Glossary
Actual Reality The reality that is naturally given, as we are now accustomed to; opposed to virtual reality, which is artificially made. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Alleged intelligence of man-made objects, such as a computer, a robot, etc. Causal In this book, a causal process is, as opposed to a sub-causal process, defined as a process of physical interaction which leads to another physical process, and is not carried out for the purpose of facilitating a parallel digital process. CCS (see Cross-Communication Situation) The Communicative Mode of Subjectivity One of the three modes of Subjectivity, characterized by its conceptual/theoretical and argumentative orientation; leading to an intersubjective consensus on the validity or invalidity, or the strength of a concept, a claim, or a theory. Communicative Rationality The kind of rationality by which a consensus on the validity or invalidity of a claim is reached among members of a communication community through reasoned argumentation alone; the core of communicative rationality is the requirement of performative consistency, that is, a consistency between the claim being made and the act of making the claim, apart from the general requirement of formal logic. Community of Interpersonal-Telepresence A community of mutual exchangeability of functioning sense organs by means of telecommunication; any member of the community can be present, without an actual trip to the place, in any location where one of the shared bodies is present. The Conative Mode of Subjectivity One of the three modes of Subjectivity, characterized by its projective and volitional orientation; leading to the act that changes reality more or less in the direction as projected. The Constitutive Mode of Subjectivity One of the three modes of Subjectivity, characterized by its a priori constitution of a world of objectivity in a given framework; leading to a cognitive separation of an objectified world of physical entities from consciousness. Cross-Communication Situation A situation wherein two persons are involved, with each person's brain communicating with the other person's lower- than-neck part of the body through telecommunication attachments. Cross-Sensory Perception For two modalities of sensation, typically vision and hearing, each is fed with artificially transformed signals originally received by the other; that is, light signals are transformed into sound signals and will be heard with ears, whereas sound signals into light signals and seen with eyes. Cybersex Sexual experience, including intercourse, through telepresence and teleoperation such that its experiential part is fulfilled in virtual reality while its procreative part accomplished in actual reality. Cyberspace A totally coordinated system of stimuli of all senses tied to perceived objects in a dynamic 3-D field of vision; it is ontologically parallel to what we now call the "physical space" since we can interact with objects in it and whereby manipulate the physical processes effectively just as we can in the actual world. The Expansive Part of VR The part of virtual reality furnished solely for the sake of expanding human creative experiences which are beyond our reach in actual reality; it does not have to involve teleoperation as in the foundational part. The Fallacy of Unity Projection A fallacy that mistakes the unity attained in the inquirer's mind as a unity that occurs in the objectified brain, which is being studied in a model of classical mechanics. The Foundational Part of VR The part of virtual reality in which our interaction with simulated objects causes a process in actual reality; as an intended result, teleoperation is carried out through robotic technology for purposes of maintaining necessary agricultural and industrial production. Humanidute The human uniqueness that separates human beings categorically from objects in the world; this is characterized by the Intersubjective meaning-complexes generated through the interplay among the three modes of Subjectivity. Immersion Technology The technology that generates totally coordinated system of stimuli to our sense organs that replaces, and thus isolates us from, the system of natural stimuli in the actual world. Immersive Totally surrounded by an artificial environment in one's experience and thus totally separated from the natural environment insofar as perceptual experience goes. Inside-Out Control Teleoperation carried out by interacting with virtual reality from cyberspace so as to manipulate physical processes in the actual world. Interpersonal-Telepresence A cross-connection between is established between one's brain and another person's lower-than-neck part of the body by means of telecommunication; so a person can be present in the place where another person is willing to give up his/her presence in that place just by switching to a new state of connection. Meaning-Complex A non-causal interconnection among many items of meaning generated by each individual in the past, at present, or in the future, which is independent of any individual's recognition of it. Metaphysics A kind of philosophical inquiry that asks, discusses, and attempts to answer questions about that which is ontologically significant yet not accessible by sense perception. Ontology A kind of philosophical inquiry that asks, discusses, and attempts to answer the question of what is fundamentally real or not real and why so. Personal Identity, The Question of The philosophical question about what makes a person uniquely one and the same person despite the ever-changing attributes of that person. PR (see Principle of Reciprocity) The Principle of Reciprocity That is, The Principle of Reciprocity between Alternative Sensory Frameworks, which says that all possible sensory frameworks that support a certain degree of coherence and stability of perception have equal ontological status for organizing our experiences. The Psy-Factor A factor in a law of physics that indicates the participation of consciousness in the process this law describes; in this book, the conjecture is that the square root of -1 in Quantum Mechanics and Special Theory of Relativity is the Psy-Factor. Simulation Reproducing the pattern of interaction of a certain natural process by creating and running certain computer programs with certain parameters. Sub-Causal A special term adopted in this book to designate a physical process (such as the electronic process in a computer chip) carried out for the sole purpose of supporting an intended digital process. Subjectivity Subjectivity is that which makes human beings a subject; a subject, qua its Subjectivity, observes but cannot be observed, perceives but cannot be perceived, and is thus the precondition of objectivity and meaningful experiences. Teleoperation Manipulating a physical process from a remote place while the operator perceives it as an on-site operation as a result of utilizing telepresence technology. Teleportation Changing one's presence from one place to another without a continuous process of moving through the physical space between the two places. Telepresence An experience of being in one place while located physically in another place during one's normal state of consciousness. The Three Modes of Subjectivity The constitutive, communicative, and conative modes of Subjectivity (see each separate item in this glossary). Three Principles of Reflexivity 1) Whatever reasons we have for justifying the materiality of the actual world are equally valid or invalid for justifying the materiality of the virtual world. 2) Whatever reasons we have for calling the perceived objects in the virtual world illusory are equally applicable or inapplicable for calling those in the actual world illusory. 3) Whatever functions we need to perform in the actual world for our survival and prosperity we can also perform in the virtual world. Virtual Reality An artificial system of sensory perception that separates us from actual reality but allows us to manipulate physical processes and interact with other human beings equally well or better, while providing unprecedented possibilities for expanding our creative power. VR (see Virtual Reality) Zombie An object that looks and behaves like a human being but does not have consciousness or self-consciousness. Back to Athens