There must be a huge body of comment and thought about this burgeoning virtual space but here goes anyway. Some drafty thoughts:
I signed up yesterday (http://secondlife.com) – over 3 million virtual citizens – avatars. I have not even passed through my orientation yet. I’m a newbie so can’t make any claims of expertise. There is so much that this concept encapsulates. Its amazing and somewhat scary at the same time. Its a bit like an open source Truman Show where everybody makes it happen. But.. but there is still the ghost in the machine handling (and collecting) the money, making the “laws of nature” defining the boundaries – the “super landlord”. One could check out of physical life quite substantially and live out an existence in this space. There is a stream of thought that criticises an obsessive absorption with virtual reality. How different is this to people seeking out a life of meditation? Some even bricking themselves into a wall in a church – moving as much as physically possible into an inner world of contemplation – is this reality not also virtual where you engage with “virtual” entities – spirits, visions, voices powers and principalities – to some end. The intention might be “higher”. I can hardly imagine that all the citizens of cyber space are fervently and consciously seeking enlightenment through their cyber lives – and yet in another sense we all are. So virtual reality is not new in my opinion. It reinforces the notion of meaning and attention creating reality which movies like “What the Bleep…” and “The Secret” have made popular. As soon as we attach meaning to something it establishes itself in reality whether it has physical substance or not.
One of many angles: Jungians encourage fantasy, particularly in relationships; the idea being that if one works out one’s longings and desires in an appropriately held fantasy space it facilitates the growth and integration that the soul needs/seeks without sustaining the damage that acting those things out in physical reality might bring about. I buy into this idea with a litle ambivalence. I can’t quite dispense with the element of psychic masturbation – a caricature / substitute that waters down the gritty nature of our incarnated existence. Virtual reality facilitates this notion in much more tangible and graphic terms. While most people play in these environments without being that conscious of their intentions beyond play, exploration, and exploitation it seems to me that one might work with this at quite a different level. Pippa: I think again about your project where you set out to kill a thousand people in a virtual world (what did you call it?). Your intent being beyond some gratuitous entertainment or mindless exploration. I hope I’m not misrepresenting you. I would love to know your thoughts on SecondLife.
So I throw this into the pool and hope some ripples will emanate from places other than where my stone plopped.
It was called Simulation
You’re not misrepresenting me – Actually I think it’s a very valid point – the idea that virtual reality is a state of mind, a place where we can live that isn’t directly affected by the outside world, and that can be considered akin to meditation – it’s a philosophy that I find very interesting.
I also have theories in fact, but these are largely to do with cheating – however one of them is that going into god mode, in a way circumvents death and allows us a sense of immortality. In other words, going in to god mode in a game is in a way cheating death – and the process of saving, which allows us to participate in the continuous cycle of dying and being reborn in fact could be akin to a near death experience. I’m not sure if this makes any sense – it’s really just something I’ve been working on, mainly to start writing about for my PhD proposal.
Regarding Second Life I havent actually played it so I dont have that much experience, only what Ive heard, but it’s an interesting concept… Perhaps I’ll get around to joining and then can give a more informed opinion?
Comment by Pippa — 29 May, 2007 @ 12:52 pm