Book part:

Von der Illusion zur Involvierung. Geschichte und Systematik der Begriffe Präsenz und Immersion

The common term of immersion, historically seen inherits the concept of illusion, which was usually applied to images, whose effect was a misperception of the image object as an real object. But not every image is taken for something else, so illusion cannot be a fundamental determination of images, but the feature of certain images. The term presence therefore, in delimitation of illusion (as well as immersion), tries to describe the specifics of all images. As a consequence presence is a precondition for immersion. Accordingly, in technically oriented theories, the quality of representation and the quantity of interaction in telepresence scenarios is defined as a condition of immersion. Due to the obvious term entanglements elements of the definitions of presence and telepresence are then transferred to the theorizing of immersion. This leads to the currently existing loss of differentiation. As a result, the immersion concept is increasingly being abandoned, and alternative terms – in particular that of the involvement – appear on the scene.