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Reality+

Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy

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Reality+

By: David J. Chalmers
Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the coming decades, the technology that enables virtual and augmented reality will improve beyond recognition. Within a century, world-renowned philosopher David J. Chalmers predicts, we will have virtual worlds that are impossible to distinguish from non-virtual worlds. But is virtual reality just escapism? In a highly original work of 'technophilosophy', Chalmers argues categorically, no: virtual reality is genuine reality. Virtual worlds are not second-class worlds. We can live a meaningful life in virtual reality - and increasingly, we will.

What is reality, anyway? How can we lead a good life? Is there a god? How do we know there's an external world - and how do we know we're not living in a computer simulation? In Reality+, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of philosophy, using cutting-edge technology to provide invigorating new answers to age-old questions.

Drawing on examples from pop culture, literature and film that help bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it.

© David J. Chalmers 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Computer Science Consciousness & Thought History & Culture History & Philosophy Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Technology & Society Technology Virtual World Thought-Provoking

Critic Reviews

Chalmers is a joy: an exuberant guide through challenging terrain, quick with anecdotes and arguments, wit and wild ideas (Kieran Setiya)
Delightfully - or perhaps worryingly - convincing... A brilliant and very readable philosophical investigation... [Chalmers] tackles some frankly mindbending ideas, but does so in a lively and entertaining style, filled with references to pop culture (PD Smith, Book of the Day)
Everyone should read this important book (Josh Glancy)
Fascinating... Thoughtful, clear and funny... Reality+ is a gripping act of philosophical escapology... Hugely entertaining (Kit Wilson)
One of the most important living philosophers, existing in an exclusive club of living thinkers who are on compulsory reading lists for undergraduate philosophy students... He writes with admirable clarity and there's something quite rock'n'roll about him (Bryan Appleyard)
[Chalmers] deftly interweaves the finer points of ancient Chinese philosophy and Cartesian dualism with the metaphysics of the Matrix films and the World of Warcraft computer games... A rich, scintillating [...] book that reflects many fascinating facets of our virtual worlds (John Thornhill)
A David Chalmers book is a competition. On the one hand the writing is so clear and engaging that you want to keep turning pages; on the other, the ideas are so surprising and profound that you are continually stopping to think about them. Reality+ is a treasure trove of provocative reflections on cosmology, consciousness, artificial intelligence, ethics, and more. Reading it will change the way you think about the universe (Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime)
Fasten your seatbelt and put your helmet on, David Chalmers is going to take you on an amazing trip. Reality+ is wild, profound, and playful, placing famous arguments from the history of philosophy next to surprising observations about video games. Cleverly disguised as light reading, this book carries a large payload of new ideas about existence, knowledge, and what makes life worth living (Jennifer Nagel, University of Toronto)
As humanity enters a brave new world of artificial superintelligence and computer-generated virtual realities, how can we humble hunter-gatherers, descended from cavemen, begin to grasp our astonishing technological future? The answer lies in this book. We must think about the ultimate nature of reality. In Reality+ David Chalmers provides the roadmap to your future (Susan Schneider, NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation, and author of Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind)
All stars
Most relevant
this book has convinced me that mental illness is a prerequisite for being a professional philosopher

convinced

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The self-confessed atheist and world leading expert on the study of consciousness, David Chalmers writes that Simulation theory provides one of the best arguments for the existence of God. For anyone who wants to win the debate either way, this book is essential reading. David is bound by the chains of the methodology of his discipline and holds the questions of the meaning of virtual worlds against the light of major philosophies throughout history. Spoiler alert. How did I know you would keep reading? That chair that you have grown up knowing as being real is still real whether it is made of atoms or digital information. You have been thrown out of Eden where a rock is a rock and an apple is red and now know reality is not that simple but under most scenarios you know what rocks and apples are and that’s all that matters. The study of philosophy is useless, except that it has given us the most important things in humanity such as art, religion, economic and political systems and even science. Will Reality + provide a roadmap to Humanity 3.0 as we try to breaker a truce with AI? Oh, and yes, if you believe you are in a simulation, you might get an afterlife.

Taking the simulation argument to the next level

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I almost got halfway through before I had to stop. It doesn't reflect reality as I know it. And it wouldn't be ethical to create a simulated environment with suffering. I don't think we would ever create simulations that replicate our world with conscious entities. It wouldn't be ethical. But here is an entire book about it. More interested in the types of beings that we do end up creating. They won't have our shortcomings like the ability to experience pain. I did not enjoy this book but it seems to be well researched information. Proceed at your own risk.

Really Out There

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Unconvincing. Long winded and repetitive argument. We tangible world issues to address without being distracted by a non hypothetical issue.

Unconvincing

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.