PHIL 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Experience Machine, Nicomachean Ethics, Rationality
3 May 2018
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History of Ancient Philosophy
11.14 Lecture Notes – Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics
Book 1, Section 1-5
- Three types of lives
o 1. Life of pleasure
▪ Saradanapallus was a king who was very decadent
▪ Hedonism
▪ Chief aim of a human life identified as pleasure
▪ Why not pleasure?
• Life of pleasure is too selfish?
• Does’t reall relate of the hua essee of ratioalit
• Pleasure sometimes even obscures reasoning, which may require
long-term planning
• Pleasure is not distinctly human – animals can also have pleasure
Aristotle’s Rejetio of the Pleasure-based Life
- The Experience machine – suppose there were an experience machine that would give
you any experience you desires. Neuropsychobiologists could stimulate your brain so
that you would think and feel you were writing a great novel or making a friend, or
reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes
attached to your brain. Should you plug into this machine for life, preprogramming your
life’s eperiees. While i the tak ou o’t ko that ou’re there, ou’ll thik it’s
actually happening.
- Argument:
o 1. If pleasure is the only good, we should plug into the machine.
o . But e should’t plug ito the ahie!
o . Therefore, pleasure a’t e the ol good.
- Let’s urap Preise # – discussion
o Eperiees are fake?
o Valuing contributing to society? – what if everyone was plugged into such
ahie, there ould’t reall e a soiet
o Importance of shared experiences – so maybe everyone is plugged into the same
world – ut reeer ou do’t ko after ou’re plugged i
o Probably would depend on how your life is going on now
o There are other things in the world that contribute to our happiness and we
would prefer those things to be real
- Other two types of life
- 2. The political life – end is honor, then later excellence
o Honor depends on other people giving you honor – the highest good of the
human life must be self-contained
o Excellence is compatible with being asleep – ut that’s ot hat e ould dee
the good life
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