The experience machine is a thought experiment introduced by Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia to argue against ethical hedonism, the view that pleasurable experience is the only thing that is good for a person. Nozick asks readers to imagine a machine capable of producing any sequence of experiences a person could want, indistinguishable from reality, so that a person plugged into it would experience whatever they most desired for the rest of their life. If pleasurable experience alone mattered, hedonism implies that everyone should choose to plug in, yet Nozick observes that most people, on reflection, refuse. He takes this widely shared reluctance as evidence that people care about more than the quality of their inner experience, including actually doing things rather than merely having the experience of doing them, actually being a certain kind of person, and having genuine contact with a reality deeper than any experience machine could provide.
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1. Experience Machine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaExperience machine (Wikipedia), on Nozick 1974
The experience machine or pleasure machine is a thought experiment put forward by philosopher Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia.
Experience machine (Wikipedia), introduction
The experience machine or pleasure machine is a thought experiment put forward by philosopher Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia.
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