Introduction

Abstract The introduction provides a summary of the diverse thinking to be found in this handbook, presenting the many different conceptualizations of virtuality and the virtual to be found within and the many different approaches to the use of such concepts across the multiple disciplines represented. The reader’s attention is directed toward the debates raging over the contested relationship between virtuality, reality, and actuality; there is no one answer to the form this relationship takes, nor, indeed, is there one answer as to what virtuality is. Additionally, an explanation of the rationale for the handbook’s structure is given; the 44 chapters are divided into nine parts that broadly move from philosophy to technology and applications before a return to philosophy to close the book. Finally, the reader is introduced to the main arguments and themes in each chapter.