My understanding is that Choice is the number one resource used by librarians making collections decisions. We're really happy that our book received the following review by D.W. Rothermel.
The authors' paean to video game playing serves as an
entrée into the analytic tradition of philosophy. The ambiguity of
first-person statements ensuing in role-playing games is resolved by
the "thesis of the vague self." According to Cogburn (Louisiana State
Univ.) and Silcox (Univ. of Central Oklahoma), the idea that
"particular works [of art] are conventionally viewed as aesthetically superior
to the extent that they evince realism" confirms progress in video-game
design. But the particular advantage of enactivism, which holds that
human beings perceive the world directly, over phenomenalism, which
holds that people "experience a realm that is a function of their own
private sensory manifold," is the explanatory power of the former to
account for the popularity of games that offer an "overall sensory
profile"--even though less visually realistic. Against the "intuition
that ... makes Shakespeare's writing" superior to pulp fiction, the
authors argue that playing a video game is a "paradigmatic example" of
"an artistically creative act." Finally, the authors suggest that since
leisure time activities add meaning to people's lives, "gaming might
turn out to be one of the most important things that we human beings
do." Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduate students of analytic philosophy. -- D. W. Rothermel, California State University, Chico
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