<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Are the objects and events that take place in Virtual Reality genuinely real? Those who answer this question in the affirmative are <italic>realists</italic>, and those who answer in the negative are <italic>irrealists</italic>. In this paper we argue against the realist position, as given by Chalmers (2017), and present our own preferred <italic>irrealist</italic> account of the virtual. We start by disambiguating two potential versions of the realist position—weak and strong— and then go on to argue that neither is plausible. We then introduce a <italic>Waltonian</italic> variety of <italic>ictionalism</italic> about the virtual, arguing that this sort of irrealist approach avoids the problems of the realist positions, fits with a unifying theory of representational works, and offers a better account of the phenomenology of engaging in virtual experiences.</p></abstract>

Are the objects and events that take place in Virtual Reality genuinely real? Those who answer this question in the affirmative are realists, and those who answer in the negative are irrealists. In this paper we argue against the realist position, as given by Chalmers (2017), and present our own preferred irrealist account of the virtual. We start by disambiguating two potential versions of the realist position—weak and strong— and then go on to argue that neither is plausible. We then introduce a Waltonian variety of ictionalism about the virtual, arguing that this sort of irrealist approach avoids the problems of the realist positions, fits with a unifying theory of representational works, and offers a better account of the phenomenology of engaging in virtual experiences.

Virtual Reality: Digital or Fictional?

Disputatio

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Virtual Reality: Digital or Fictional?"}

Are the objects and events that take place in Virtual Reality genuinely real? Those who answer this question in the affirmative are realists, and those who...

Virtual Reality: Digital or Fictional?

Published Online: Jun 08, 2020

Page range: 371 - 397

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2019-0004

Keywords
Virtual reality, realism, irrealism, fictionalism, Ken Walton

© 2019 Neil McDonnell et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Virtual Reality: Digital or Fictional?

Published Online: Jun 08, 2020

Page range: 371 - 397

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/disp-2019-0004

KeywordsVirtual reality, realism, irrealism, fictionalism, Ken Walton

© 2019 Neil McDonnell et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Virtual reality, realism, irrealism, fictionalism, Ken Walton