Would you rather live in virtual reality or surreality?

Cira: Would you rather live in virtual reality or surreality?

Robin: At first, i thought virtual reality had a clear advantage. Sure, you'd be without body, but given how much trouble my body has been this past year, that didn't seem so bad. Think about how much work and socializing is done on computers these days, you could maintain a pretty good life with an electronic existence. With all the money you'd save on clothing, food, shelter, etc you could afford to get as much online education as you want. Your existence could become eternal. it's hard to imagine the world losing it's dependence upon technology. No matter how catastrophic the natural disaster, you know that someone, somewhere will have electricity and internet. The argument for virtual reality all boils down to control. In a virtual reality you have the power to make about your 'life' experiences. You determine what you will do, and when. You decide how you will represent yourself and participate in online communities.

Surreality has major pitfalls. the emancipated unconscious mind is unpredictable. One minute your eye is being slit with a razor, the next your body is reduced to a stack of drawers. You'd call for help, but when you go to grab the phone you see it's made out of a lobster. Somehow, all of this reveals your desire for sex, fear of death and unwavering support of communism. Indeed, at first glance a Surreality is quite unattractive.

But then, think further about virtual reality. As an electronic being, would I have a soul? Humans are designed to have a physical reality. What are the spiritual implications of being without a body? My spirituality and my physical reality and experiences are major contributors to my sense of self. I am unwilling to put myself in a hypothetical situation that would compromise my identity.

A being with an organic nature is subject to death. I have absolutely no desire to live forever. i'd like a good 104 years, but more than that would be excessive. Existing in virtual reality could mean that you live forever, or it could mean that technology changes and you suddenly cease to exist - in either case, I prefer the certainty of death. Even if my faith was proved wrong and this life is all there is, I am still certain that I will be happy to leave this deteriorating physical form at some point in the future.

So....my final vote is for Surreality. Sure, you'd live in a world of melted clocks, bizarre and new symbolic language and images, pipes that aren't pipes, and urinal sculptures. Sure your deepest, darkest desires would be creatively manifested by you unconscious mind for all to see. But when it comes down to it, I'd venture into such an uncontrollable, uncomfortably environment willingly in order to keep my sense of identity.

Cira: Robin, I think you drew a very accurate distinction between virtual reality and surreality. Virtual reality is a potential reality in which the individual possesses absolute control over his/her life; contrarily, in surreality, the individual would find him/herself suspended in the limitless depths of the unconscious in which control is obsolete!

While control is enticing, a life in virtual reality would be utterly meaningless since, as you mentioned, it would permit the individual to evade death, the one event that provides life with its ultimate value and meaning. Moreover, as you argued, virtual existence would require the individual to forfeit his/her humanity since he/she would be without body or soul. In my opinion, virtual reality is a very bad idea, although those on the transhumanism bandwagon would undoubtedly disagree with me.

I would most definitely choose to live in surreality over virtual reality; however, I think unconscious life would come with its own set of problems. While it would be thrilling to constantly live in a world of surreal experiences, it would be impossible to interpret the meaning of these experiences since the 'ego' or the 'conscious self' would be unavailable to interpret them.

I think it's safe to say that what we both want is to achieve individuation--the term Carl Jung used to denote the melding of the conscious and unconscious mental states. If we were individuated, we would have unlimited access to what is now buried deep within our unconscious minds, and would therefore possess complete self-knowledge.