Hidden Forces

In Episode 231 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with renowned philosopher and author of “Reality+” David Chalmers about the metaverse, the nature of reality, and the problems of philosophy in a virtual world. David’s central thesis is that the metaverse and virtual reality are genuine realities and that we may be living in such virtual worlds already. Along the way, Demetri and David conduct a grand tour of big ideas in philosophy and science, using virtual reality technology to explore new perspectives on long-established philosophical questions. How do we know that there’s an external world? Is there a god? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? How can we lead a good life? All of these questions are illuminated or transformed in this mind-bending episode. In the second part of their conversation, David and Demetri imagine not only what it would be like to live in a simulated world, but whether or not it would be possible to do so without becoming a slave to someon