A Study of General Philosophy Education in the Metaverse －Focusing on the ‘VRChat College’ Case

Yoon, Juhan; Yee, Damin

doi:2022.16.2.275

Korean J General Edu > Volume 16(2); 2022 > Article

General Paper

Korean Journal of General Education 2022;16(2):275-288.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46392/kjge.2022.16.2.275 Published online April 30, 2022.

A Study of General Philosophy Education in the Metaverse －Focusing on the ‘VRChat College’ Case

Juhan Yoon¹, Damin Yee²

¹Assistant Professor, Deagu University
²Lecturer, Suwon University

메타버스를 활용한 교양철학 교육에 관한 고찰 －‘VR챗 학교’ 사례를 중심으로

윤주한¹, 이다민²

¹대구대학교 성산교양대학(S-LAC) 자유전공학부 조교수
²수원대학교 교양대학 강사

Correspondence: Juhan Yoon,
Email: aesthetics@daegu.ac.kr

Received: 20 March 2022 • Revised: 11 April 2022 • Accepted: 18 April 2022
*Juhan Yoon and Damin Yee contributed equally to this study as co-first authors.

Abstract

This study aims to find the direction in which general philosophy education could proceed amid the big wave of virtualization by analyzing a lecture course in general philosophy conducted in the Metaverse. Considering the characteristics of philosophy education that emphasizes discussion and communication, it would be necessary to consider how general philosophy education could be conducted.
With these problems in mind, this study will consist of the following three steps. First, we will discuss the nature and significance of general philosophy education. Second, we will illuminate the limitations of online general philosophy education by comparing cases of a face-to-face lecture with a non-face-to-face one. Finally, based on those previous considerations, we will show that education in the Metaverse might serve as a promising alternative to non-face-to-face general philosophy education.
This study analyzes the case of an aesthetics lecture conducted in ‘VRChat’, which is a popular Metaverse platform, and argues that education in the Metaverse has an advantage in that it could supplement and even strengthen interactions, especially between learners.

Key Words: General Philosophy, Non-face-to-face, Online Class, The Metaverse, General Education, Aesthetics