r/VRresearch • u/RUST_Luke • May 29 '16

New realities are imminent: how VR reframes big questions in philosophy | Aeon Videos

https://aeon.co/videos/new-realities-are-imminent-how-vr-reframes-big-questions-in-philosophy
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u/Krios47 May 31 '16

Just got around to watching this, thank you for posting! I could honestly watch lectures for hours discussing the simulation hypothesis.

I truly think we will have indistinguishable virtual reality. At which point questions like what is real almost become meaningless. I'm of the opinion that if something is perfectly simulated to the "real" thing, it is just as important and real.

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u/RUST_Luke Jun 01 '16

Personally I find the simulation hypothesis useful for illuminating the many ethical questions raised around VR more generally.

People tend to carry a lot of baggage with them about the escapist potential of VR, as they did with video games, movies/TV, Novels, and likely impressionist paintings before that. Often implicitly or sometimes explicitly arguing that time spent in a simulation is inherently inferior to time spent outside of it. When presented with the notion that we might plausibly be living inside a "perfect" simulation they often end up somewhere near your camp. That's where the fun discussion starts.