Question

what is nozick’s “experience machine” and what point is he ultimately trying to get across by discussing this concept? briefly, summarize putnam’s argument against skepticism. why does unger think that the example of people buying life insurance presents a problem for how someone like cypher (in the matrix movie) thinks about value?

Answer 1

Sol : Robert Nozick's experience machine :

Experience machine is a thought experiment forwarded by great philosopher Robert Nozick in 1974. It is one of the best attempts to prove ethical hedonism which means the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle.

The point where he ultimately trying to get across as follows :

1. If experiencing as much pleasure as possible is what matters most to us, we ought to do whatever will produce the most pleasure.

2. If we ought to do whatever will produce the most pleasure, we should plug into the machine.

3. If experiencing as much as pleasure as possible is what matters most to us, we should plug into machine from 1 and 2 as explained above.

Putnam's argument against skepticism :

Hilary Putnam proposed an interesting and much discussed attempt to prove a skeptical argument that is based on one form of the brain and a vat scenario. Let us have a look on this argument as I mentioned some key points below to explain ;

a. On Putnam's version of brain in- a- vat -hypothesis, the contents of the universe now and always have been relatively few.

b. Putnam's goal is to prove the skeptical argument that is based on B I V hypothesis by providing a counter argument for the conclusion that we are not B I Vs.

c. Putnam suggests two other possible sorts of things that brain in a vat might refer to for a B I V as below

1. The electronic impulses that causes experiences as of being B I V .

2. Features of this program that cause those electronic impulses.

Hence considering above points we can declare that example of people buying insurance creates a problem.