GET REAL: A PHILOSOPHICAL ADVENTURE IN VIRTUAL REALITY

By: Philip Zhai

Plato

The Cave Analogy we’ll he be able to go

back to the real world? And accept it?

The cave: cave

Descartes

Can we know that at least one something is real?

The thinking agent “I think therefore I

am”

Berkeley

The world of perception

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?

To be is to be perceived

Hume

Empiricism: Everything we know

comes from experience.

There are no a priori knowledge. (circle example).

There is no creativity

Wittgenstein

To create a boundary, one must know both sides of the boundary.

Cannot separate things from a picture, as we can only know things by its totality or wholeness.

Chapter 1: Is it convincing?

The matrix Strapping a suit that allows our brain to

be fed chemical reactions to all senses in consensus with each other.

The odds are better for us living in a virtual world Are we living in an ancestor’s virtual

reality?

Chapter 2: Is it a coherent project?

Convincing dreams Waking up IN a

dream The museum

example How to solve the

problem of memory Reproduction Gods ‘R Us

Chapter 3: How would it work?

Creativity Life without pain Freedom to walk again You submit your body for another Different Laws of physics

The bullet example

Chapter 4: The problem of consciousness

Chapter 5: Some implications

Time travel possible? Health benefits? Better conceptions of reality? Solves Overpopulation? Conserves less

resources? Global Warming? Evades potential nuclear disaster?

Shows that the question of reality might never be answered (as we can only know things in the system)?

Chapter 6: What could go wrong?

What is providing energy to the system? Treadmill Reap energy from human thinking itself

Reality Engine Breakdown “We should never close the door back to the actual” Would someone want to go back (cave analogy)?

Debugging Need a minor population in the actual world

Death How can someone create a game in which the loser who dies

in the game dies in actuality? Is this mortal? Or is it simply blaming the creator, just as some might ask the same question for God? Some might justify and say that death is a good thing as it brings the soul to Heaven and etc.

Signs of Virtual Reality in this world

People get lost even in semi-virtual worlds, such as getting emotional over a movie, or angry at a game (crazy German kid), getting jumpy at a 3D movie

There are two types of semi-virtual worlds: Augmented Reality

The sports score on Hockey game (interfaces)

Night vision goggles Augmented Virtuality

Objects made digital Selling WoW weapons Second Life apparel

Negative Reactions

Some that are totally opposed to this idea would claim that they want the right to be unhappy. In essence, virtual reality limits freedom or creativity and even God.

We’ll all turn into mindless video-addicted zombies

If one would never see God’s creation, then wouldn’t their belief in God in their case be meaningless?

Rebuttals

Just as cyberspace is getting more open, where one can seek secondary opinions, maybe Virtual Reality would instead fix the problems of biasness that the media or TV (limited to a few in power) that it delivers.

Freedom is limited by physicality as well, for instance: Steven Hawking might have a desire to run a marathon, but limited by his Physical condition. Virtual reality would allow this to be possible, significantly increasing his experiences and thereby his freedom.