Immersive Experience and Virtual Reality
Current research suggests that having new experiences makes us happier, and that we value new experiences more than acquiring things. Part of living a good life is immersing yourself in interesting and diverse experiences. Traditionally, traveling the world, meeting a lot of different people, learning new skills were good ways of reaching that goal, while sitting in front of a computer screen or a video projector were not. But recent technological advances are making it possible to have more and more immersive and real-like experiences in virtual reality. In this course we explore a variety of devices to create immersive experiences: from novels and movies, via 360-videos, to current state of the art virtual reality systems. We look at the ways in which these devices shape our experiences and our sense of self. We will discuss some ethical and metaphysical challenges they pose, and consider the opportunities they present for learning, problem solving and improving human interaction. We will make extensive use of VR and AR devices, immersing ourselves in virtual worlds in order to think about fundamental philosophical questions posed by these fascinating technological developments.
Learning objective: Understand basic concepts of the philosophy of mind, such as the concepts of consciousness, perception, and mental representation.
Learning objective: Understand the concept of immersion and the relevance of immersive experience.
Learning objective: Become informed about the development of virtual worlds and virtual reality.
Learning objective: Investigate the cognitive potential of systematic use of VR devices.
Learning objective: Understand important ethical challenges of engaging with virtual environments and using VR devices.
Learning objective: Understand important metaphysical debates about virtual worlds and virtual people.
- You will be able to express and define key terms and use terminology from the philosophy of mind appropriately.
- You will be able to illustrate central concepts and distinctions with examples, especially examples involving VR experience.
Learning objective: Understand the concept of immersion and the relevance of immersive experience.
- You will be able to express distinctions between different types of immersion.
- You will be able to apply these distinctions to various media, such as written literature, film, and VR.
Learning objective: Become informed about the development of virtual worlds and virtual reality.
- You will be able to use and explain key terms related to VR technology and implementation.
- You will be able to explain central psychological phenomena involved in VR experience.
Learning objective: Investigate the cognitive potential of systematic use of VR devices.
- You will be able to express key questions about the educational and therapeutic potential of VR, and its potential for psychology research.
- You will be able to summarize relevant research studies and explain their significance.
Learning objective: Understand important ethical challenges of engaging with virtual environments and using VR devices.
- You will be able to express key questions about the value of VR experience and about the ethics of engaging with VR.
Learning objective: Understand important metaphysical debates about virtual worlds and virtual people.
- You will be able to express key metaphysical questions about VR.
- You will be able to explain how different theories answer their target questions.
