy
sites-----------------------------------------------------------
3.7 Other
Useful Sites. ------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 4.
Critique Of The Internet.
4.1 Pornography
And Commercialization Of Sex. ------------------------
4.2 On-line
Gambling. ---------------------------------------------------------
4.3 Anonymity
And Danger Of Isolation. ----------------------------------
4.4 The
Question Of Copyright----------------------------------------------
4.5. Junk Mails/Fake pieces of Information And Adverts. ---------------
CHAPTER 5.
Evaluation And Conclusion.
5.1. Impact On our World of Today And Tomorrow--------------------
5.2. Conclusion. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Glossary of Major Internet terms----------------------------------------------
Reference Sources. ---------------------------------------------------------------
FOREWORD
The renaissance is a decisive epoch in human history. Its influence to a great extent still shapes the realities of
our world of today. Generally, it is regarded as a period of literary, artistic and scientific renovation, which occurred
in Europe from the second half of the 15th century to 16th century. It is a period of rebirth and revival.
It has many aspects. It is a movement of humanism dedicated not only to the translation of Greek and Roman sources, but to
the human values, or lifestyles, present in them. Renaissance thought, likewise contained an openness to the new sciences,
which were beginning to form at the time. This characteristic openness gradually led to a number of human inventions. In the
sphere of travel for instance, there was the aeroplane.
By far, it was in the sphere of communication that this openness left a remarkable, unprecedented and ineffaceable
imprint on the sands of history. There was the invention of telegraph, the telephone. In our time, in an unprecedented way,
there is the Internet. This invention has characteristically changed both the structure and mans conception of the world.
One cannot be indifferent to it. Its nature and influence on our world, on man as an individual and his relationship with
his fellow man has been the object of reflection and concern for a number of critical minds.
Hence in this work, Mr. Hilary Umeoka identifies with such critical current. He thus points out the effect of the Internet
on our world: Our world today is fast changing and developing. The Internet is making our world a global village. One can
comfortably reach any place without ever leaving his or her home. One can log-on to a digital library and conduct a research
directly from home through a computer. One can chat lively with another person regardless of the persons domicile on his earth.
A host of other impossibilities before are becoming possible today. Thus like other scientific invention in the communication
sphere, the Internet is meant for man, to facilitate mans contact with his fellow man. It is aimed at making man realize his
humanity fuller and better; to make him a happier being on earth. In a way, it can be a part of mans continuation of Gods
creative act. It is, therefore a truism to say that it has a lot of advantages. But we must hasten to add - not without its
problems. One of the most outstanding is that, it can constitute harm to human interaction. That is, man directly relating
to his fellow man, talking to him, experiencing him. What we precisely mean here is that the Internet negates the face-to-face
relationship. This is a relationship in which the partners are aware of each other and sympathetically participate in each
others lives for however short time. The Internet on the other hand, has possibilities of creating an artificial world where
man relates with the other without the others presence, without the other opening up to him, a business relationship, an economic
relationship where mans humanity is at the foreground. So instead of the normal and authentic we or I thou relationship, the
Internet can generate the I it relationship which is simply artificial. This is indisputably a danger. Mr. Umeoka depicts
it thus: People engage in unstable relationship often times with pseudo names. Many find themselves free to say anything on
any topic and get away scot-free. This is simply because those involved in the discussion are not seeing themselves physically
as in the real world. This is a proof of the possibility that a human invention originally meant for the benefit of man can
turn around to work against him. The Internet is beneficial to man but we must use it with moderation and caution.
A great merit of this work is that it makes us aware of a real and current problem.
It is a work that every one should endeavour to have in his or her possession.
Rev. Father Dr. Sylvanus
Nnoruka
(Dean of Philosophy Department)
St. Joseph Major Seminary,
Ikot Ekpene.
PREFACE
Improved means of communication has continued to revolutionize the modern mans life all over the world. In Africa,
for example, modern electronic media is replacing the wooden drums and metals gongs. The traditional town crier, the circular
bearer and the chief messenger of the village chief are now redundant. The impact of the electronic media is tremendous.
The cellular phone with its many functions has continued to fascinate most people. You can even use your handset to
send your Electronic mail (E- mail) to any destination!
The Internet has become another Wonder of the World. The
Gate to the information Highway is open to anyone who cares. It is a tragedy not to be well informed. Get online and retrieve
any information or material you want.
This little Book written by a young ambitious African Philosophy student draws the attention of all who have not already
been caught by the Web. If you have not, start now surfing the Net and discover a lot of information that can change you life
forever.
Rev. Fr. Nathaniel I. Ndiokwere.
(Catholic Diocese of Orlu Imo State)
INTRODUCTION
A Ubiquitous Era; The Age Of The Internet.
Our world of today has reached a tremendous and wonderful era in history since its beginning. We are indeed in a very
awkward and adolescent age; indeed a ubiquitous age, an age of know-it-all. The apogee of this assertion lies in the invention
of one the greatest phenomena of our time, the INTERNET.
Earlier on, when ordinary computers arrived the scene, things became easily done. The computer helps in solving various
cumbersome problems in almost all facets of endeavors especially those ones, which the human brain cannot handle effectively.
The disparity between the human brain or rather mind and computer has led to the emergence of a recent thought in Philosophy
of mind termed, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Indeed, remarkable progress in the development of high-speed electronic computers,
has led many philosophers to conclude that a suitably programmed computer with a sufficient memory capacity would have an
actual mind that can think. Hence the term, Artificial Intelligence refers to the area of study that seeks to investigate the ability
of computers and other related machines to think as the Human mind does. The Oxford dictionary of philosophy defines it as
the science of making machines that can do the kind of things humans do. For the Internet Encyclopedia Of Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence is the view that human cognitive
mental states can be duplicated in computing Machinery. Indeed this aspect of study in philosophy of mind is raising a lot of debate among great thinkers. While
some support the idea that a computer can think, others maintain the opposite case.
However, the focus in this book is on a single aspect of the artificial thinking,
namely, the Internet. Today, the Internet has indeed changed our world. It has bridged the boundary of communication, education,
traveling and what have you. The Internet is a relatively recent phenomenon and
has since been growing like a wild fire. Many thoughts philosophically and otherwise are going on today because of this great
invention of our time.
Millions of people the world over make use of the Internet daily. Access
to pieces of information on the Internet is quite easy and in a jiffy. Hence, many people use the Internet for various reasons.
Many questions arise from the use today: What should be the ethics or code of conduct while using the Internet? Why should
one make use of it? Why is it there? What is its origin? What are the dividends? Such and other likely questions boggle the
minds of many in this great age.
Delivering a lecture entitled Philosophy Of The Internet Hubert Dreyfus remarks:
The Internet, with groups everywhere and no qualification needed to join
where everyone and anyone can have an opinion on anything and everything
is also anonymous and ubiquitous. Any local stand is irrelevant. It undermines
expertise. In all this, it is like our post-modern age too.
Thus the Internet is just as the anonymous They say or crowd talked about
by Martin Heidegger in his existentialist thought. It is just like a public net board where anyone can read, post or copy
pieces of information at will.
Our world today is fast changing and developing. The Internet is making our world a global village. One can comfortably
reach any place without ever leaving his or her home. One can log-on to a digital library and conduct a research directly
from home through a connected computer. One can chat lively with another person regardless of the persons domicile on this
earth. A host of other impossibilities before are becoming possible today.
Indeed, this Internet phenomenon fills many with wonder. It is a known fact that philosophy began with wonder. Thales
and other Greek philosophers were indeed filled with wonder as they observed the world of their time. They asked ex qua materia constituti mundi; meaning; Of what material is the universe made of. Perhaps if such Greek philosophers
and other great minds like Socrates, Plato and others were to be alive today, they would question this great invention of
our time, the Internet.
Thus in this write-up, an attempt is made to investigate philosophically this great techno-scientific phenomenon of
our time. This work is not a comprehensive book concerning the Internet; it is only a curious and critical inquiry on the
existence of the same bone of contention.
In chapter one, the origin and historical background of the Internet is exposed.
Chapter two deals with this re-occurring idea of surfing
or browsing the Internet. While the third chapter takes care of the importance of the Internet, the fourth gives it a critical
appraisal. Then, the fifth chapter evaluates and concludes the whole inquiry.
Having seen the skeleton of this project, let us dabble into the first chapter to historically expose the origin of
the masquerade in question. It is my hope that this work will help a lot of people as we dance amidst this jet age. I hope
also that you the reader will find it helpful as you peruse through the pages
CHAPTER 1.
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INTERNET.
1.1
The Issue of Definition Of The Term, Internet.
Hey! dear, stop reading
! I'm sure you'll like to read the rest. If so, do contact me via the email for a real copy.
[1] Artificial
Intelligence in C.D Rom Encyclopedia Britannica (Deluxe Edition).
2Simon Blackburn, Artificial Intelligence in Oxford
Dictionary of Philosophy.; Oxford Univ. Press; 1994.
3
James Fieser (ed) Artificial Intelligence in Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.utm.edu/research/iep
4 Hubert
Dreyfus, Prof. at UCLA at Berkeley; Philosophy Of The Internet Lecture delivered in the Stanley Burbury Theatre
at the Univ. of Tasmania on 22 March 2000.
