"Bad Dreams, Evil Demons, and the Experience Machine: Philosophy and The Matrix" Discussion Questions

Christopher Grau
  1. What does Descartes’s evil demon have in common with the contemporary supposition that we are all just brains in a vat?
  2. What does Putnam think we need to be able to refer to something? Why?
  3. Most of us would buy life insurance for our children even if there would be no way for us to enjoy seeing them use it. According to Unger, what best explains this fact?
  4. What is the experience machine? What does Nozick argue it reveals about our values? Do you agree? Why/why not?
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