The Metaphysics of Stanisław Lem’s Phantomatic Worlds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/sts.3210Keywords:
phantomatic, virtual reality, skeptical hypothesis, metaphysical hypothesis, virtual realismAbstract
Stanisław Lem repeatedly addressed the topic of artificially generated experiences. He even coined the neologism ‘phantomatic’ to describe the technology used to produce such experiences. They can therefore be called phantomatic experiences, and their subject matter, taken as a whole, can be called the phantomatic world. In the age of virtual reality, phantomatic experiences are no longer just a theoretical possibility, but have entered the everyday life of modern man. At least since Descartes' famous thought experiment with the evil demon, the thesis that human impressions are phantomatic in nature has been treated with skepticism – in the sense that its possible truth would falsify most empirical beliefs. Contrary to this, David Chalmers opposes this skeptical interpretation. Using Chalmers' argument, the author of this article analyzes the metaphysical status of Lem's phantomatic worlds.
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