We have mirrors and photographs, but our self-perception is trapped within the mediality of the ‘Abbildung’ (image/reproduction).
With Virtual Reality this can be overcome, since vision is detached from the own body. Does this also detach and dissolve self-perception as known until today? Is this a first step towards trans-humanism?
It isn’t. We recognize ourselves with even low-resolution, square-y, hollow representations of ourselves. But we don’t associate with the body, can’t move naturally, are awkwardly lost in overlapping physical and virtual spaces. The movement of the own body, the movement of others entering the light cube (a physical take on the chaperone usually used in VR to remind users of the physical limits) and the movement of the virtual camera are quite overwhelming.