Experience machines : the philosophy of virtual worlds / edited by Mark Silcox.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Silcox, Mark, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Experience.

Reality.

Virtual reality.

Computer simulation.

Physical Description:

vi, 236 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield International, Ltd., [2017]

Summary:

In his classic work Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick asked his readers to imagine being permanently plugged into a "machine that would give you any experience you desired." He speculated that, in spite of the many obvious attractions of such a prospect, most people would choose against passing the rest of their lives under the influence of this type of invention. Nozick thought (and many have since agreed) that this simple thought experiment had profound implications for how we think about ethics, political justice, and the significance of technology in our everyday lives. Nozick's argument was made in 1974, about a decade before the personal computer revolution in Europe and North America. Since then, opportunities for the citizens of industrialized societies to experience virtual worlds and simulated environments have multiplied to an extent that no philosopher could have predicted. The authors in Experience Machines: The Philosophy of Virtual Worlds re-evaluate the merits of Nozick's argument, and use it as a jumping-off point for the philosophical examination of subsequent developments in culture and technology, including a variety of experience-altering cybernetic technologies such as computer games, social media networks, HCI devices, and neuro-prostheses. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Virtual Experiences and Human Well-Being

1 Cypher's Choices: The Variety and Reality of Virtual Experiences / Peter Ludlow Ludlow, Peter 13

2 Intuition and Imaginative Failure / Daniel Pietrucha Pietrucha, Daniel 33

3 Give Me the Confidence: Nozick's Experience Machine, Hedonism, and Confident Attitudinal Pleasures / Emiliano Heyns Heyns, Emiliano, Johnny Hartz Søraker Søraker, Johnny Hartz 43

4 Ceci n'estpas tine cuve: Putnam's Argument as Inclosure Paradox / Jon Cogburn Cogburn, Jon 57

Part II Real-World Experience Machines?

5 Virtual Reality and "Knowing What It's Like": The Epistemic Up Side of Experience Machines / E. M. Dadlez Dadlez, E. M. 75

6 Figuring Out Who Your Real Friends Are / Alexis Elder Elder, Alexis 87

7 Welcome to the Achievement Machine: Or, How to Value and Enjoy Pointless Things / Grant Tavinor Tavinor, Grant 99

8 Virtual Weltschmerz: Things to Keep in Mind While Building Experience Machines and Other Tragic Technologies / Stefono Gualeni Gualeni, Stefono 113

Part III Experiential Design: Problems and Prospects

9 The Problem of Evil in Virtual Worlds / Brendan Shea Shea, Brendan 137

10 Epistemic Lives and Knowing in Virtual Worlds / James McBain McBain, James 155

11 Digital Tears Fell from Her Virtual Eyes: Or, the Ethics of Virtual Beings / Michael LaBossiere LaBossiere, Michael 169

12 The Morality of Experience Machines for Palliative and End-of-Life Care / Dan Weijers Weijers, Dan, Russell DiSilvestro DiSilvestro, Russell 183

13 The Experience Machine and the End of the World (As We Know It) / Steven Montgomery Montgomery, Steven 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Experience machines.

ISBN:

9781786600684

9781786600677

1786600676

1786600684

OCLC:

967202186

Publisher Number:

99973693630