Reality+ Virtual worlds and the problems of philosophy

"Virtual worlds need not be second-class realities," writes philosopher Chalmers (The Conscious Mind) in this fascinating look at the simulation hypothesis, which proposes that humans are more likely than not living in a computer simulation. According to Chalmers, advances in computing power and virtual reality technology put long-standing philosophical questions about the nature of reality in a new light, as vast and highly sophisticated simulations become commonplace. Virtual reality, Chalmers writes, offers a chance to reckon with a tradition of philosophical skepticism that, beginning with Descartes, dismisses simulated reality as mere illusion. For Chalmers, virtual reality is a "genuine" reality composed of bits rather than atoms and quarks--and while "the virtual object is different from the nonvirtual one," he writes, "both are equally real." The implications of Chalmers's "simulation realism" are various and eye-opening, as in the new life the hypothesis lends to religious concepts of creation and a creator. Crafted with the general reader in mind, this is an object lesson in philosophical reasoning and a bold, often awe-inspiring discussion of its implications. Philosophy-minded readers weened on The Matrix and ready for the metaverse will want to take a look. (Jan.)

A survey of the history and future of philosophy for the digital age. Following the massive success of The Matrix, the film received considered analyses from many big-name philosophers. Among these was Chalmers, whose academic paper "The Matrixas Metaphysics" is one of the high-water marks of the field. That article initiated the author into the philosophy of virtual reality, a subject to which he returns in this ambitious and encyclopedic attempt to think through seemingly all of philosophy in light of increasingly rapid technological implications. To his credit, Chalmers, the co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain and Consciousness at NYU, injects new life into old philosophical problems via "technophilosophy," a "combination of (1) asking philosophical questions about technology and (2) using technology to help answer traditional philosophical questions." Arguments for God, the external world, utilitarianism, and many other concepts must be revisited if we take seriously the possibility that we could be living in a simulation. This is an emphatically contemporary work, and Chalmers seems overly enamored with the virtual; his speculation often reads like celebration. Advancing his view that the virtual is actually real, he writes, "artificiality of an environment is no bar to value. It's true that some people value a natural environment, but this seems an optional value, and not one that makes the difference between a valuable and a valueless life." The book is overstuffed with data of varying relevance--e.g., what percentage of professional philosophers holds which position, as if such numbers meant anything more than what is currently in fashion--and the author's perambulations may appeal more to computer coders than philosophers. Oddly, Chalmers seems to assume that readers are largely unfamiliar with the foundations of philosophy and, at the same time, are deeply interested in what technology means for philosophy. A book that proposes a philosophical revolution but offers mostly fun thought experiments. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.