Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Autonomy Within Rigid Rule-Based Systems

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Virtual Sociocultural Convergence

  • 527 Accesses

Abstract

Like real society, but more obviously, computer-generated virtual worlds trap human beings within systems of regulations that inhibit freedom, while paradoxically empowering individual action. The pioneer psychologist and philosopher, William James (1842–1910), was an advocate of a doctrine of free will, within a pragmatic ontology that defined the truth simply as ideas that are useful. Operating an avatar based on these principles presents a variety of challenges and opportunities, depending upon the particular rule set of the virtual world. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a Polish solo-player game that forces the player to adopt a particular identity and to achieve specified goals in partnership with assigned virtual characters, yet it is possible to explore significant portions of the world while refusing to obey. Fallout 3, also solo player, expects the player’s avatar to partner with simulated survivors of a nuclear war in the Washington DC area, yet the well-known existence of hacker commands allows the player to put the avatar in invulnerable god mode and possess great wealth. Guild Wars 2 is a multiplayer online game that expects avatars to engage constantly in sudden battles against virtual enemies, but it is possible for one avatar to live a peaceful life crafting technologies for other avatars, thus suggesting ironically that autonomy requires cooperation. Many scientists and engineers in the contemporary Technology Convergence movement have sought to understand and control the unpredictability of complex systems. The three virtual gameworlds explored in this chapter illustrate the trade-offs between free will, determinism, and indeterminacy that complex systems present to human beings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. www.wjh.harvard.edu/. Accessed 5 Oct 2015.

  2. Bainbridge, W. S. (2012). The Harvard Department of Social Relations. In W. S. Bainbridge (Ed.), Leadership in science and technology (pp. 496–503). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  3. www.swedenborgchapel.com/Chapel/resources/written/kevin-k-baxter-our-current/wrestling-on-the-banks-of.html. Accessed 4 Oct 2015.

  4. Gale, R. M. (1991). Pragmatism versus mysticism: The divided self of William James. Philosophical Perspectives, 5, 241–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Stark, R., & Bainbridge, W. S. (1985). The future of religion (p. 254). Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Robinson, D. N. (1980). Psychology and law: Can justice survive the social sciences? New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  7. James, W. (1896, June). The will to believe. New World, 5:327–347.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Boller, P. F., Jr. (1964). Freedom in the thought of William James. American Quarterly, 16(2), 131–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Throntveit, T. (2011). William James’s ethical republic. Journal of the History of Ideas, 72(2), 255–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. James, W. (1907). Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking (p. 12). New York: Longmans, Green.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  11. James, W. (1907). Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking (p. 20). New York: Longmans, Green.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. James, W. (1907). Pragmatism: A new name for some old ways of thinking (p. 33). New York: Longmans, Green.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Gemes, K. (2001). Postmodernism’s use and abuse of Nietzsche. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 62(2), 337–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Nietzsche, F. (1918). The genealogy of morals. New York: Boni and Liveright; Beyond good and evil. (1966). New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Nietzsche, F. (1956). The birth of tragedy and the genealogy of morals. Garden City: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Nietzsche, F. (1967). The will to power (p. 318). New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kaufmann, W. (1974). Nietzsche, philosopher, psychologist, antichrist. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Lackey, M. (1999). Killing god, liberating the ‘subject:’ Nietzsche and post-god freedom. Journal of the History of Ideas, 60(4), 737–754; Dienstag, J. F. (2001). Nietzsche’s Dionysian Pessimism. The American Political Science Review, 95(4), 923–937.

    Google Scholar 

  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt. Accessed 1 Aug 2015.

  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geralt_of_Rivia. Accessed 1 Aug 2015.

  21. witcher.wikia.com/wiki/White_Orchard. Accessed 9 Aug 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hobbes, T. (1904). Leviathan (pp. 83–84). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  23. witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Vesemir. Accessed 9 Aug 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Stanislavski, C. (1964). An actor prepares. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  25. witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Swallow. Accessed October 5, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  26. YouTube ID W6O2sy1qrrI. Accessed 3 Sept 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  27. www.gamefaqs.com/pc/918428-fallout-3/cheats; www.gamesradar.com/fallout-3/cheats/; www.cheatcc.com/pc/fallout3cheatscodes.html; www.gamewinners.com/Cheats/index.php/More:Fallout_3_(PC):_Cheat_Mode. Accessed 3 Oct 2015.

  28. fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Tenpenny_Tower. Accessed 5 Oct 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  29. YouTube ID jkEiRaoACr8. Accessed 9 Oct 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  30. www.youtube.com/user/NOELonPC/about. Accessed 9 Oct 2015.

  31. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHd8zPDkoEM. Accessed 9 Oct 2015.

  32. YouTube ID aQqoAlzdpuY. Accessed 9 Oct 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  33. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhp5klGfIew. Accessed Oct 2015.

  34. YouTube ID FXkiOvmCqmw. Accessed 9 Oct 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Bainbridge, W. S. (2014). An information technology surrogate for religion: The veneration of deceased family members in online games (pp. 81–92). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Julian B. Rotter + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control

  37. Margenau, H. (1967). Quantum mechanics, free will, and determinism. The Journal of Philosophy, 64(21), 714–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Rejeski, D., Pauwels. E., & Koo, J. (2016). Science and technology forecasting. In W. S. Bainbridge, & M. C. Roco (Eds.), Handbook of science and technology convergence. Switzerland: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Gimzewski, J. K., Stieg, A. Z., & Vesna, V. (2016). Self-organization and emergence of dynamic systems. In W. S. Bainbridge, & M. C. Roco (Eds.), Handbook of science and technology convergence. Switzerland: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Bainbridge, W. S. (2006). Transformative concepts in scientific convergence. In W. S. Bainbridge, & M. C. Roco (Eds.), Progress in convergence: Technologies for human wellbeing (pp. 24–45). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arlington, VA, USA

    William Sims Bainbridge

Authors
  1. William Sims Bainbridge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bainbridge, W.S. (2016). Autonomy Within Rigid Rule-Based Systems. In: Virtual Sociocultural Convergence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33020-4_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33020-4_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33019-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33020-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation