Belinda Marshal - ‘Being-in-the-Virtual-World’

<p>This episode of Season 5 of the BSP Podcast features Belinda Marshal, University of St. Andrews. The presentation is taken from our 2020 annual conference: ‘Engaged Phenomenology’ Online.</p> <p> </p> <p>ABSTRACT: Questions surrounding the nature of being and existence have been tackled by philosophers for centuries, however, in this paper I analyse how concepts explored by these philosophers translate into virtual environments, as explored within virtual reality technologies. To begin, I will discuss the concept of “realism” - in an attempt to argue for the case that virtual reality - although still technology - can actually be considered a form of reality in itself. In accepting that virtual reality is a form of reality - or at least, a convincing enough extension of reality, we can accept that many existential possibilities and freedoms can be explored within virtual realms. (See: Myeung-Sook (2001)) This then opens up the potential for discussion surrounding what kinds of experiences we could expect to have within virtual environments, how they compare to phenomenological discussion of experience within “real” environments - and how these still hold both philosophical, and real world significance. Phenomenological analysis of accounts of “being” in terms of technology are vastly unexplored, beyond the postphenomenological movement as written by the likes of Ihde and Verbeek - however, even within postphenomenology, this discussion rarely ventures into virtual reality technologies. This research is important due to the level of potential real world impact - which is something else I will further clarify; particularly, with the increased use of virtual reality technologies to treat people with severe disabilities, I believe that it is crucial to explore how virtual environments can best be used and designed, to enable the user to maximise their lived experiences within virtual reality, if it is not possible for them in the primary version of reality. This does not limit the impact of such research, howev