In this paper, I will prove that Robert Nozick’s “The Experience Machine” is an argument against Hedonism. Hedonism consists of the only things desirable in the end, which are pleasure and freedom from pains. Nozick's aim in discussing the experience machine is to create a thought experiment that sheds light on what we value in life, which illustrates the argument: Is it better for us to have the experience of being great or is it better for us to be great? Hedonism: the that pleasure, or happiness is the sole or chief good in life (Merriam-Webster, 2018). According to Hedonism, the only intrinsic good is happiness, because they believe that happiness is the only thing necessary to bring about a good life. It also claims that pleasure is
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Why? Because at least one gets to experience things that one may never get the chance to experience, whether it is due to financial situations, making the wrong decisions, or even medical reasoning. But, if Hedonism is legitimate, said Nozick, then everyone would immediately plug into the experience machine. But Nozick thinks most people would not do it, and to him, this proves that there are things humans value more than their own pleasure, and that pleasure for the sake of pleasure leaves us lacking something important. Does the one arguing think about what it would really be like inside the experience machine? Imagine, the real world going on all around them while one lays unconscious, experiencing some fantasy world, all the people one was interacting with would be nothing other than figments of their imagination and everything they are experiencing has no real meaning because no one is really seeing said person be a Rockstar, if they chose to be one. No one would really be listening to their music or being their fan, granted the one inside would not know that but when you think about it right now… It does not seem too appealing, it seems pointless because while thinking rationally, it does not seem too pleasing than the real
Why? Because at least one gets to experience things that one may never get the chance to experience, whether it is due to financial situations, making the wrong decisions, or even medical reasoning. But, if Hedonism is legitimate, said Nozick, then everyone would immediately plug into the experience machine. But Nozick thinks most people would not do it, and to him, this proves that there are things humans value more than their own pleasure, and that pleasure for the sake of pleasure leaves us lacking something important. Does the one arguing think about what it would really be like inside the experience machine? Imagine, the real world going on all around them while one lays unconscious, experiencing some fantasy world, all the people one was interacting with would be nothing other than figments of their imagination and everything they are experiencing has no real meaning because no one is really seeing said person be a Rockstar, if they chose to be one. No one would really be listening to their music or being their fan, granted the one inside would not know that but when you think about it right now… It does not seem too appealing, it seems pointless because while thinking rationally, it does not seem too pleasing than the real