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Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects

The history of humankind is full of examples that indicate a constant desire to make human beings more moral. Nowadays, technological breakthroughs might have a significant impact on our moral character and abilities. This is the case of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. The aim of this paper is to...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rueda, Jon, Lara, Francisco
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7805945/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33501297
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2020.506984
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author Rueda, Jon
Lara, Francisco
author_facet Rueda, Jon
Lara, Francisco
author_sort Rueda, Jon
collection PubMed
description The history of humankind is full of examples that indicate a constant desire to make human beings more moral. Nowadays, technological breakthroughs might have a significant impact on our moral character and abilities. This is the case of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethical aspects of the use of VR in enhancing empathy. First, we will offer an introduction to VR, explaining its fundamental features, devices and concepts. Then, we will approach the characterization of VR as an “empathy machine,” showing why this medium has aroused so much interest and why, nevertheless, we do not believe it is the ideal way to enhance empathy. As an alternative, we will consider fostering empathy-related abilities through virtual embodiment in avatars. In the conclusion, however, we will examine some of the serious concerns related to the ethical relevance of empathy and will defend the philosophical case for a reason-guided empathy, also suggesting specific guidelines for possible future developments of empathy enhancement projects through VR embodied experiences.
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spelling pubmed-78059452021-01-25 Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects Rueda, Jon Lara, Francisco Front Robot AI Robotics and AI The history of humankind is full of examples that indicate a constant desire to make human beings more moral. Nowadays, technological breakthroughs might have a significant impact on our moral character and abilities. This is the case of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. The aim of this paper is to consider the ethical aspects of the use of VR in enhancing empathy. First, we will offer an introduction to VR, explaining its fundamental features, devices and concepts. Then, we will approach the characterization of VR as an “empathy machine,” showing why this medium has aroused so much interest and why, nevertheless, we do not believe it is the ideal way to enhance empathy. As an alternative, we will consider fostering empathy-related abilities through virtual embodiment in avatars. In the conclusion, however, we will examine some of the serious concerns related to the ethical relevance of empathy and will defend the philosophical case for a reason-guided empathy, also suggesting specific guidelines for possible future developments of empathy enhancement projects through VR embodied experiences. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-11-09 /pmc/articles/PMC7805945/ /pubmed/33501297 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2020.506984 Text en Copyright © 2020 Rueda and Lara. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Robotics and AI
Rueda, Jon
Lara, Francisco
Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title_full Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title_fullStr Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title_full_unstemmed Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title_short Virtual Reality and Empathy Enhancement: Ethical Aspects
title_sort virtual reality and empathy enhancement: ethical aspects
topic Robotics and AI
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7805945/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33501297
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2020.506984
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