Virtual Reality as a Catalyst for Thought
Philosophy Now|August/September 2020
Joakim Vindenes says VR could be a useful addition to the philosopher’s toolkit.
Joakim Vindenes
Virtual Reality as a Catalyst for Thought

Virtual Reality is in some ways a simple concept: it can be reduced to an act of representation, symbolism, or language. Through technological means – be it a pencil or a VR headset – we can represent the past as we remember it and the future as we imagine it. Through language and imagery, we can maintain the human culture of sharing information by exteriorizing what previously was only known to us internally – creating outside of ourselves what was previously only accessible in the language of our minds. So in conceptual terms, even the first cave painting was a kind of Virtual Reality. Through that painting, humans could represent their thoughts and designs as an external, objective reality, chalked to the wall of a cave. In some ways, though, language was the first kind of Virtual Reality. With language we could make what was previously only inside our minds exist as something between us – just as now, while you are reading this article, a world of meaning exists between us, mediated by the words on the paper or screen.

Although language and VR are similar in conceptual terms, there is a crucial difference between mere language and actual VR technologies. Through the technology of Virtual Reality we are able to project our thoughts and our designs not as abstract conventions but in terms of the lived reality we inhabit. We can externalize our ideas in the format of reality. Language has the capability of allowing us to tell stories, but in Virtual Reality we have the capability of living those stories, not through the mind’s eye or the imagination, but through our everyday means of navigating the world via our senses. VR can immerse subjects in lively, dynamic, virtual worlds.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2020-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August/September 2020-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS PHILOSOPHY NOWAlle anzeigen
Metaphors & Creativity
Philosophy Now

Metaphors & Creativity

Ignacio Gonzalez-Martinez has a flash of inspiration about the role metaphors play in creative thought.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Medieval Islam & the Nature of God
Philosophy Now

Medieval Islam & the Nature of God

Musa Mumtaz meditates on two maverick medieval Muslim metaphysicians.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Robert Stern
Philosophy Now

Robert Stern

talks with AmirAli Maleki about philosophy in general, and Kant and Hegel in particular.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Volney (1757-1820)
Philosophy Now

Volney (1757-1820)

John P. Irish travels the path of a revolutionary mind.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Philosophy Now

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Becky Lee Meadows considers questions of guilt, innocence, and despair in this classic Christmas movie.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
"I refute it thus"
Philosophy Now

"I refute it thus"

Raymond Tallis kicks immaterialism into touch.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Cave Girl Principles
Philosophy Now

Cave Girl Principles

Larry Chan takes us back to the dawn of thought.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
A God of Limited Power
Philosophy Now

A God of Limited Power

Philip Goff grasps hold of the problem of evil and comes up with a novel solution.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
A Critique of Pure Atheism
Philosophy Now

A Critique of Pure Atheism

Andrew Likoudis questions the basis of some popular atheist arguments.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025
Exploring Atheism
Philosophy Now

Exploring Atheism

Amrit Pathak gives us a run-down of the foundations of modern atheism.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
December 2024 / January 2025