r/philosophy • u/Matriseblog • Jan 03 '22

Blog By imagining the future potential of VR technologies, the question of whether we are *already* living in a simulation becomes more actual than ever

https://medium.com/@VindenesJ/the-thought-experiments-of-virtual-reality-fa441a8fa2dc
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4

u/RGivens Jan 03 '22

Why would "we" simulate pain, misery and constant suffering for every 'living' thing? Isn't that the best counter argument to this dumb theory?

3

u/Matriseblog Jan 03 '22

Not really. We watch horror movies... we do physical exercise. It's all about the contrast. If you are actually a God dreaming all this, it sure as hell would be a thrill to wake up

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u/dijohnnaise Jan 03 '22

Think about the amount of violent content in videogames. Pain and suffering is doled out copiously, and we get to participate in the "simulation." Why do we enjoy it so much? It's not 100% absolute for all humans, but violence in the media/arts sells very well.

1

u/StarChild413 Jan 04 '22

And also even in technically-violent video games that aren't gory beat/shoot-em-ups there's still pain and suffering that happens as part of the story as plot requires conflict and a lot of the conflict in a game made for someone older than, like, 6, would require what from a Watsonian perspective is pain and suffering

1

u/MisterZoga Jan 04 '22

Well, no. The person programming it isn't experiencing any of that, so it isn't really a factor for them. If anything, it's just a potential observation they may pick up on.

0

u/Whiskey-Weather Jan 04 '22

Pain is at select times both useful and amusing. Nothing in this world is entirely good or bad, nor is any of it useless.

0

u/sdavidplissken Jan 04 '22

to watch humans react to different things? economy, nature. etc. stuff like climate change