TECHNICAL VIRTUAL REALITY IN THE LABYRINTHS OF TERMINOLOGIES

Abstract

The authors analyze the terminological problems of describing the engineering-psychological aspects of virtual reality technologies. They show that the definitions of virtual reality used by the technological mainstream are neither adequate to the nature of virtual realities, nor to the essence of technologies promoted as “only” virtual. They point out the inconsistency of the official myth of time, authorship and the reason of the "invention" of virtual reality. They underpin the applicability of the definition of virtual reality proposed by N.A. Nosov, a founder of Russian virtualistics, as a basic one and taking into account the “natural virtuality of a human” without which the so-called virtual reality technologies would simply not work. The authors state to the virtuality of the nature of any image, including cinematic. The virtual (augmented, substitute) reality technologies relate to the technologies of “consciousness editing”; but the involvement of the audience is not a harmless entertainment! These technologies, knowingly deceiving, should be placed under the public, ethical and legal control of society. Comprehensive interdisciplinary studies of their safety, their bioethical and humanitarian expertise require an establishment of terminological order in this area of business and scientific circulation.