Page - 13 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 3:2

Editorial The “digital transformation”, unstoppable in its accelerated advance, has become a ubiquitous presence in contemporary culture. Now it is up to philosophy and theology to ask salient questions and develop relevant ap- proaches to understand and contextualise this transformation and its fun- damental characteristics. Making digitisation the subject of a special issue may seem an audacious undertaking, particularly for a journal published by a Faculty of Catholic Theology. Yet, there is not an academic discipline that has not embarked on an epic journey of digital investigation and discovery, one that is now of unprecedented urgency in the wake of the epidemiological events of 2020 and the immense technological momentum they created. The current limi- tations of technology are widely documented; visions of a partly intangi- ble future paint a dystopian or utopian picture, depending on the particu- lar point of view. Individuals are well-informed and have access to all the necessary resources – at least that is the general perception. However, the situation is – in fact – far more complex. Shining a light on otherwise peripheral considerations not only suggests the existence of a so-called digital gap dividing expert users and novices, but that humanity faces a fundamental challenge in defining itself in rela- tion to technology: The real lives of individuals, the necessity of a digitally connected existence, and the extremely limited controllability of the digital world present an intersection of ever more pressing relevance that needs to be understood and guided in all its complexity. The current issue of LIMINA discusses a number of selected topics directly relevant to individuals who live in such a high-tech and digitised civilisa- tion. It asks vital questions about the reshaping of individual and collective criteria for humanity in the transformative grip of the digital turn. Translation: Dagmar Astleitner MA PRISM Translations, London LIMINA Grazer theologische Perspektiven | 3:2, 2020, 13–17 | www.limina-graz.eu | DOI: 10.25364/17.3:2020.2.1eng