Video Games That Ask Deep Philosophical Questions
The-artifice presents worlds, situations and ideas that we have never encountered and can provide us with a context in which to investigate philosophical issues. The site presents 5 games that try to answer some big questions of life.
Bioshock Infinite: Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Through this game, the student discovers that our world is just one of the infinitely many possible parallel worlds. The narrative fiction of parallel universes is inspired by the world of quantum mechanics. Bioshock Infinite uses the concept of Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) to ask various questions about the human existence, questions that make the game a challenging, deep but also delightful activity at the same time.
SOMA: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, and Self-Identity
Starting from the philosophical conception of Rene Descartes, who argued that humans are not identical with their physical bodies and that a person is primarily an immaterial mind, SOMA exploits the problem of artificial intelligence, making it possible to create a conscious machine. This raises issues such as the moral obligations we should have to this machine. SOMA is a game that puts the student in the position of answering difficult questions and does not hesitate to confront their minds with unsettling truths about the nature of consciousness and self.