Summary Of The Experience Machine By Nozick

In his article “The Experience Machine”, Nozick (p.42) offers a thought experiment which with floating in a tank, people can get any experience which they desire in an experience machine. Nozick uses the experiment that “the highest aggregate level of individual well being”(Hussain, 2018) should be achieved by accomplish certain things instead of simply plugging into the experience machine. The reason is that people lose their ability to do something, having their own personalities and living in a real life. In this paper, I agree with Nozick’s opinion that people should not plug into the experience machine because of true existence, the real love from family and friend and a positive impact on society. In Nozick’s description (p.42), the
In the lecture, there are two ways to conceive of well-being (Hussain, 2018). The first view is hedonistic which some people believe that well-being is in desirable consciousness, just like the fascinate experience in the experience machine (Hussain, 2018). The second view is that people get well-being by achieving certain objects (Hussain, 2018). Through his thought experiment, Nozick certainly holds the second point of view. He wants to show people that with the exception of experience, other things matter such as truly accomplishing something, having their own personalities and living in a real
First of all, if I plug into the experience machine and choose to live in other celebrities’ experience, then I don’t exist in the world. My own body floats in the tank and I cannot create any further experience of myself. Instead, I live as some pieces of others. For example, if I plug into Emma Watson’s experience for two years, I live two years as Watson. And then I plug into Barack Obama’s experience for another two years, I live another two years as Obama. Secondly, my life in the experience machine is fake and all the emotions behind my life are fake as well. Let us go back to Emma Watson’s example again. When I am living in Watson’s experience, my family members and my friends do not actually belong to me. Their love and the friendship all belong to Watson. Living in the experience machine means that I give up the true love from my real family members and friends. More importantly, floating in a tank means that I lose the ability to do something for myself and for the people I care about. For example, when I plug into the experience machine, I cannot hand in papers anymore; I cannot buy gifts for my mother on her birthdays; I cannot donate money to people who lose their homes in an earthquake; and I cannot change anything in the