Alex Fisher
@alex-fisher.bsky.social
Society for Applied Philosophy Postdoc at @clsrleeds.bsky.social
I research the ethics of how we engage with video games, virtual reality, and dating apps.
https://alex--fisher.weebly.com/
I research the ethics of how we engage with video games, virtual reality, and dating apps.
https://alex--fisher.weebly.com/
Philosophy of Football Manager - now we’re talking!
(Warning: addictive substance. I am on a long-term enforced break from FM due to its propensity to take over my life.)
(Warning: addictive substance. I am on a long-term enforced break from FM due to its propensity to take over my life.)
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Philosophy of Football Manager - now we’re talking!
(Warning: addictive substance. I am on a long-term enforced break from FM due to its propensity to take over my life.)
(Warning: addictive substance. I am on a long-term enforced break from FM due to its propensity to take over my life.)
A next area that warrants new legislation is the widespread sexual harassment/assault of women in virtual worlds.
My research and work in psychology shows how these experiences can be as distressing and traumatic as real events - but no legal protections exist.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
My research and work in psychology shows how these experiences can be as distressing and traumatic as real events - but no legal protections exist.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
November 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
A next area that warrants new legislation is the widespread sexual harassment/assault of women in virtual worlds.
My research and work in psychology shows how these experiences can be as distressing and traumatic as real events - but no legal protections exist.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
My research and work in psychology shows how these experiences can be as distressing and traumatic as real events - but no legal protections exist.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
I'm thinking of these bits, btw:
October 24, 2025 at 11:17 AM
I'm thinking of these bits, btw:
Yes, I find that view quite plausible that there’s a transition between attitudes of the same kind.
But there’s *loads* of debate about the metaphysics of imaginative versions of attitudes and emotions, so I just hand wave it away in the paper and say it doesn’t especially matter for my purposes!
But there’s *loads* of debate about the metaphysics of imaginative versions of attitudes and emotions, so I just hand wave it away in the paper and say it doesn’t especially matter for my purposes!
August 22, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Yes, I find that view quite plausible that there’s a transition between attitudes of the same kind.
But there’s *loads* of debate about the metaphysics of imaginative versions of attitudes and emotions, so I just hand wave it away in the paper and say it doesn’t especially matter for my purposes!
But there’s *loads* of debate about the metaphysics of imaginative versions of attitudes and emotions, so I just hand wave it away in the paper and say it doesn’t especially matter for my purposes!
Thanks go to many people and audiences for this work, which I've been thinking about for a while and presented in many versions and places.
Many thanks also to those who funded this research: @leverhulme.ac.uk, Society for Applied Philosophy, @aristotsoc.bsky.social, and @triphilosophy.bsky.social.
Many thanks also to those who funded this research: @leverhulme.ac.uk, Society for Applied Philosophy, @aristotsoc.bsky.social, and @triphilosophy.bsky.social.
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Thanks go to many people and audiences for this work, which I've been thinking about for a while and presented in many versions and places.
Many thanks also to those who funded this research: @leverhulme.ac.uk, Society for Applied Philosophy, @aristotsoc.bsky.social, and @triphilosophy.bsky.social.
Many thanks also to those who funded this research: @leverhulme.ac.uk, Society for Applied Philosophy, @aristotsoc.bsky.social, and @triphilosophy.bsky.social.
This conclusion aligns with scientific findings on the effects of violent videogames/VR.
Players do not come away wanting to murder and engage in criminality!
But they *do* exhibit more aggressive behaviour after playing.
Innocent and subtly problematic attitudes are more likely to be contagious.
Players do not come away wanting to murder and engage in criminality!
But they *do* exhibit more aggressive behaviour after playing.
Innocent and subtly problematic attitudes are more likely to be contagious.
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
This conclusion aligns with scientific findings on the effects of violent videogames/VR.
Players do not come away wanting to murder and engage in criminality!
But they *do* exhibit more aggressive behaviour after playing.
Innocent and subtly problematic attitudes are more likely to be contagious.
Players do not come away wanting to murder and engage in criminality!
But they *do* exhibit more aggressive behaviour after playing.
Innocent and subtly problematic attitudes are more likely to be contagious.
Second, when we do imaginatively adopt immoral attitudes, we usually passively quarantine them to the imagination.
And drawing from research in dramatherapy & theatre studies, I suggest that we can further employ practices of active quarantine, structuring imaginative episodes to prevent contagion.
And drawing from research in dramatherapy & theatre studies, I suggest that we can further employ practices of active quarantine, structuring imaginative episodes to prevent contagion.
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Second, when we do imaginatively adopt immoral attitudes, we usually passively quarantine them to the imagination.
And drawing from research in dramatherapy & theatre studies, I suggest that we can further employ practices of active quarantine, structuring imaginative episodes to prevent contagion.
And drawing from research in dramatherapy & theatre studies, I suggest that we can further employ practices of active quarantine, structuring imaginative episodes to prevent contagion.
In these cases, we find ourselves actually feeling what we initially only imagined feeling, coming to think in ways we only imagined thinking, or acquiring morally questionable character traits we imaginatively took on.
We experience what Tamar Szabó Gendler calls “imaginative contagion”.
We experience what Tamar Szabó Gendler calls “imaginative contagion”.
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
In these cases, we find ourselves actually feeling what we initially only imagined feeling, coming to think in ways we only imagined thinking, or acquiring morally questionable character traits we imaginatively took on.
We experience what Tamar Szabó Gendler calls “imaginative contagion”.
We experience what Tamar Szabó Gendler calls “imaginative contagion”.
A similar phenomenon has been observed among virtual reality users.
The “Proteus Effect” describes how, after a VR experience, users’ behaviour and attitudes conform to those of the avatar they played as.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x
The “Proteus Effect” describes how, after a VR experience, users’ behaviour and attitudes conform to those of the avatar they played as.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
A similar phenomenon has been observed among virtual reality users.
The “Proteus Effect” describes how, after a VR experience, users’ behaviour and attitudes conform to those of the avatar they played as.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x
The “Proteus Effect” describes how, after a VR experience, users’ behaviour and attitudes conform to those of the avatar they played as.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x
Actors frequently report finding the shift in and out of playing a character role difficult to manage.
Emotions and attitudes adopted while playing a character persist after performances, and into actor's daily lives.
Emotions and attitudes adopted while playing a character persist after performances, and into actor's daily lives.
![Quote from Burgoyne et al., 1999, p. 162 of Allen, a junior actor: "You forget who you are sometimes. You start intermingling with this character and you lose yourself and you start doing things. I remember I was in a show […] and I played a character who had a certain walk. […] I would walk around [that way] onstage. And I would be walking around [campus] […] and be doing the same thing. I would realize I'm doing that and having this bad attitude that this character has about everything I'm seeing. I think, “Whoa, I don't know if this has gone too far or not."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c62lxo337iv6imc6po5lnfso/bafkreibmjzqzgur7p2yle5snujwbiuwwp6gxn4tsmsotyhp6ylpomscamu@jpeg)
August 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Actors frequently report finding the shift in and out of playing a character role difficult to manage.
Emotions and attitudes adopted while playing a character persist after performances, and into actor's daily lives.
Emotions and attitudes adopted while playing a character persist after performances, and into actor's daily lives.
Delighted to say that this year I'll hold the Society for Applied Philosophy postdoc in Leeds.
Excited to work with @lukebrunning.bsky.social as mentor, and those at @leedsprhs.bsky.social, @clsrleeds.bsky.social & @idea-leeds.bsky.social
More about my project on online romantic misrepresentation:
Excited to work with @lukebrunning.bsky.social as mentor, and those at @leedsprhs.bsky.social, @clsrleeds.bsky.social & @idea-leeds.bsky.social
More about my project on online romantic misrepresentation:
August 14, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Delighted to say that this year I'll hold the Society for Applied Philosophy postdoc in Leeds.
Excited to work with @lukebrunning.bsky.social as mentor, and those at @leedsprhs.bsky.social, @clsrleeds.bsky.social & @idea-leeds.bsky.social
More about my project on online romantic misrepresentation:
Excited to work with @lukebrunning.bsky.social as mentor, and those at @leedsprhs.bsky.social, @clsrleeds.bsky.social & @idea-leeds.bsky.social
More about my project on online romantic misrepresentation:
E.g. augmented reality often presents virtual objects like holograms, visually distinct from real objects that are actually around us.
So while VR might seem to aim at artificially recreating real experiences, in certain cases we *want* to be able to distinguish VR experiences to avoid harm.
8/9
So while VR might seem to aim at artificially recreating real experiences, in certain cases we *want* to be able to distinguish VR experiences to avoid harm.
8/9
June 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
E.g. augmented reality often presents virtual objects like holograms, visually distinct from real objects that are actually around us.
So while VR might seem to aim at artificially recreating real experiences, in certain cases we *want* to be able to distinguish VR experiences to avoid harm.
8/9
So while VR might seem to aim at artificially recreating real experiences, in certain cases we *want* to be able to distinguish VR experiences to avoid harm.
8/9
However, VR often contains visual glitches which differentiate it from our regular experience of the world:
1. aliasing (jagged edges on objects)
2. blurred images
3. the screen door effect (visible grid of pixels)
4. screen tearing (visible line across screen, separating two different frames)
5/9
1. aliasing (jagged edges on objects)
2. blurred images
3. the screen door effect (visible grid of pixels)
4. screen tearing (visible line across screen, separating two different frames)
5/9
June 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
However, VR often contains visual glitches which differentiate it from our regular experience of the world:
1. aliasing (jagged edges on objects)
2. blurred images
3. the screen door effect (visible grid of pixels)
4. screen tearing (visible line across screen, separating two different frames)
5/9
1. aliasing (jagged edges on objects)
2. blurred images
3. the screen door effect (visible grid of pixels)
4. screen tearing (visible line across screen, separating two different frames)
5/9
In this respect, virtual reality is a bit like *trompe l'oeil* ("deceive the eye") images, which are similarly illusionistic.
These images resist our visual awareness of their configuration on a flat surface, so that we see the represented content as really being there in front of us.
4/9
These images resist our visual awareness of their configuration on a flat surface, so that we see the represented content as really being there in front of us.
4/9
June 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
In this respect, virtual reality is a bit like *trompe l'oeil* ("deceive the eye") images, which are similarly illusionistic.
These images resist our visual awareness of their configuration on a flat surface, so that we see the represented content as really being there in front of us.
4/9
These images resist our visual awareness of their configuration on a flat surface, so that we see the represented content as really being there in front of us.
4/9
I argue that our experience of VR images is not one of seeing-in, as we typically lack awareness of the marked image surfaces.
The screens in VR are so close to our eyes that we don't notice them, hence VR presents the illusion of things really being there before us, as in regular perception.
3/9
The screens in VR are so close to our eyes that we don't notice them, hence VR presents the illusion of things really being there before us, as in regular perception.
3/9
June 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I argue that our experience of VR images is not one of seeing-in, as we typically lack awareness of the marked image surfaces.
The screens in VR are so close to our eyes that we don't notice them, hence VR presents the illusion of things really being there before us, as in regular perception.
3/9
The screens in VR are so close to our eyes that we don't notice them, hence VR presents the illusion of things really being there before us, as in regular perception.
3/9
Philosophers of art (after Wollheim) describe our experience of seeing pictures (and other images) as one of "seeing-in".
This is a single *twofold* experience where we are aware of both the vehicle of representation (the image's marked surface and configruation) and the represented content.
2/9
This is a single *twofold* experience where we are aware of both the vehicle of representation (the image's marked surface and configruation) and the represented content.
2/9
June 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Philosophers of art (after Wollheim) describe our experience of seeing pictures (and other images) as one of "seeing-in".
This is a single *twofold* experience where we are aware of both the vehicle of representation (the image's marked surface and configruation) and the represented content.
2/9
This is a single *twofold* experience where we are aware of both the vehicle of representation (the image's marked surface and configruation) and the represented content.
2/9
Yes, I think that's exactly right.
A reviewer actually suggested I look at some of the literature on generalisability and external validity in the philosophy of science - it ended up just being a footnote in the paper, but here it is:
A reviewer actually suggested I look at some of the literature on generalisability and external validity in the philosophy of science - it ended up just being a footnote in the paper, but here it is:
June 19, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Yes, I think that's exactly right.
A reviewer actually suggested I look at some of the literature on generalisability and external validity in the philosophy of science - it ended up just being a footnote in the paper, but here it is:
A reviewer actually suggested I look at some of the literature on generalisability and external validity in the philosophy of science - it ended up just being a footnote in the paper, but here it is:
I wrote a bitesized summary of my paper “In defence of fictional examples” (forthcoming, Phil. Quarterly) for the New Work in Philosophy blog:
> newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/alex-fishe... <
Many thanks to @marcusarvan.bsky.social for running this blog, which is fantastic!
#PhilSky #philsci
> newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/alex-fishe... <
Many thanks to @marcusarvan.bsky.social for running this blog, which is fantastic!
#PhilSky #philsci
May 19, 2025 at 1:13 PM
I wrote a bitesized summary of my paper “In defence of fictional examples” (forthcoming, Phil. Quarterly) for the New Work in Philosophy blog:
> newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/alex-fishe... <
Many thanks to @marcusarvan.bsky.social for running this blog, which is fantastic!
#PhilSky #philsci
> newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/alex-fishe... <
Many thanks to @marcusarvan.bsky.social for running this blog, which is fantastic!
#PhilSky #philsci
Wtf is going on when *beef* has its own NASA-like personal PR team dedicated 24/7 to controlling the media narrative and preserving its public image…
Remember that this industry is literally killing the planet due to the emissions it produces!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Remember that this industry is literally killing the planet due to the emissions it produces!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
April 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Wtf is going on when *beef* has its own NASA-like personal PR team dedicated 24/7 to controlling the media narrative and preserving its public image…
Remember that this industry is literally killing the planet due to the emissions it produces!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Remember that this industry is literally killing the planet due to the emissions it produces!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Really pleased to have a short profile in the Dutch national newspaper NRC today on my work on virtual reality - part of their Young Researcher series
#PhilosophyMatters
#PhilosophyMatters
March 22, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Really pleased to have a short profile in the Dutch national newspaper NRC today on my work on virtual reality - part of their Young Researcher series
#PhilosophyMatters
#PhilosophyMatters
Just learnt about hereditary peerages - wtf is this?! Can’t get rid of this unelected garbage soon enough.
March 3, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Just learnt about hereditary peerages - wtf is this?! Can’t get rid of this unelected garbage soon enough.
Finished Elite Capture by @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social last night - extremely insightful, historically well-informed, and offering some much-needed hope about the state of things
Thanks to @alexgphilosophy.bsky.social for putting me onto the original piece:
www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/being-i...
Thanks to @alexgphilosophy.bsky.social for putting me onto the original piece:
www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/being-i...
February 28, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Finished Elite Capture by @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social last night - extremely insightful, historically well-informed, and offering some much-needed hope about the state of things
Thanks to @alexgphilosophy.bsky.social for putting me onto the original piece:
www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/being-i...
Thanks to @alexgphilosophy.bsky.social for putting me onto the original piece:
www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/being-i...
Busy couple of weeks, but a lot of fun!
November 28, 2023 at 4:15 AM
Busy couple of weeks, but a lot of fun!
Some favourites from the above:
November 28, 2023 at 4:11 AM
Some favourites from the above: