Plurality Through Imagination
Believing in Bits November 28, 2019 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190949983.003.0010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Online tulpamancy communities |
| Key points | Argues that tulpamancy emerged from online environments that enabled radical identity experimentation, and that online communities act as participatory spaces for evaluating supernatural possibilities. |
Abstract
Starting around 2009, online communities envisioned and began practicing “tulpamancy”—the ability to imagine a sentient being, or “tulpa,” into existence through heightened states of imagination. Originating in Tibetan Buddhist mysticism and contemporary paranormal lore, online users create tulpas, which they sense as a distinct personality within their minds and bodies, for companionship. Advocates of the practice emphasize healthful and positive aspects, and the plurality of identity that can exist in one body. They promote their practice as a way to overcome depression, loneliness, and other issues of mental well-being. Tulpa creation and plurality arrived precisely because avatars, anonymity, and, perhaps most crucially, inward-focused creativity and collaboration in online environments enabled radical, free-form identity experimentation. Tulpamancy shows how online communities act as participatory spaces in which supernatural or trans-human possibilities are evaluated and repurposed.