Digital Theory

Proposes a powerful new theoretical approach to the concept of the digital Digital Theory argues that the digital is theoretical and should be understood not uniquely in terms of consumer electronics but rather more broadly as a form of mediation using discrete units. Building on this definition, the three essays in this volume explore digitality’s relation to thinking, signs, and difference. M. Beatrice Fazi begins the discussion by way of three propositions on the ontological reach and epistemological scope of digital theory. Alexander R. Galloway then defines the necessary conditions for any symbolic order of the digital type, specifying a series of ten simple mathemes. Matthew Handelman and Leif Weatherby conclude by characterizing digital theory through the dialectical relation between quality and quantity. Taken together, these works expound productively and provocatively on the digital’s far-reaching theoretical potential.