November 12 slides
Moral Problems: Violent Video Games
Session Topic: Violent Video Games, Part 2
Reading: Monique Wonderly, "A Humean approach to assessing the morality of ultra-violent video games"
Content Warning: Case discussions of sexual assault, rape, and torture in virtual reality.
A Brief History of Ultra-Violent Video Games
Notable Examples:
Custer’s Revenge:
Player controls General Custer under attack while trying to save a naked Native American woman tied to a pole.
Grand Theft Auto:
Criticized for simulating violence, including scenes of brutal torture and players boosting health by killing sex workers post-intercourse.
God of War:
Main character, Kratos, engages in violent acts, including the sacrifice of a soldier required for progression.
Manhunt:
Character is a death row inmate employed by a snuff filmmaker, with players choosing violent methods to murder.
The Ethics of Video Games
Two Competing Positions:
Amoralism:
Asserts that video games operate separately from real-world morality.
Actions within video games do not carry moral consequences in reality.
Moralism:
Suggests that video games are intertwined with real-world morality.
Players may be morally criticized for their in-game choices.
Amoralism and Fiction
Representational Artworks:
Function as props with real properties influencing imagined worlds.
Example: Children use physical props in games of make-believe.
Video games serve as interactive works of fiction where players shape narratives.
Previous Attempts to Assess Moral Significance of Video Games
Concern: Assessing the morality, especially of ultra-violent video games and their social impact.
Peter Singer's View:
Meta-analysis links violent video game exposure with actual violence causation.
Violent tragedies are often attributed to player engagement with such games (e.g., Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt).
Challenges in Assessing Causation
Issue 1: Difficulty ruling out other relevant factors (e.g., depression, domestic abuse).
Issue 2: Some violent video games may possess educational value.
McCormick's Argument: Empirical studies suggest no clear harm outweighs benefits achieved through violent video games.
Concerns about Playing Violent Video Games
McCormick (2001):
“By participating in simulations of excessive, indulgent, and wrongful acts, we cultivate the wrong sort of character.”
David Waddington (2007):
Claimed violent video games are morally problematic because they devalue the concept of “wrongness.”
Wonderly's View:
Harm from violent video games extends beyond devaluation of wrongness to impairing moral judgment abilities.
Hume's Moral Philosophy
David Hume (1711–1776):
Identified as a moral sentimentalist: morality derived from human sentiment rather than reason.
Quote from A Treatise of Human Nature:
“Since vice and virtue are not discoverable merely by reason… it must be by means of some impression or sentiment they occasion, that we are able to mark the difference betwixt them…”
Critique: Thomas Reid (1710–1796) argued that moral judgments often precede sentiments like approbation and disapprobation.
Moral Realism Rejection: Hume is recognized as rejecting moral realism—the notion that moral truths exist independently.
Hume's Understanding of Moral Authority
Hume's Perspective:
Denial of moral realism does not equate to denying the essence of morality.
Quote from A Treatise of Human Nature:
“Nothing can be more real, or concern us more, than our own sentiments of pleasure and uneasiness…”
Moral Authority: Grounded in sentiment rather than an objective moral framework.
Hume on Moral Judgments
Sentiment as a Basis:
Moral judgments arise from a shared point of view.
Empathy's Role:
Capacity to sympathize allows for emotional connection with others.
Quote: “Our affections depend more on ourselves… than any other impressions…”
Discoveries in Human Moral Psychology According to Hume
Empathy is central to moral judgments.
Empathy relies on resemblance between those empathizing and subjects of empathy.
Empathy is a universal human faculty.
Psychological Evidence Supporting Hume's Theories
Martin Hoffman:
Research shows empathy stimulates pro-social behavior linked to moral dilemmas, activating moral principles.
Stronger empathy correlates with moral reasoning.
Mirror Neurons: Evidence reinforcing that empathy is innate and connected to similarity.
Impact of Violent Video Games on Empathy
Findings: Playing violent video games is linked to diminished empathy, particularly affecting limbic areas of the brain (Mathiak and Weber 2006).
Correlation: High exposure correlates with low empathy capacity (Funk et al. 2004; Bartholow et al. 2005).
Implications of Findings on Violent Video Games
Advantage 1: Identifies a direct connection between ultra-violent video games and moral harm.
Advantage 2: Affirms human biological and social constructs underpin moral judgment capabilities without requiring extensive theories of virtue or vice.
Regulation and Ethical Concerns on Violence in Video Games
Important Questions:
Should stricter regulations be enforced on ultra-violent video games?
What are the implications of current research on censorship versus free expression?
Legal Rulings:
Courts uphold that ultra-violent video games are protected speech under the First Amendment (2007 ESA report).
Courts state:
Games are protected speech.
Research does not definitively link gameplay to violent behavior.
Parents are responsible for supervising their children’s gameplay.
Parental Control and Children's Access to Games
Parental Control: Game ratings exist, yet children frequently access ultra-violent video games.
Statistics:
2005 survey: 87% of boys under 17 played “M” rated games (Kaiser Family Foundation).
Lack of Ratings: Some ultra-violent games lack ratings, enabling clandestine play among children.
Example: No Mercy (2025) initially lacked an ESRB rating.
Hume's Philosophy Connected to Violent Video Games
Importance of empathy in morality and its role in moral judgment.
Hume's anticipation of current psychological findings about empathy as a universal faculty.
Difficulty in measuring empathy reductions due to immersive video games, as lack of empathy may not correspond to increased aggression.
Importance of educating parents on safeguarding children against potential harm from ultra-violent video games.
Wonderly’s Humean Account of Video Game Morality
Impact of Gaming on Empathy:
Violent video games may lead to devalued perceptions of wrongness and impair moral judgment capacities.
Critiques of Hume's Empathy Theory
Critique 1:
Lack of empathy for NPCs: Does this impact empathy for real people?
Questioning the link between virtual and real moral sentiments based on mere resemblance.
Critique 2:
Similar brain regions activate regardless of context (King et al. 2006).
Actions type (appropriate versus inappropriate) affect these regions differently, suggesting complexity in emotional responses.
Supporting Wonderly’s Perspective
Research Trends:
American Psychological Association has noted correlations between violent video games and aggression/empathy reduction.
Findings indicate that while correlations exist, they do not conclusively establish causation.
Playing violent games can affect morally significant aspects of human psychology detrimentally.
Enhancing Wonderly's Account
Broader Influences on Empathy:
Addressing factors beyond physical resemblance in games is necessary, such as:
a. Interaction richness in games.
b. Repetition frequency of violent actions.
c. Empathy experiences towards real vs. virtual characters.
d. In-game consequences for violent actions.
Conclusion on Wonderly’s Perspective
Implications of Psychological Effects:
Changes in aggression may lead to subtle increases in aggressive behavior.
Potential negative impact on character, regardless of whether these changes lead to immoral actions.