James Elkins

Writings and Presentations:

• Title: There are No Philosophic Problems Raised by Virtual Reality
  Writing Type: Essay
  Author(s):
  • James Elkins
  
  Exhibition: SIGGRAPH 1994: Art and Design Show
  Abstract Summary:

  There is widespread agreement that virtual reality presents seri­ous new challenges to perceived ways of thinking about such fun­damental concepts as reality, simulation, representation, percep­tion, and sensation. It has been seen as a practice that might have deep consequences for conven­tional ways of construing the mind-body problem, including the minimal requirements for a body, requirements for the coherent reception of sensation, and the relation between reason and intu­ition. Most fundamental of all, it has been said to entail a new kind of space, differing from Cartesian and other spaces and requiring new definitions of space and form. This paper argues, on the contrary, that virtual reality does not raise any new philosophic problems.

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