SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE

Abstract

Social media are one of the trending phenomena in the contemporary era. They have reduced the world no longer to a global village but instead as the "world in my palm." What makes this species of media more fascinating is not only their ability to disseminate information, connect people, and maintain social relationships. Mainly, the thrust of their overwhelming influence in the contemporary era lies in their interactivity. It implies that social media are capable of user-generated content. This potential, in turn, makes social media fluidic, and so, subject to both positive and negative use. Thus, this paper sets out to ascertain whether social media can still replicate the above constructive roles in the realm of philosophy amidst the abuse of the platforms. Primarily, this paper assesses the actual value social media have for the contemporary philosophical debates against the backdrop of the similarity between social media and agora Then, using social media as a contemporary agora , this paper deliberates how social media can promote the current debates in philosophy, champion public philosophy, and salvage the ailing image of philosophy. However, the paper, categorically, maintained that the concept of public philosophy in this consideration does not imply philosophical discourse that does not respect the disciplinary borders of philosophy. Instead, the emphasis is on making philosophy more practical and goal-oriented. Thus, public philosophy does not substitute academic philosophy. It only complements it.