Reality+ Virtual worlds and the problems of philosophy

David John Chalmers, 1966-

Book - 2022

"A leading philosopher takes a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it. Virtual reality is genuine reality. That's the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of "technophilosophy," David J. Chalmers argues that virtual worlds generated by computers are not second-class worlds. We can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be living in a computer simulation already-and if we are, that's not so bad. What is reality, anyway? How do we know there's an external world? What's the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? Is there a god? In Reality+, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of philosophy, using... virtual worlds to illuminate all of these questions and to provide new answers to many of them. Studded with illustrations that bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a major statement that will shape discussion of philosophy and technology for years to come"--

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Subjects
Published
New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company [2022]
Language
English
Main Author
David John Chalmers, 1966- (author)
Other Authors
Tim Peacock (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xxiv, 520 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [471]-503) and index.
ISBN
9780393635805
  • Introduction Adventures in technophilosophy
  • Part 1. Virtual Worlds
  • Chapter 1. Is this the real life?
  • Chapter 2. What is the simulation hypothesis?
  • Part 2. Knowledge
  • Chapter 3. Do we know things?
  • Chapter 4. Can we prove there is an external world?
  • Chapter 5. Is it likely that we're in a simulation?
  • Part 3. Reality
  • Chapter 6. What is reality?
  • Chapter 7. Is God a hacker in the next universe up?
  • Chapter 8. Is the universe made of information?
  • Chapter 9. Did simulation create its from bits?
  • Part 4. Real Virtual Reality
  • Chapter 10. Do virtual reality headsets create reality?
  • Chapter 11. Are virtual reality devices illusion machines?
  • Chapter 12. Does augmented reality lead to alternative facts?
  • Chapter 13. Can we avoid being deceived by deepfakes?
  • Part 5. Mind
  • Chapter 14. How do mind and body interact in a virtual world?
  • Chapter 15. Can tbere be consciousness in a digital world?
  • Chapter 16. Does augmented reality extend the mind?
  • Part 6. Value
  • Chapter 17. Can you lead a good life in a virtual world?
  • Chapter 18. Do simulated lives matter?
  • Chapter 19. How should we build a virtual society?
  • Part 7. Foundations
  • Chapter 20. What do our words mean in virtual worlds?
  • Chapter 21. Do dust clouds run computer programs?
  • Chapter 22. Is reality a mathematical structure?
  • Chapter 23. Have we fallen from the Garden of Eden?
  • Chapter 24. Are we Boltzmann brains in a dream world?
  • Acknowledgments
  • Glossary
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"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.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

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.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.