This is all very interesting but I don't understand why not signing on for the Experience Machine necessarily, automatically makes one not a hedonist. I feel like I'm pretty solidly a hedonist yet am not tempted by that experiment.
This is all very interesting but I don't understand why not signing on for the Experience Machine necessarily, automatically makes one not a hedonist. I feel like I'm pretty solidly a hedonist yet am not tempted by that experiment.
Well, perhaps it's relevant that my idea of pleasure is a lot like Novick's--unlike you I do not find it weird that he cites "writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book" as exemplarily pleasurable experiences. I'm also given to gluttony, lust and sloth (to name a few of my favorite deadly sins), but reading and writing books and friendly human interaction are right up there. I can't really imagine programming a more pleasurable life than I can find by myself. That may be a failure of imagination, but it's what I've got to work with.
well, if your life is at _maximum_ pleasure -- no boredom, physical pain, etc. -- then the Experience Machine really would be wasted on you. (But, as a hedonist, you're definitely going to want it when you get older and your body starts to hurt.)
This is all very interesting but I don't understand why not signing on for the Experience Machine necessarily, automatically makes one not a hedonist. I feel like I'm pretty solidly a hedonist yet am not tempted by that experiment.
Hmmm. If you're a hedonist, why aren't you tempted by a life that has a lot more pleasure than you have now?
Well, perhaps it's relevant that my idea of pleasure is a lot like Novick's--unlike you I do not find it weird that he cites "writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book" as exemplarily pleasurable experiences. I'm also given to gluttony, lust and sloth (to name a few of my favorite deadly sins), but reading and writing books and friendly human interaction are right up there. I can't really imagine programming a more pleasurable life than I can find by myself. That may be a failure of imagination, but it's what I've got to work with.
well, if your life is at _maximum_ pleasure -- no boredom, physical pain, etc. -- then the Experience Machine really would be wasted on you. (But, as a hedonist, you're definitely going to want it when you get older and your body starts to hurt.)
We'll see.