Reality and Virtuality: Manifestations, Differences and Transitions

The distinction between being and appearance, between reality and virtuality, is of fundamental importance for human consciousness. The capacity for imagination, with its possibilities for fictionality, simulation, and counterfactual thinking, opens up a unique space for fantasy and creativity. At the same time, humans also need a connection to concrete, embodied experience in order not to lose their grounding in reality. The ontological distinction between reality and virtuality is manifested in a consciousness of the "as-if," which accompanies reflections, imaginations, and "virtual" activities. Virtuality, therefore, generally refers to a form of experience in which reality is merely represented, simulated, or feigned. However, this is not about a simple binary opposition between reality and virtuality. Of particular interest are the ambiguous or transitional zones where the boundaries between reality and fiction become blurred, and the "as-if"-consciousness of imagination or virtuality begins to dissolve.

However, the demarcation between reality and virtuality has also been called into question fundamentally. Constructivist theories argue that facts are valid only relative to human systems of opinion. Additionally, neuroconstructivists suggest that our everyday perception presents us with a more or less illusory world, namely a neural simulation of physical reality in the brain. Beyond the scientific or philosophical domain, recent societal and technological developments have further transformed the experience of reality.  

o   Advances in digitalization, media communication, and virtual reality create ambivalent experiential spaces in which the distinctions between being and appearance, original and simulation, embodied and virtual presence, begin to dissolve. 

o   We witness an increasing production of distorted or fictitious realities in digital/social media. The spread of parallel worlds, "echo chambers," "filter bubbles”, and conspiracy theories suggests that the distinction between fact and fiction is under threat. 

o   Advances in artificial intelligence challenge the distinction between subjectivity and its simulation by enabling (apparent) communication with a virtual counterpart (chatbot).  

On the other hand, phenomenological and enactivist perspectives on reality and virtuality stress the fundamental difference between the two. From a phenomenological viewpoint, perception is the paradigmatic experience through which we are confronted with reality. This is especially evident in Merleau-Ponty's concept of "foi perceptive," which postulates that perception necessarily assumes the reality of what is perceived. Conversely, for example, Husserl's analyses of imagination indicate that imagination posits the imagined object as absent—that is, as unreal—by neutralizing the belief in the reality that is inherent in perception. Enactivist research programs also start from the premise that reality is given to consciousness and emphasize the active, engaged interaction with the environment, which makes objects "comprehensible" through their resistance and responses. 

The distinction between reality and virtuality is obviously a topic of fundamental importance for the future of society. This workshop addresses these issues and seeks to clarify the distinction between reality and virtuality, considering commonalities and transitional forms, while taking a closer look at relevant concepts and phenomena. The following list gives an overview on potential topics:  

o   What distinguishes the experience of virtuality from the experience of reality?  

o   What role do bodily experiences of resistance, sensorimotor interactions, intersubjective perspective-taking, and communication play in particular?  

o   How is a shared intersubjective reality constituted from a phenomenological or enactive perspective?  

o   Are reality and virtuality categorically different? Are there intermediate forms?  

o   What arguments can be presented for philosophical positions that relativize the distinction between reality and virtuality? 

o   What other concepts are important in the context of the distinction between reality and virtuality? What role do fictionality, simulation, and immersion play, for instance?  

o   How do different media vary in their simulation of reality?  

o   What possible consequences does the leveling of the distinction between reality and virtuality have for individuals’ relation to reality in contemporary society?

o   How can potentially problematic aspects of virtualization be addressed?