Friday, April 17, 2009

Existentialism And The Gamers’ World

It seems that the philosophy of existentialism
In particular the Don Juan theory of 
existentialism that states the more 
experiences that one can gain the more 
they live rather than exist is so spot on 
when referring to the gamers’ experience. 
Although the experiences are second hand
 so to speak nonetheless they do experience 
the worlds and the “real” life situations 
that are created in the virtual world. The 
gamer is for a time a “real” criminal in 
Grand theft Auto even though the gamer 
is in reality a 12-year-old from an upper 
middle class suburban neighborhood. This 
might be the one reason why people who 
play first person shooter games have a 
propensity to violent acts by way of 
becoming desensitized to the feelings of 
others. Other games like the ones where 
you have to think to solve problems 
sharpen problem-solving skills. This is 
one aspect of life that is inescapable.
We all have to learn how to solve the 
problems that life throws us into on a 
daily basis. The existentialist in order to 
be in charge of their own life must be able 
to solve problems. In my own personal 
experiences playing the games I found
myself enjoying the experiences 
encountered in Second Life and the 
arcade games that solve problems. 
Since I have subscribed to the notion 
that we all should have free will with 
responsibility.

And this is why we as educators
have to realize the potential for 
these video games. They are the 
future of education.

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