Thought some of you might be interested in David Chalmers' new book, Reality+. Chalmers is a very prominent philosopher in the philosophy of mind, particularly on the topic of consciousness.
Description of the book:
Here is a Guardian article about it as well in case you don't want to take the time to read it but still get the basic idea. As far as I can tell it's not up on Lib Gen yet (a book pirating website). When it is, I'll post it so people can access it easily. In the meantime, do you think virtual worlds are "real"; what does it even mean for a world to be real?
Description of the book:
Virtual reality is genuine reality; that's the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of "technophilosophy," David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already.
Along the way, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there's an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What's the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed by Chalmers' mind-bending analysis.
Here is a Guardian article about it as well in case you don't want to take the time to read it but still get the basic idea. As far as I can tell it's not up on Lib Gen yet (a book pirating website). When it is, I'll post it so people can access it easily. In the meantime, do you think virtual worlds are "real"; what does it even mean for a world to be real?