Müller, Elke2022-01-042022-01-042002-11-10https://mediarep.org/handle/doc/18525In the Western world, we are still proceeding from a Cartesian worldview. In this paper I will illustrate that this dualistic worldview is objectified in Virtual Reality technologies. In order to illustrate this, I will first explain the main ideas of Descartes’ Optics with respect to his vision on sense perception, space and the body. Secondly, I will compare the described topics of Descartes’ philosophy with the phenomenological critique and alternative of Merleau-Ponty. These elaborations will serve as a background for my illustration. I will distinguish three kinds of virtual spaces, of which the CAVE seems to arouse the strongest kind of Cartesian ruptures, which I will refer to as experiences of ‘shattered embodiment’.engvirtual realityembodimentphenomenology791René DescartesMaurice Merleau-Ponty10.25969/mediarep/175731617-6901