tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post3415626310111489703..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Desirism Book - Part 0006 - Nozick's Experience MachineAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-67665868857210200172016-06-02T15:02:16.602-06:002016-06-02T15:02:16.602-06:00He does have a reason to leave the experience mach...He does have a reason to leave the experience machine - he just doesn't know it.<br /><br />Take a slightly different case - that of a parent wishing the well-being of their child. Just as with gathering stones, the experience of having one's child well-off within the machine is qualitatively identical to the experience of having their child well-off outside of the experience machine.<br /><br />However, tell the parent, "Your real child is suffering horribly while this imaginary child is well-off" and give them offer to leave the experience machine, they will have a reason to take the offer.<br /><br />This reason did not magically appear as soon as the offer was made. It always existed - though the agent did not know that it existed.<br /><br />It is easy to confuse a desire for the experience of gathering stones for the desire to gather stones. The experience machine can certainly fulfill the desire for an experience of gathering stones, but cannot fulfill the desire to gather stones. Similarly, the experience machine can certainly fulfill the desire for the experience of having children who are well-off, but cannot fulfill the desire that one's children are well off.Alonzo Fyfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-69866745259523731302016-06-02T13:42:41.202-06:002016-06-02T13:42:41.202-06:00Something struck me here that I am having trouble ...Something struck me here that I am having trouble reconciling. While Alph may have the desire to be gathering stones, his experience of gathering stones is unchanged whether he really is gathering or inside the experience machine. All input into our brain and hence whether we think our desires are being fulfilled go through a kind of experience machine already (our brain). He may not have reason to CHOOSE to go in, but once he is in, he would have no reason to get out. As far as he is concerned, his desire is objectively being fulfilled, until someone comes along and gives him the "red pill". Except there isn't going to be anyone offering red pills. Since the state of actually gathering stones and only experiencing gathering stones is indistinguishable as far as Alph is concerned, wouldn't he be ambivalent about the offer? Why think he would care whether his desire is being objectively satisfied or not unless you are basing that on the additional hidden desire that his desires be objectively fulfilled.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02243523751399191317noreply@blogger.com