Virtual Reality And The Allegory Of The Cave Are we shadows upon a wall??

[hashbang 0]

Hey All,

Platoâs Allegory of the Cave serves as an interesting metaphor for online communities. The prisoners according to Plato experience a limited perspective of reality. Their perspective is limited and unclear. They experience reality as mere shadows upon a wall.

Is this also a metaphor for Virtual Reality and if so, what does it mean for the culture of cyberspace? Does it render any attempt to study, explain, and experience cyberculture invalid? Is it as invalid a depiction of reality as the shadows upon the cave?

In essence ... is 'Virtual' Reality as limited as Plato's Prisoners viewing shadows? Are our online friendships and relationships mere shadows?

click for the full allegory (first news item on my site)

cheers
hashbang

[Ploforia 0]

I agree with you and I believe that since internet and virtual reality did not yet exist during the time of plato and socrates that the Allegory of the Cave was an attempt to portray our normal perception of reality as possibly being merely as shallow as a virtual reality game seems to us now. The matrix was an excellent portrayal of this view point as in life you are unable to remove yourself enough to prove that life is merely an illusion or not and yet in the electronic world where you can tell there is a difference in reality, you can still exit the electronic world and prove it's inferiority to reality. The matrix sort of bridged the gap to say well what if you take what you know as not real (electronic games etc.) and make it so people couldn't tell if they were in the game or not? You will invariably have people who don't know that the game is not the reality. I suggest the defense of socrates as further reading on the topic for any interested parties.

[hashbang 0]

I suggest the defense of socrates as further reading on the topic for any interested parties.

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Here's an easy reference link ...

defense of Socrates

 

enjoy,

hashbang

[shaldengeki1405241473 0]

Here's an easy reference link ...

defense of Socrates

 

enjoy,

hashbang

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think Plato's Allegory of the Cave is really relevant to cyberculture. What I believe the message in the Allegory is that power should be given to those who do not want it, and only those who have "seen the light" can comprehend true enlightenment. Those that have not yet been outside the cave cannot know the truth of the outside world, and thus will naturally laugh and make fun of the enlightened ones due to their ignorance.

 

I don't see how this would apply to cyberculture... really, the internet was developed as a means to spread information more rapidly, so I'd think that cyberculture is another method of bringing people into the light. I guess you could be partially right, though, since some people have begun to treat their online lives as if they were more important than reality. So I guess in some ways it's become an illusion in itself, but as a whole, it's still more effective at distributing information than it is at deluding people.

[hashbang 0]

I don't think Plato's Allegory of the Cave is really relevant to cyberculture.

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Hey Shaldengeki,

Although your interpretation of the Parable is valid, I stil see the incredible similarity between online communities/cyber relationships and shadows on the cave wall. Interesting, in cyberspace we can become like the phoenix and be reborn if we become unhappy with our online life. For example, if I decide that being helpful and nice was too boring or I am just not in the mood to be 'nice', I could create another online persona for this community ... call him binslashbash. When I disagreed with someone radically, I could login as bin and post a flammer preserving the reputation of hashbang but venting feelings none the less.

 

Perhaps this multipersona ability of cyberspace provides a form of therapy???

 

cheers

hashbang

[Dyth 0]

Did anybody read Neal Stephenson's novel, Snow Crash? In it, the "Metaverse" is the second version of the Internet and very virtual reality--3-D, any persona, etc. The Metaverse is really not that far away from the present Internet, and what would happen if it really becomes born? Something that real is bound to cause even more illusions than the present 2-D one--even when communication is almost only by typing, many have become deluded and absorbed in their cyberlife. Besides, it doesn't matter if the Internet didn't exist in Plato's time. Human behavior is all the same.

[shaldengeki1405241473 0]

Hey Shaldengeki,

Although your interpretation of the Parable is valid, I stil see the incredible similarity between online communities/cyber relationships and shadows on the cave wall. Interesting, in cyberspace we can become like the phoenix and be reborn if we become unhappy with our online life. For example, if I decide that being helpful and nice was too boring or I am just not in the mood to be 'nice', I could create another online persona for this community ... call him binslashbash. When I disagreed with someone radically, I could login as bin and post a flammer preserving the reputation of hashbang but venting feelings none the less.

 

Perhaps this multipersona ability of cyberspace provides a form of therapy???

 

cheers

hashbang

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah, I think I see what you're trying to get at. People can pretend to be something they're not in a cybercommunity, and decieve others; therefore, the chance that you're being fed a shadow of the real person increases, eh? That does make sense, but I believe that people tend to at least give hints of their actual personalities when interacting with someone they believe is a human being. It's not as if you can radically change what your subconscious is composed of just because you're talking to someone you will have no physical interaction with. If you take long enough to try to get to know who someone is over the net, you will eventually uncover their true personality. As for the people who don't want to take that long, well, that's just a part of their personality that they're revealing to the person on the other end of the line.

 

Yes, I can see how it'd provide a form of therapy. I have, on more than one occasion, considered doing just what you proposed- creating an alter ego and venting a little anger on someone who is being particularly frustrating. However, I don't believe I've ever done this, and I suppose that's another clue as to my personality.

 

I agree somewhat with your argument that cybercommunities provide for a much higher risk of Plato's shadows becoming real, but I also believe that, given sufficient time and effort, any illusion on the other person's part will be dispelled. I mean, it's not as if people are that clever. They always make mistakes, and you just have to look for these mistakes in searching for the shadows on the wall.

[Ploforia 0]

Another interesting thing about this whole topic to delve into might be nano-technology. I have heard some very scary projections of what computer technology might be like in 10-20 years with nano-technology and our circulatory system providing our means for perception and experience;rather than our regular five senses we would experience a simulation of all these senses projected by nano-technology literally in our blood-stream. Our daily experience and perception being entirely dictated by whoever is in control of this technology is a very scary thought. Put that one in your pipe and smoke it.....