When a kid plugs up his Sony Playstation 2 to play “The Punisher,” he is probably thinking about how to blow stuff up, not about the effect the game is having on his psyche. Yet those effects are exactly what is on Anne Odom’s mind as an associate project manager for Volition, Inc., the video game studio that produces “The Punisher.”
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‘People can now have a whole second life inside of a video game. It raises all kinds of questions about the definition of life and where the boundaries are drawn.’ —Anne Odom |
“There are many people who feel that, for the protection of America’s children, the government should take over regulation of the sale of video games,” said Odom, who earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy from UM in 1996. “[The issue of regulation] raises some interesting philosophical questions.”
One does not usually put the words “video game” and “philosophy” in the same sentence. But Odom’s remarks demonstrate how philosophy courses are applied in the workplace and in everyday life. Philosophy majors often develop superior problem-solving, communication, persuasion and writing skills along with enhanced development of sound methods of research and analysis, said William Lawhead, professor and chair of philosophy and religion.
“A philosophy major offers more than just a degree, but life-changing personal development,” Lawhead said. “Philosophy helps students clarify their own beliefs, resolve conflicts, and learn how to think and express themselves clearly. It helps develop a basis for ethical decisions and formulate a coherent approach to life.”
Such was the case for Odom.”The logic and problem-solving background I gained as a philosophy student have been invaluable to me as a programmer,”
Odom said that although video-game violence gets the most attention, when it comes to philosophical questions, it “only touches the tip of the iceberg.” For instance: Do games that glamorize criminal behavior also teach it? Can a game train players to make moral choices as readily as it can train them to make violent ones—and still be fun? Do people who play less-violent role-playing games find more of a social life in their computer world than in the flesh-and-blood one?
“People can create a virtual person in a virtual world, open a virtual business, collect virtual money, then convert that to real money,” Odom said. “In essence, people can now have a whole second life inside of a video game. It raises all kinds of questions about the definition of life and where the boundaries are drawn.”