Metaverse: Modes of Virtual Being

In this chapter, we will analyze several philosophical issues related to the concept of the Metaverse. After having argued that the technological and conceptual propellant of the Metaverse is virtual reality, the fundamental properties characterizing virtual reality are illustrated, and the degree of reality possessed by virtual reality is questioned. In this regard, two different views exist: virtual realist and virtual irrealist. The former argues that virtual entities are real, while the latter argues that virtual entities are not real but are akin to characters in fiction. Virtual realists do not affirm, of course, that virtual entities are composed of atoms and molecules in the same manner as physical entities, but rather that they are made of bits, that is, ultimately, of information. However, this does not diminish their reality compared to the entities encountered in everyday life. No direct argument will be given here in favor of one position over the other, but an ethical dilemma regarding virtual reality will be proposed: are actions that are evil within the real world also evil within virtual reality? Since our responses to this question vary from case to case, depending on the level of realism of virtual reality, our conclusion will be that the reality of the virtual is a matter of degree.