Zulran Hans
Refuge of Hope
Lemniskate
1
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Posted - 2012.04.23 10:31:00 -
[1] - Quote
Serene Repose wrote:
The OP "seems" to make sense if one applies a mass-media acquired understanding of the elements he/she chooses to address.
The big HOWEVER to all this is, fortunately (or no), nobody's exiting reality to boot this game. Everyone is as ensconced in this time/space frame as they were before they clicked that icon. Furthermore, if anyone believes they ARE in another reality (virtual, or no) when they enter the game, there's a diagnosis for that as well.
Absolving themselves from the consequences of their acts because people choose to imagine that nothing "real" is happening anyway is merely a form of self-delusion, and anyone who feels that's a necessary step to take before engaging in immoral or unethical behavior at least has the virtue of realizing it is a step from civil behavior into uncivil behavior.
Quite literally, it is a step from cerebral cortex mitigated behavior into reptilian stem behavior, or a giant leap into the animalistic past.
The OP seems to confuse psychopathy with anti-social personality disorder. Though the two are related in many ways, the psychopathy is expressed in many different disorders. ASPD is expressed in many different ways. It used to be called sociopathy, and was associated strictly with violent criminals that had no remorse for their activities.
However, the science has come to accept this behavior isn't limited to serial killers. It's found in the wide spectrum of societal positions as defined by activities, from the board room to the construction site if you will...and yes, in EVE, as well.
Part of an excellent comment by Serene Repose ( see post #22)
It really got me thinking about Empathy.
If I scam or destroy defenseless miners, then claim it's just pixels, nothing "real" is happening,
I'm actually deluding myself.
Because my fun, my emotion of doing those acts is "real" and valuable to me,
otherwise I wouldn't have done them in the first place.
That means the emotion of the victims is just as "real" and as valuable as mine.
I might try to justify it what I do.
I can call the victim "stupid", "noob," or "carebear" who doesn't play the game as good as me.
I can say I'm teaching him a lesson.
I can construct whatever creative reasons for why he deserves to be scammed or destroyed.
Those might even be true.
But this isn't about him, is it..
It's about me losing my empathy.
The amazing thing about EVE is that it is an open-ended universe,
we can make it as cruel or as honorable a universe as we like.
I can get ISK without scamming.
I can experience a more challenging PvP in tournaments or wars, against combat-ready opponents,
ones that actually can and willing to fight back.
There's one more thing I can try to tell myself,
"I'm not like this in real life.. It's not me.."
Yes, my decisions in EVE may be virtual, but the decision-making process is not.
There is something in me that accept those decisions..
I guess, at least in that sense, EVE is real after all.. :)
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