Nozick’s Experience Machine, Essay Example

Introduction

The real wonder of life relies on it being full of surprises. While it is a specific need for everyone else to just go with the flow of what life seemingly offers, it has been a constant desire for some to be able to just plan out or at least actually know what was going to happen in the future. Some even might want to direct exactly what is supposed to be happening next in their lives. Relatively, this desire has been responded to by Robert Nozick as he introduced the concept behind the mind experiment of the experience machine. Through the option of stimulating the brain’s capability to function and direct, this experiment entails a person to be subjected to a brain-directed operation that would require him to plugged into a machine for him to program everything that he wants to happen even in a simultaneous manner. The machine basically provides whatever the individual pleases through imagination; nevertheless, the person would not be actually be doing what he thinks he is doing, but instead, he would feel all the intensifying effects of such event that corresponds to his pleasure senses. Through this experiment, Nozick tries to point out how the theory of hedonism which entails the value of pleasure and how much it is necessary to define the satisfaction and contentment of a person.

The thoughts of Nozick

The real question that Nozick’s argument tries to explore is whether or not pleasure is enough to develop a better well-being on humans specifically centered on being satisfied and contented with who they are, what they do and what they can do. The choice of whether or not to live a life of contentment within a machine or live a life with disappointments, struggles as well as happiness and excitement without the machine is being presented by Nozick in his discussion. Overriding the reason for pleasure, he tries to take the initiative to help his readers understand how important pleasure is to human individuals for them to be able to feel the contentment they need to become better persons.

Through his approach of presentation, Nozick tries to use the concept of argument by analogy. The question does not only involve which particular aspect of the thought would one actually agree with; instead it involves the constant of being in need to identify what specifically relates to ones being. The further assumption of answering the ‘what if’s‘ of the argument becomes a necessary point of understanding on the part of the readers. For instance, it could be likened to the argument of people engaging in thrilling situations if they were given the chance; would they actually take it or would they think first whether or not such matter does appeal to their being? Such concept of asking questions as to how the situation personally relates to an individual specifically denotes the idea of having the person actually getting involved in the presentation of ideas. Questioning themselves about their opinion on the matter and how they would react to the matter if they would actually undergo the situation presented to them specifically establishes the value of the argument.

Realizing how one functions and why one exists are the two primary elements that define the being of an individual aiming to have a particular purpose in life. However, not all the elements leading up to such sense of self-focus provide the ever desired aspect of emotional satisfaction nor do they respond perfectly to the context of being pleasurable in nature. Some struggle, some even fail, nevertheless, it could be noted that out from such negative results in life and the willingness of one to face up the challenge of fixing up things again comes the real sense of satisfaction. However, it could not be denied that traditional theorists themselves point out the fact that even though such satisfaction is responded to by the current conditions of living, a lot of people still live having to fill a void that they specifically want to get over with.

Implications

The argument presented by Nozick is rather convincing. While other theorist point out the human desire for pleasure, they fail to see that responding fully to such desires specifically burn out the meaning of life to many. Experience in itself is enriching, and it becomes more valuable when it is unexpected. Relatively, experiences that come in small surprising packages mark the memory more than those that have been preempted beforehand by an individual. Through this concept, Nozick explicates that the real gist of life lies on the manner by which humans tend to seek meaning from the experiences they meet every day. Nozick further argues that the experience machine tries to dry out the real meaning of an experience as there is an actual huge difference between imagining to experience a situation and the thrill of actually experiencing the matter in a hands-on manner. The real thrill is not on the fulfillment of a desire, but on the actual process of being in the situation where the said desire is being accomplished.

Conclusion

Considering the writing of Nozick and the concept of satisfaction that he suggests through the experience machine, it could be realized that there is more to life than imagining. True, imagination, stimulated through the ‘excitement’ patterns of the brain provide a certain intense response to pleasure. Nevertheless, it is the actual experience that a person undergoes that marks the memory thus filling up the void. The truth that not everyone could get what he wants specifically adds up to the excitement of living. Given such an obstacle, people are expected to go around the situation and find other matters that could respond to their pleasures and their excitement thus allowing them to realize satisfaction even when they were not able to experience what they actually imagine to experience.