Imagine That You Are Placed into a Machine That Stimulates

question 29

Essay

Imagine that you are placed into a machine that stimulates your brain, making you think that your life is going wonderfully well, while all the time you are simply attached to an "Experience Machine" in a basement. Given that you could not tell that your life was illusory, would you choose to enter this machine, or not? Would it make a difference to you in answering this question if you learned that Berkeley's idealism was correct? Why, or why not?

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Definitions:

Stephen Douglas

An American politician from Illinois and designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which promoted popular sovereignty allowing settlers to decide if they would allow slavery within their borders.

Southern Democrats

Members of the Democratic Party in the southern United States, historically associated with the defense of slavery pre-Civil War and support for segregation and Jim Crow laws post-Civil War.

1858 Senatorial Campaign

Notable for the series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, and Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic nominee, focusing on the issue of slavery in America.

Wealthy Easterner

An individual, often described in historical or cultural contexts, who resides in the eastern part of the United States and possesses significant wealth or social status.