Virtual World Theory

[Jon A. Lambert]

On  1 Sep 97 at 11:31, Caliban Tiresias Darklock wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Sep 1997 08:40:35 PST8PDT, Ola Fosheim Grostad
> <olag at ifi.uio.no> wrote:

Another excellent fictional read in the area of psychopathos and 
psychologists inability to treat it:
"Confessions of a Crap Artist" by Phillip K. Dick

> I think there is far too much effort being invested in changing people's
> worldviews today. 

> Where does it all END? Who watches the watchmen?

> Professional therapists, psychiatrists, and psychology students
> resist this view very strongly. They keep saying no, that's not
> true, but they have no rebuttal. 

> It is a religion. Pure and simple. 

> There is no one religion which is right for everyone, and in the same 
> vein therapy is not right for everyone. But just as in every other 
> religion throughout history,  its members and officials maintain that 
> theirs is the ONE TRUE WAY. 

I include these particular statements of Caliban's merely to indicate 
my 100% agreement with them.  I'm certain there are _many_ others in 
which we may disagree.  These may certainly provoke strong 
disagreement with others.  

The nature of this topic is such that it is inextricably linked to 
religious and social politics. As such I don't think it's an area 
that can be productively ARGUED on this list. However, it's certainly 
an area worthy of exploration or experimentation within your muds, if 
only to test or validate your theories.

Like Ola has intimated (or explicit stated), Virtual World Theory is 
very much grounded in sociology and psychology. I have read up on
some of this literature and find much of it "controversial".

The questions are:
Do list members wish to take up this discussion?
Are list members prepared to discuss topics grounded in history, 
religion, sociology, psychology and philosophy?

The recent rape threads would indicate that the list may not be.  
However, I have no personal objection.  I will defer to the list
owner's wishes.

Jon A. Lambert