Abstract:
The epistemic, ethical, and existential conditions of human life have been fundamentally reshaped by the accelerating transformation from industrial to digital civilization. Traditional frameworks such as worldview, life outlook, and values, which are conceptualized as the “Three Guiding Principles/Views” that historically guided humanity through agricultural and industrial eras, are increasingly inadequate for addressing the unprecedented dilemmas posed by artificial intelligence, algorithmic governance, deepfakes, immersive virtual reality, and brain–computer interfaces. Against this backdrop, this study introduces Cybersophy as the “Fourth Principle/View,” which is a comprehensive philosophical–practical framework designed to orient human cognition and value judgments in the digital age. Derived from the etymological fusion of Cyber (control, cyberspace) and Sophia (wisdom), Cybersophy is defined as the systematic wisdom through which humans interpret their existence in cyberspace and guide their behavior, identity, and normative commitments. The study situates Cybersophy within the author’s broader intellectual trajectory, including previous research on Cybermatics, Cyber-Syndrome, Cyberology, Cyberlogic, Cyber-Philosophy, and Cyberism. Collectively, these strands provide the technical foundation, symptomatic awareness, disciplinary structuring, methodological critique, and axiological orientation that culminate in Cybersophy as a crystallization of wisdom and practice. Comparative philosophical analysis, conceptual genealogy, and interdisciplinary synthesis are methodologically combined, thereby situating Cybersophy in dialogue with related perspectives such as the information-, data-, and intelligence-view. This comparative framework reveals Cybersophy’s distinctive strength: its ability to encompass ontological, epistemological, ethical, and axiological dimensions of human–technology entanglement in a future-oriented, globally communicable manner. The theoretical framework is articulated through four interdependent dimensions. The cognitive dimension reconceptualizes knowledge as a distributed, human–machine collaborative process, thereby demanding critical digital literacy to counteract algorithmic manipulation and information cocoons. The ethical dimension emphasizes algorithmic justice, data rights, and “technology for good,” thus embedding transparency, fairness, and accountability into digital infrastructures through mechanisms such as value-sensitive design and algorithmic impact assessments. Existentially, what it means to be human in a hybrid virtual–physical reality is reconsidered, further confronting the challenges of fragmented digital identity, embodied interaction in immersive environments like VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and BCIs (Brain-Computer Interfaces), and the moral recognition of virtual harms as socially real. In terms of values, Cybersophy aligns itself with digital humanism, ultimately advocating for human dignity, balanced digital well-being, and inclusive governance structures that foster responsible global digital citizenship. Building upon these dimensions, this study constructs a multi-level research framework that translates abstract philosophy into empirical research agendas. Proposed directions include: the study of the influence of large language models on human creativity and decision-making; neurocognitive mechanisms for detecting deepfakes; algorithmic fairness across cultural contexts; data cooperatives as new ownership models; psychological interventions for virtual–real identity conflicts; and criteria for defining digital well-being. This also extends to psychological studies of identity negotiation across virtual and real domains and to the formulation of measurable standards for digital well-being. The following three engineering agendas embody the practical vision of Cybersophy: developing digital mental-state modulation technologies to address issues such as addiction and information overload; establishing ethical boundaries for human enhancement through BCIs and genetic editing; and constructing ethical frameworks for the Metaverse that ensure fairness, safety, and interoperability. Ultimately, Cybersophy offers both a philosophical foundation and a methodological compass for embedding ethics, human dignity, and global responsibility within technological innovation. Moreover, Cybersophy calls for collaboration among philosophers, engineers, social scientists, and the broader public to guide the evolution of digital civilization toward a just, sustainable, and genuinely human-centered future.