Research On Virtual Experiment And Its Epistemic Questions

The virtual experiment which is characterized by its new features, new applications and great potentials has attracted the attention of researchers in the field of science and technology and lead them to further investigate its development. Nowadays, the virtual experiment is becoming such a new means for human beings to explore the nature and the artificial world, and some researchers believe that its contribution to the science is comparable to the controlled experiment introduced by Galileo. Based on these, the research on the virtual experiment has been an important issue in contemporary philosophy, which is far beyond technical level. It covers almost all of the aspects of philosophy. New issues have emerged for further discussion and investigation in ontology, realism and epistemology. However, the epistemology of the virtual experiment is lack of systematic, in-depth research both domestically and internationally. So the purpose of the paper is to systematically investigate the epistemological issues caused by the virtual experiment via both theoretical analysis and empirical research, and so as to enrich the epistemology of dialectical materialism, and also further investigate the methodological value of virtual experiment cognition.The main idea of the paper is that the silicified world created by the virtual experiment has become a new type of entity, which has broaden people's scope of cognition; the virtual experiment has changed human beings' perception of the world, created a new way of cognition and provided a new effective method for people to obtain experience and knowledge and verify theory, which has a profound impact on people's thought processes and abilities; the environments created by the virtual experiment has greatly changed the way of interaction between the subjects and the objects; the virtual experiment on the application of cyberart has enhanced the role of cyberart in our cognition, and cyberart will certainly become one of the means of human cognition. From the above-mentioned point of view, the structures and contents of this paper include:The first part briefly reviews research on the virtual experiment conducted both domestically and internationally, and summarizes the current research status on both technical and philosophical levels, and proposes the main content and research purposes and significance.The second part conducts a study of the virtual experiment. Firstly, it provides an overview of the virtual experiment, which makes an interpretation of the concept of the virtual experiment, and discusses the evolution of the virtual experiment which is from thought experiments into virtual reality, and disserts cognitive characteristics of the virtual experiment. Secondly, it divides the virtual experiment into four categories according to the classification of the virtual reality system and analyzes the architecture of virtual experiment both from the technical and philosophical point. Finally, through comparing the virtual experiment with the real experiment and describing the superiority of the virtual experiment and its relationship with real experiment, it demonstrates the virtual experiment is a new way of scientific experiments, which makes a foundation for systematically analyzing epistemological problems of the virtual experiment.The third part proves that the virtual experiment is a totally new way of human cognition. Firstly, it explores the philosophical foundations of the virtual experiment. From the epistemological point of view, the virtual experiment has been a new tool of human cognition, but it still has the premise of materialism; once identifying the nature of the world is computable, and then its knowability gets a strong guarantee, which provides a methodology to ensure the virtual experiment explore the complex world; any kind of ontological epistemology has its philosophical position, and the epistemology of the virtual experiment is built on the virtual reality. Secondly, it explores the essence of the virtual experiment cognition. The basic cognitive process of virtual experiment is a wholehearted immersion; the important feature of the virtual experiment is virtual experience; the intermediary is a human-computer interactive interface, which has broaden human beings' practical approach; the relationship of subjects and objects is human-computer symbiosis.The fourth part elaborates the methodological value of the virtual experiment cognition. The virtual experiment cognition has provided a new way of obtaining experiences and validating theories. The role of cyberart has been more important in human cognition due to the application of the virtual experiment.The last part verifies that the virtual experiment is a new means of cognition. The virtual experiment has expanded the scope of human knowledge, improved human cognitive ability, changed the way of interaction between the subjects and the objects, and expanded the human practical approach. Based on this understanding, the paper suggests cyberart practice will become an issue being discussed in philosophy.