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The Experience Machine Robert Nozick Analysis

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In Robert Nozick’s article “The Experience Machine” he speaks of plugging into a machine for two years at a time for life that will give you an experience your heart’s desire that reality won’t give you. In my essay I’m going to explain and agree with the authors 3 reasons as to why you shouldn’t plug into the Experience Machine. I will explain the functions of the machine, answer the key question and explaining whether the author convinced me or not to want to use the experience machine. Plugging into the machine seems like something a lot of people would enjoy but personally it’s not something I would recommend or decide to try on my own. It does sound promising but the cons outweigh the pros of this experience machine.

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This is one of the main reasons why I personally wouldn’t try the machine because it’s only for two years who knows if once you come out the machine if you can recreate the same experience again for another two years or you have to choose a whole new experience it’s just too much to fathom. I would definitely rather be content with the life I have now instead of trying to go for a life I desire that would only be good for a two year span. Dreaming/having thoughts about wishing certain things would happen is so close to being in an experience machine if you actually think about it. If the machine would give the experience in real life, where you don’t have to go into a tank and have electrodes hooked up to your brain all you have to do is type into the machine what you would like to have or what you want to do with your life and it magically appears then I would definitely do it. But if you think about some people have a wild desires so to have something like that where your desires can come to life there would have to be a limit on what you can choose. which won’t be fair so overall what I’m trying to say is it’s better to not plug into the machine just live the life you have and be content instead of having a machine preprogram for the rest of your

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