Table of Contents
Introduction Adventures in technophilosophy xi
Part 1 Virtual Worlds
Chapter 1 Is this the real life? 3
Chapter 2 What is the simulation hypothesis? 20
Part 2 Knowledge
Chapter 3 Do we know things? 43
Chapter 4 Can we prove there is an external world? 61
Chapter 5 Is it likely that we're in a simulation? 81
Part 3 Reality
Chapter 6 What is reality? 105
Chapter 7 Is God a hacker in the next universe up? 124
Chapter 8 Is the universe made of information? 145
Chapter 9 Did simulation create its from bits? 167
Part 4 Real Virtual Reality
Chapter 10 Do virtual reality headsets create reality? 185
Chapter 11 Are virtual reality devices illusion machines? 203
Chapter 12 Does augmented reality lead to alternative facts? 225
Chapter 13 Can we avoid being deceived by deepfakes? 238
Part 5 Mind
Chapter 14 How do mind and body interact in a virtual world? 255
Chapter 15 Can tbere be consciousness in a digital world? 274
Chapter 16 Does augmented reality extend the mind? 294
Part 6 Value
Chapter 17 Can you lead a good life in a virtual world? 311
Chapter 18 Do simulated lives matter? 331
Chapter 19 How should we build a virtual society? 350
Part 7 Foundations
Chapter 20 What do our words mean in virtual worlds? 367
Chapter 21 Do dust clouds run computer programs? 385
Chapter 22 Is reality a mathematical structure? 399
Chapter 23 Have we fallen from the Garden of Eden? 423
Chapter 24 Are we Boltzmann brains in a dream world? 440
Acknowledgments 463
Glossary 467
Notes 471
Index 505