Virtual or Reality

#37 - Nov.2022

In these times when it seems that the digital world is becoming our new world is inevitable to ask: are these experiences real?

Sure, we can fallback to our simple understanding of reality, on being whatever happens in the physical world. A non-illusional experience.

However, the debate between virtual and physical reality is a much deeper philosophical question that is now in the spotlight.

The work from David Chalmers brings nuances about whether we should consider virtual experiences genuine. Although different in content (atoms vs. bits) both experiences have much more things in common regarding how our consciousness grasps these realities.

How can we argue about the deepness of such virtual experiences? Can we even prove our hypothesis? Are people able to live a meaningful life in these new worlds? What are the opportunities for people limited in the physical world due to accessibility problems?

At this point, I have much more questions than conclusions. It is exciting to think about the future...but it's also a bit scary.