{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:04:53Z","timestamp":1760058293191,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]],"date-time":"2025-03-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742428800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Virtual Worlds"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This article examines the ontological status of virtual objects in light of contemporary philosophical debates on virtual reality (VR). The main point of departure is an analysis of David Chalmers\u2019 concept of \u201cvirtual realism\u201d, which argues that virtual objects can be considered real because they meet fundamental criteria of reality such as existence, causal power, and non-illusoriness. Chalmers rejects positions that treat virtual objects as fictions or illusions, emphasizing their ability to elicit real effects and shape users\u2019 experiences. Chalmers suggests an ontological equivalence between physical and virtual objects, raising questions about the nature of reality and the criteria for attributing it in the context of dynamic technological changes. In this work, I propose an alternative approach to the ontology of virtual objects, situating them within Karl Popper\u2019s World III. Unlike traditional views that emphasize the digital nature of virtual objects, this perspective treats them as immaterial yet perceptible entities that acquire an autonomous status through their role in intersubjective and cultural processes. This approach refines the debate by offering a framework that distinguishes virtual objects from both physical and purely abstract entities. I argue that virtual objects, though immaterial, can be recognized as real entities due to their ability to generate real perceptual, emotional, and cognitive effects. This approach expands traditional understandings of ontology, offering new perspectives on the nature of reality in a digital context.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/virtualworlds4010011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]],"date-time":"2025-03-20T05:03:59Z","timestamp":1742447039000},"page":"11","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Ontology of Virtual Objects in David Chalmers\u2019 Concept of Virtual Realism"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9646-6897","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariusz","family":"Mazurek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Science, Nowy \u015awiat 72 Street, 00-330 Warsaw, Poland"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1515\/disp-2017-0009","article-title":"The Virtual and the Real","volume":"9","author":"Chalmers","year":"2017","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"453","DOI":"10.2478\/disp-2019-0022","article-title":"The Virtual as the Digital","volume":"11","author":"Chalmers","year":"2019","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Grau, C. (2005). The Matrix as Metaphysics. Philosophy and The Matrix, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Chalmers, D.J. (2022). Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy, W. W. Norton & Company."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Heim, M. (1998). Virtual Realism, Oxford University Press.","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780195104264.003.0007"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Chalmers, D.J. (1996). The Conscious Mind. Search of a Fundamental Theory, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.2478\/disp-2019-0008","article-title":"Virtual Realism: Really Realism or only Virtually so? A Comment on D. J. Chalmers\u2019s Petrus Hispanus Lectures","volume":"11","author":"Beisbart","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"215","article-title":"The Ontological Status of Virtual Objects: A Critique of Chalmers\u2019 Virtual Realism","volume":"35","author":"Koch","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Philos. Technol."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"345","article-title":"Digital or Fictional?","volume":"11","author":"McDonnell","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.2478\/disp-2019-0010","article-title":"Virtual Reality: Fictional All the Way Down (and That\u2019s OK)","volume":"11","author":"Juul","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.2478\/disp-2019-0005","article-title":"On Phenomenal Functionalism about the Properties of Virtual and Non-Virtual Objects","volume":"11","author":"Ney","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.2478\/disp-2019-0007","article-title":"The Transition into Virtual Reality","volume":"11","author":"Silcox","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disputatio"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Popper, K. (1973). Objective Knowledge. An Evolutionary Approach, Oxford University Press."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"137","article-title":"O obiektach wirtualnych","volume":"8","author":"Mazurek","year":"2020","journal-title":"Filoz. I Nauka Stud. Filoz. I Interdyscyplinarne"}],"container-title":["Virtual Worlds"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2813-2084\/4\/1\/11\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T16:56:56Z","timestamp":1760029016000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2813-2084\/4\/1\/11"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]}},"alternative-id":["virtualworlds4010011"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/virtualworlds4010011","relation":{},"ISSN":["2813-2084"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2813-2084"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,20]]}}}