Exploring Virtual Reality through Ihde's Instrumental Realism
arXiv Preprint Archive January 23, 2024
Summary
Virtual reality fundamentally changes how we perceive and interact with digital worlds, acting as a bridge between human consciousness and artificial environments. Through the lens of instrumental realism, VR emerges as more than just technology—it's a tool that extends human perception and understanding. This analysis reveals how VR enhances human-computer interaction while transforming our relationship with digital spaces and embodied experiences.
Abstract
Based on Ihde's theory, this paper explores the relationship between virtual reality (VR) as an instrument and phenomenology. It reviews the "technological revolution" spurred by the development of VR technology and discusses how VR has been used to study subjective experience, explore perception and embodiment, enhance empathy and perspective, and investigate altered states of consciousness. The paper emphasizes the role of VR as an instrumental technology, particularly its ability to expand human perception and cognition. Reflecting on this in conjunction with the work of Husserl and Ihde, among others, it revisits the potential of VR to provide new avenues for scientific inquiry and experience and to transform our understanding of the world through VR.