I'm glad to see someone discussing these post-modern philosophies in the context of games. Like others have mentioned, these are not unheard of concepts in the realm of academia and the arts. You seem to have that crucial curiosity that leads to learning and understanding, but little of the cultural and historical context to make it concrete, so maybe I can direct you to a few examples that might supplement some of these thoughts and might serve as a launching point for further research!

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First, I'll suggest something more accessible in podcast form: this is a lesser-known science/culture topical podcast of very brief, 20 minute episodes, but is also a comedy podcast, so you might find it fun as well. Doesn't get too deep into it, but is a very good and enjoyable point of entry!

I. http://wehaveconcerns.com/2014/08/like-this/

Discusses how Facebook's underlying algorithms recursively feed us information and points of view we want to see and agree with. Suggests the increasing machination of the human interaction with logic algorithms and how it reinforces our tribalist tendencies, like Campbell was talking about in Metal Gear.

II. http://wehaveconcerns.com/2014/12/must-seethe-tv/

Discusses the phenomenon of "Hate Watching," or consuming a show, movie, or other media for the express purposes of hating on it. Points to that same moral tribalism from earlier, and our tendency to use media to reinforce in-groups and out-groups.

III. http://wehaveconcerns.com/2015/01/creeping-self-doubt/

Discusses the paradoxical concept of 'self' and our relation to the physical universe as it relates to the brain and body. Describes a Post-Cartesian self; Descartes said "I think, therefore I am," but a post-modern definition of self suggests a more distributed organism rather than a neuro-centric one.

EDIT: This being a gaming sub, the podcast hosts have worked in the gaming industry and might be familiar: Anthony Carboni, formerly of Rev3games, and Jeff Cannata, formerly of The TotallyRadShow and currently of DLC podcast.

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Next up is a bit more of a read, but you should find it interesting. (Two excellent reads!)

I. http://www.academia.edu/3868290/What_Can_a_Body_Do_Stelarc_and_the_Body_s_Potentiality

Stelarc, Australian artist, whose work discusses the Post-Cartesian self & the prosthetic identity of the human. Notable exhibitions include The Prosthetic Head and The Ping Body.

Borrowing from the work of Marshall McLuhan, (who coined the phrase "The medium is the message," you can read more about his ideas here and here,) he conceptualizes the body as a permeable boundary, and thus sees media as an extension of the human central nervous system. Campbell was suggesting similar concepts in Metal Gear, as the branches of the collective media are informed by central human tendencies. Speaking of games and McLuhan, Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid and The Witness, gives an interesting talk on the gaming medium, entitled "The Medium is the Message." Only tangentially related, but very much worth the watch!

II. http://stelarc.org/documents/ZurgruggARTICLE-Stelarc_Virilio.pdf

Discusses how media-technology has made a much broader spectrum of geography and time instantly accessible to the modern man, making the concept of 'now' completely bastard, where nothing dies and, perhaps, nothing lives.

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Finally, I'll direct you to my favorite writer, post-modern fictionalist and grand-daddy of cyberpunk, William Gibson.

I. http://lib.ru/GIBSON/frag_rose.txt

Gibson's first published story, the very brief Fragments of a Hologram Rose, (1977.) Again, the post-modern concept of self, of relationships with others, the world, and technology.

And if you liked it, of course move onto his Sprawl Trilogy, which further portrays these concepts in the context of cyberpunk. Can't go wrong with his seminal Neuromancer, (1984,) the first entry into Sprawl, which inspired pretty much the entire shape of our increasingly decentralized world, the internet, and cyber-culture e.g. The Matrix (1999.)

The works of Italian writer Umberto Eco and Argentine writer Jorges Luis Borges might also intrigue you, (but they are admittedly dense, at least it was for me!)

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On a relatively minor note, because it's a gaming subreddit, I'd like to throw in Bioshock, (2007,) which did some wonderful stuff with narrative that is slightly relevant. [Bioshock, 2007 SPOILERS](#s "Fontaine, disguised as the voice of Atlas, guided you through the story in, quite literally, the most video-gamey way possible: invisible-narrator-guy says "Kindly do this, pick this up, go here, shoot this guy." When it's revealed that you were being manipulated the whole time, the sense of player agency; the most unique aspect of the video game medium, is revealed to have been a farce. Bioshock, in a really awesome twist, uses the video game medium to discuss the illusory nature of individual agency in a compelling fashion. It really speaks to the relationship we have with media, and how it can pose very interesting questions about the nature of self. As McLuhan said, the medium is the message.")

Another quick note, but can we all take a second to appreciate how awesome Kojima is? I know that Kojima love is in-vogue as of late, particularly because of his falling out with Konami, but as evidenced by your post, there is a lot more going on in his work than most people realize. Even his new Death Stranding trailer is filled with batshit ontological symbolism!

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Well, I hope my mini-crash-course at least piqued your interest in the slightest. It's not by any means comprehensive, but I hope you might glean something from it. And let's not understate the fact that we're interacting through the internet right now, and the very themes we are discussing that these great artists and thinkers have espoused are manifesting, literally, as we speak. Again, the medium is the message. If you (or anyone) end up checking any of it out, feel free to let me know what you thought! If not, it's cool!

EDIT: Almost forgot! Check out Spike Jonze's, Her. One of my all time favorite films. (Watch online, Amazon) Again, portrays the increasingly post-modern relationship we have with technology, society, and other people in an absolutely beautiful, affecting way. Highlights inevitability of growth and the subsequent fundamental needs and incompatibilities inherent in any relationship.

u/rockytimber · 7 points r/conspiracy

Some of the new media tends to be more interactive than "one way".

But sure, there is still a "hive mind" being projected. And the institutional structures, even the architecture, street grids, etc. tends to reinforce a mindset.

The thing I like about McLuhan was that he pointed out that the dominant class is in a better position to exploit new technology, often, but is not necessarily in charge of it or always at the cutting edge of it, no matter how they might try. In other words, technology is disruptive, even to elites, in many cases. Also, if you look at culture, some of the creative nuances of culture are not under the elites control. There are some subtle effects of our world that get expressed in art, film, etc. that the elite may learn to exploit, but that initially was not welcome by the elite. And of course, I speak of "the" elite, but yes, far from monolithic. There are lots of fragments in the elite as well. Yet affluence and the ability to network, plus social competence, etc. means that their vested interest in the profit making infrastructure, their support of the financial system for example, so far, has held together what is largely politically illegitimate , in other words, a hypocritical lie. As if there is a free press, laugh, or as if their is a balance of power between the three branches, gag. Or one person, one vote, rolls eyes.

So, I will be looking into Guy Debord some more, also Gramsci, thanks! (If you haven't read McLuhan, its frustrating. I would start with his book Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man, the chapter on Games. Skip the hot/cold descriptions to start. Believe it or not in the original days of low resolution black and white tv, the initial physical response to the refresh rate and the pixilation was different than the response to modern screens. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Media-Extensions-Marshall-McLuhan/dp/0262631598, almost free on Amazon.

u/WillieConway · 5 points r/askphilosophy

A book that might interest you and him is Herbert Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man. Marcuse was a Marxist thinker, and he wrote that book as a criticism of what the individual has become in advanced industrial society. He is a clear and entertaining writer, and he has a lot of examples to support his ideas.

A much harder book from a non-Marxist perspective is Stanley Cavell's The Claim of Reason. Cavell is a tricky writer--he's hard to read quickly, and he doesn't have totally organized arguments. Nonetheless, he talks a lot about what it means to be human and what it means to deny one's own or another's humanity. I'd only recommend this book if your partner knows something about philosophy already.

Then there is a thinker like Emmanuel Levinas, who writes about how it is to experience other people. He's also a bit tough to read, but he has a fascinating and highly influential idea of our ethical responsibility to other people. His classic work is Totality and Infinity.

Existentialism talks a great deal about what it is to be human. The thinker Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that there is no human nature, only a human condition. His big book is Being and Nothingness.

The German thinker Hannah Arendt might just be the closest fit to your partner's interest. She wrote a book called The Human Condition that is all about what it means to act.

One last suggestion: it's not quite philosophy per se, but if your partner is interested in technology and media and the effects it has on people, then Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man might be a good gift. McLuhan is not a hard writer, and he has short chapters. He's a bit of a funny writer though, not only because he makes jokes but because he sometimes makes claims without even an attempt to back them up. However, the book is a blast for someone who is interested in how, say, the electric lightbulb changed human life. Of the books I've mentioned here, it's probably the easiest read.

Hope those suggestions help. By the way, if you could give a sense of your partner's education level it would help. As I said, the Cavell book is probably best for someone who has studied philosophy in depth already. On the other hand, I think a beginner could get into McLuhan and work through Marcuse.

u/[deleted] · 3 points r/C_S_T

You started off quoting (devout Catholic) Marshall McLuhan, and then continue by citing everybody he was refuting throughout his entire work (Count Korzybski and his 'General Semantics', which was the name they came to AFTER 'Human Engineering').

More accurately, you quoted WIRED Magazine's in-house McLuhan fanboy Kevin Kelly, who was clumsily stumbling out a paraphrase from Understanding Media:

>"Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecundate and to evolve ever new forms. The machine world reciprocates man's love by expediting his wishes and desires, namely, in providing him with wealth."

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Media-Extensions-Marshall-McLuhan/dp/0262631598

McLuhan believed, like any good Catholic always has, that this world is a 'simulation'.

If you're interested in Joyce, McLuhan's the Gutenberg Galaxy is an incredible read (original title was: The Road to Finnegan's Wake). McLuhan always said no one could ever hope to comprehend the modern world unless they'd read the Wake, out loud. Luckily, he did that for us so we don't have to :)

https://www.amazon.com/Gutenberg-Galaxy-Marshall-McLuhan/dp/144261269X

Television Kills Telephony in Brother's Broil!

>"By consistently embracing all these technologies, we inevitably relate ourselves to them as servomechanisms. Thus, in order to make use of them at all, we must serve them as we do gods. The Eskimo is a servomechanism of his kayak, the cowboy of his horse, the businessman of his clock, the cyberneticist — and soon the entire world — of his computer. In other words, to the spoils belongs the victor."

Re: your Yesod link-- it's a dense read, but...

https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Trivium-Place-Thomas-Learning/dp/1584232358

u/mandix · 1 point r/cscareerquestions

I'm telling you... you do not have to wait to become a web designer especially if you have any CS chops. It sounds like you need some kind of validation lol? In design you have to be an entrepreneur, design your own experience, find out some people who are doing design x software email them... surprise them, designers love surprises and something different... make your own luck.

As far as Amazon good books, you really want to aim for a whole view of design at this point. Think of it like you wouldn't learn run before you can walk, there is A LOT out there.

u/005 · 1 point r/funny

OK, so there's a fat cat on the window sill. This is the first literal description you've given this entire time. Now, with that, convey an idea.

Please stop acting like you've read these books when you haven't. And please go read them, or at least admit you haven't. You've "read" Vonnegut, but have you read his musings on writing with concepts? You've looked at an Amazon page of a Postman book, but have you delved into a Postman book and looked at how he talks about pictures, words and media? Have you read the grandfather of all these books, "Understanding Media" by Marshall McLuhan, which talks about how people take advantage of our poor understanding or language? Have you read Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics," which does a spectacular job of showing us how we can't really convey literal with communication mediums? Have you read "The Phantom Public" by Walter Lippmann, which looks at how words affect public policy? In fact, have you ready "1984" and discussed the use of media by Big Brother?

I'm sure you're a smart fellow, perhaps smarter than I am. But there is an inherent issue you aren't quite understanding with language. This isn't about definitions about metaphor, simile or even our particular version of language. This is about language and communication as a human tool -- its limits and powers.

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