
Publication details
Publisher: Springer
Place: Berlin
Year: 2012
Pages: 329-343
Series: Philosophy & Technology
Full citation:
, "The story of my (second) life", Philosophy & Technology 25 (3), 2012, pp. 329-343.


The story of my (second) life
virtual worlds and narrative identity
pp. 329-343
in: Charles Ess (ed), Philosophy & Technology 25 (3), 2012.Abstract
A small but significant number of residents of Second Life (SL) insist that SL is as real to them as Real Life (RL) and that their SL avatars are as much themselves as their offscreen selves. This paper investigates whether this claim can be literally true in any philosophically interesting way. Using a narrative account of personal identity I argue that there is a way of understanding these identity claims according to which the actions and experiences of the offscreen user and the online avatar are indeed actions and experiences of a single person. In the course of describing how this is so, the paper also uncovers new insights into how a narrative approach to personal identity should be structured and developed.
Publication details
Publisher: Springer
Place: Berlin
Year: 2012
Pages: 329-343
Series: Philosophy & Technology
Full citation:
, "The story of my (second) life", Philosophy & Technology 25 (3), 2012, pp. 329-343.