PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2025.1653648
This article is part of the Research TopicHuman Behavior in Extreme Conditions: Novel Approaches and TechnologiesView all 8 articles
Human Presence in Extreme Environments as a Condition of Knowledge: An Epistemological Inquiry
Provisionally accepted
- Independent Scholar, Portland, United States
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Simulations and immersive technologies have been proposed as alternatives to human presence in isolated, confined, or extreme (ICE) environments, but there are limitations to these technologies and techniques that penetrate to the foundations of knowledge. Technologies of simulation and immersion, no matter the fidelity, place a barrier between the knower and the known. While technologies of simulation and immersion should be an integral part of planning and preparation for scientific research in ICE environments, the presence of a human observer in these environments will enter into the construction of any knowledge derived from such environments. Taking space science as a paradigmatic form of research in ICE environments, a conceptual analysis is made of the role of the human observer as a necessary condition of the construction of scientific knowledge.
Keywords: anthropocentrism, epistemology, knowledge, Science, mesophilic norms, extreme environments, Knowledge argument, Mary's room
Received: 25 Jun 2025; Accepted: 16 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Nielsen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: J. N. Nielsen, john.n.nielsen@gmail.com
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