Research Catalog

Title

Simulating good and evil : the morality and politics of videogames / Marcus Schulzke.

Author

Schulzke, Marcus,

Publication

• New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, [2020]
• ©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

vii, 210 pages; 24 cm

Summary

Simulating Good and Evil shows that the moral panic surrounding violent videogames is deeply misguided, and often politically motivated, but that games are nevertheless morally important. Simulated actions are morally defensible because they take place outside the real world and do not inflict real harms. Decades of research purporting to show that videogames are immoral has failed to produce convincing evidence of this. However, games are morally important because they simulate decisions that would have moral weight if they were set in the real world. Videogames should be seen as spaces in which players may experiment with moral reasoning strategies without taking any actions that would themselves be subject to moral evaluation. Some videogame content may be upsetting or offensive, but mere offense does not necessarily indicate a moral problem. Upsetting content is best understood by applying existing theories for evaluating political ideologies and offensive speech.

Subject

• Video games > Moral and ethical aspects
• Video games > Moral and ethical aspects
• Video games > Political aspects
• Video games > Psychological aspects
• Video games > Psychological aspects
• Violence in video games
• Violence in video games

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-203) and index.

Contents

The conceptual terrain of simulation -- The moral panic surrounding videogames -- Imaginary transgressions -- Digital morality -- The many faces of moral reflection -- Persuasive games and ideological manipulation -- Speaking through games.

ISBN

• 1978818572
• 9781978818576
• 1978818564
• 9781978818569

LCCN

2020004543

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries