The problem of defining the term ‘virtual reality'

The research seeks to comprehend the concept of virtual reality by analyzing the historical background to the term and reviewing the examples of virtual reality in the history of philosophy. Thus, the understanding of reality by M. Heim, W. Bricken, M. Krueger, J. Lanier, and S. Zizek is characterized. Besides, the paper analyzes the social consequences of the emergence and development of virtual reality. While evaluating modern understanding of reality and virtual reality, the author considers two scopes of research (ontological and anthropological) into the phenomenon of virtual reality. The paper highlights the basic properties of virtual reality and attempts to classify all the views of scientists in the above-mentioned areas. The study will be of interest to researchers in the field of social philosophy and philosophy of science and technology. This paper is a starting point for examining the contemporary issues of virtual reality.