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Feeling for Nonexistent Beings



Author(s)

Pamela Breda

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2022.09.004

Angewandte University, Vienna, Austria

What are emotions and how do they shape our lives? How is it that we might feel emotions for characters and events that are not real? Can this impact our real-life interactions with other individuals? This debate has been developing for centuries among intellectuals, philosophers, and artists, wondering about the effective power of an artwork to stir emotionally and cognitively the viewer. In the last decade, the discussion has touched new domains in connection to the development of pervasive digital media and CGI imaginary. This paper will address some of the key points related to the emotional outcomes generated by the visual representations of AI and digital avatars in films. The first part of the present essay will analyze what emotions are according to the main current theories in the field. The second part will focus on how emotions are related to the exploitation of artworks, with particular reference to the suspension of disbelief theory. The third part will consider some case studies of visual representations of AI in films, in order to analyze how emotional engagement with virtual characters in moving image works can influence real-life interactions between users and AI.

emotions, artificial intelligence, human interactions, psychology, cognition

Pamela Breda. (2022). Feeling for Nonexistent Beings. Philosophy Study, September 2022, Vol. 12, No. 9, 511-524.