Examples Of Brain-In-A-Vat Skepticism

Skepticism is the theory that people have either no knowledge, or very little knowledge. In this essay I will discuss one particular type of type of skepticism, called “brain-in-a-vat” skepticism, which denies that we can know whether the external world (anything outside our minds) exists as we think it does. I will examine two attacks that have been made on this sort of skepticism, and argue that both fail to defeat it. The brain-in-a-vat skeptic argues that no person knows that his/her body, other people, the environment, or anything external to his/her mind actually exists. It could be, the skeptic says, that I am hallucinating these things. I could be a brain kept alive in a vat of nutrient fluid, hooked up to a machine that stimulates my brain to produce the hallucination that I have a body and am, for example, in my room right now sitting here typing these words. All the experiences I seem to have, and perceptions I have of an external world, could be just hallucinations caused by having my brain stimulated in the right ways. After all, if I were in such a situation, everything would seem exactly the way it does to me now, so I cannot know that I am a brain in a vat. Here is one way of formulating the “standard” brain-in-a vat skeptical argument:
1. If I know that I have …show more content…
I say, “Yes I do, because I justifiably believe I have a body, which entails that I’m not a brain in a vat, so I justifiably believe I’m not a brain in a vat.” The skeptic says, “No you don’t justifiably believe you have a body, because you could just be a brain in a vat hallucinating that you have a body.” I say to the skeptic, “Your argument begs the question, because if I know that I have a body, then I do know I’m not just a brain in a