Research Nele Van de Mosselaer

Abstract

Digitization has radically changed society and cultural life in a short space of time. Social media, such as Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram, have a direct impact on the social interactions of millions of users. The video game industry also reaches millions of people every day and creates new forms of community and social interaction. The aim of this call is to analyze, understand and evaluate the nature of this transformation of society and culture through the advancing digitization in the light of the contemporary philosophies of life world and culture. This objective is formulated very broadly to give potential candidates the opportunity to situate their own expertise in this field. Research proposals can be dedicated but are not limited to the following themes: the concept of 'virtual reality'; the concept of authorship in digital contexts; creation and experience of fictional worlds in virtual reality; representation and exploration in virtual worlds; the functioning, development and reception of story-telling in interactive virtual worlds; the reality effect of digital media; identity formation in virtual reality (cf. casus metaverse); social media user's participation, submission and autonomy; the aesthetic experience in video games; mechanisms of re-enchantment in virtual environments; amongst others.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Cools Arthur
• Co-promoter: Van de Mosselaer Nele

Research team(s)

• Center for European Philosophy

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Contemporary virtual media let us interactively explore computergenerated environments. Peculiar to these environments is their ambiguous (non)representational nature: they actually exist as computer-generated representations, which might mandate their user to imagine a fictional world, or might simply be used as actual tools for real-world interactions. Current philosophical debates, however, always start from a categorization of the virtual as either real or irreal. As a result, these debates fail to address what is actually at stake in the experience of virtual media: the way in which these media complicate the relation and distinction between the fictional, nonfictional, and nonrepresentational. The aim of this project is to develop a framework that takes into account the fictional, nonfictional, and nonrepresentational aspects of virtual media, clarifies how they are related, and how their simultaneous presence influences our experience of virtual environments. For this purpose, I will critically re-examine philosophical reflections on the role of creative intentions, and appreciator interpretation and participation in the experience of representations, and specify how these need to be amended when it comes to the experience of virtual environments. In the end, I will describe not only the nature of (our experience of) virtual environments, but also strategies to deal with the (sometimes deceitful) (non)fictional status of virtually presented content.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Cools Arthur
• Fellow: Van de Mosselaer Nele

Research team(s)

• Center for European Philosophy

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aim of this project is to develop a theory of fiction that accounts for the imaginative experience of interactive fictions such as videogames and virtual or augmented reality games. Peculiar to these kinds of fiction is that they are interactive, as their narrative development depends on the actions of the appreciator who is granted agency within the story through identification with a fictional character. Consequently, the experience of interactive fiction is often immersive in the sense that the appreciator feels present in the represented space. Existing fiction theories, such as Kendall Walton's make-believe theory and Peter Lamarque's thought theory, discuss traditional fictions like literature, theatre, and film. As such, these theories do not explain the fact that we can be moved to act towards fictional representations. Based on a critical examination of existing fiction theories, this project will develop a theory that accounts for the interaction with fictional objects.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Cools Arthur
• Co-promoter: Myin Erik
• Fellow: Van de Mosselaer Nele

Research team(s)

• Center for European Philosophy

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aim of this project is to develop a theory of fiction that accounts for the imaginative experience of interactive fictions such as videogames and virtual or augmented reality games. Peculiar to these kinds of fiction is that they are interactive, as their narrative development depends on the actions of the appreciator who is granted agency within the story through identification with a fictional character. Consequently, the experience of interactive fiction is often immersive in the sense that the appreciator feels present in the represented space. Existing fiction theories, such as Kendall Walton's make-believe theory and Peter Lamarque's thought theory, discuss traditional fictions like literature, theatre, and film. As such, these theories do not explain the fact that we can be moved to act towards fictional representations. Based on a critical examination of existing fiction theories, this project will develop a theory that accounts for the interaction with fictional objects.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Cools Arthur
• Co-promoter: Myin Erik
• Fellow: Van de Mosselaer Nele

Research team(s)

• Center for European Philosophy

Project type(s)

• Research Project