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Showing posts with the label fantasy

Porn, Violence, and Video Games

The question as to whether video games cause violence was a hot topic recently. I don't know whether it does or it doesn't, but I think some conservatives like myself may have reason to suspect it does. Conservatives, like myself, say that pornography is part of the cause for sex trafficking and sexual violence. I won't go into detail for that argument, but I do refer you to the book The Social Costs of Pornography . And what is pornography? They are images for the purpose of stimulating our sexual arousal. While we do not engage in the acts of the images, since those times are past and perhaps in far away locations, they engage our fantasies. So, there is some connection between that and sexual violence. Now, consider violent video games. What do they do? They are also images that engage our fantasies. And they engage them into acts of violence. I killed this person. I ran over that person. I decapitated her. I shot their dog. Etc. They engage the fantasy. And so, likewise...

Just My Imagination Running Away With Me

I would like to be a superhero. It would be really cool if I had superpowers. Reading people’s mind like Dr. Xavier would be nice, or maybe flying like Superman, so I could see the world instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket. But like Spider-Man, we should know that with great power comes great responsibility, and we can abuse that power. In a way, we already do have these powers, and it is in our mind. I like to clock out of the world and stare off into space, imagine I’m saving orphans from burning buildings, or when I’m not in a good mood, setting fire to people’s property with my laser beam eyes. Most of the time, I’m the good guy. Sometimes, I’m the villain. Is there anything unethical about this?