Reflection and Virtual Reality: from Etymological Analysis of Concepts to Understanding Essential Relationships

Abstract

The study of virtual reality in psychology and pedagogy requires an understanding of the essential connections and relationships of VR with various mental phenomena, and above all — reflection. The urgency of considering this problem is due to the emergence of VR developers and those who use virtual technologies in practice, including in VR didactics, practical psychology, to search for a solution to the issue of self-management of systems with VR. Can VR exercise the reflexive function of the psyche, represented in the processes of self-development, self-determination, self-government of the individual? The first step in solving the question posed is to identify and describe the essential relations of reflection and virtual reality. For this, an etymological analysis of the concepts of reflection and virtual reality was carried out. Highlighted the intersections in the semantic meanings of these concepts. The analysis made it possible to refer to the functional model of reflection (Anikina V.G.), within which VR can be considered as a “chronotope” of reflection — the space-time continuum of the presence of I “outside” the situation, in relation to which the reflexive process is meaningfully carried out. The angles of using VR in the development and formation of reflection, universal reflexive actions in the educational process are set.