ABSTRACT
The book begins with some vividly described examples of a few contemporary cultural practices—the increasingly widespread use of virtual reality technology, the production of video games as a military recruitment tool, and the rise of fan culture in the US, among others—that suggest the early twenty-first century deserves to be regarded as an “age of simulation.” This is followed by a discussion of the views of some cultural critics (including Neal Postman, Thomas Langan, and Martin Heidegger) who have warned of the dangers attendant on this trend. The book’s central thesis is described in terms that place it in stark opposition to the views of these thinkers. The Introduction concludes with some brief reflections upon the implications of two famous philosophical thought experiments about simulated human experience: Plato’s cave allegory in the Republic and Robert Nozick’s experience machine argument in Anarchy, State, and Utopia.
