Third Debate

Abstract

Abstract This debate—set in an ending world where humanity faces unavoidable extinction in two hundred years—explores experience machines, virtual reality, and the value of connections to reality, freedom, and other people. It asks whether the last humans should abandon the real world altogether and spend their entire lives plugged into Nozickean experience machines that perfectly simulate any possible human experience. The Presentist argues that hedonist defenses of virtuality remain powerful, while familiar objections lose their force in the face of imminent extinction. The Post-Cataclysm Pessimist replies that the deficiencies of virtual worlds are more apparent in an ending world where people are more aware of the importance of connections to reality, other people, and the future. The Theist argues that virtual worlds are the best place to connect to divine reality—especially given Idealist, Neoplatonist, and other transcendent metaphysical views where empirical ‘reality’ is itself a pale reflection of true reality. The Escapist argues that digital futures offer humanity’s only hope for a truly meaningful life. Finally, the Multigenerationalist argues that people living at the start of a slowly ending world should launch an open-ended multigenerational project designed to enable the last humans to construct whatever world (virtual, non-virtual, digital, or whatever) is best for them.