According to philosophy, The Brain in a Vat is an element used in many experiments ,intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of reality , truth , knowledge and mind.The basic concept behind it is that a machine some other evil thing has removed the human brain from the body and kept it in a jar/vat of life sustaining liquid .The neurons of the brain kept in a vat are then,indeed, connected to a computer via wires which provide electrical impulses to the brain similar to the ones it received in the body. Then , the computer would stimulate reality and the brain that has been kept in a vat would function normally as it used to do earlier , and the human would never be able to distinguish whether the brain is in the skull or a …show more content…
As , you cannot rule out this possibility , it means that maybe all of your beliefs of the outside world maybe false .Well , The Brain in a vat is supposed to be a modern form of Rene Descartes argument that an evil demon is deceiving the human brain .The brain in a vat argument has been given in many other cultures like in Hindu Maya Illusion and stated by many other philosophers works like Plato's "Allegory of Cave" and Zhuangzi's "Zhuangi dreamed he was a butterfly".Also , this concept was used in the movie"The …show more content…
Since , the fact that we have a physical presence associated with us i.e the physical evidence that we can feel pain and have emotions makes it highly unlikely for us to be controlled by a computer . Also , as we know that our brain functions and body functions are performed in synchronisation with each other so how can we be living if they were not getting performed in sync i.e instead of the brain performing it's functions , we have a computer proocessor doing all the work for us
One of the key questions raised by Rupert Sheldrake in the Seven Experiments That Could Change the World, is are we more than the ghost in the machine? It is perfectly acceptable to Sheldrake that humans are more than their brain, and because of this, and in actual reality “the mind is indeed extended beyond the brain, as most people throughout most of human history have believed.” (Sheldrake, Seven Experiments 104)
Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that could not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology.
Plato was a distinguished man known for its highly intellectual theory concerning human’s perception. This particular reading emphasizes the point that what we recognize as real from birth is completely misleading based on our tainted understanding of reality, and that what we see and hear don’t necessarily ensure the truth and the actual knowledge. Even though Plato’s “Allegory of Cave” was written a long time ago, we can still relate it with the society today. For instance, we, the people, are the prisoners, and the shadow, is none other than the television and media, whose role has made such a huge impact in how we perceive things in life. The modern day television relates to the thought provoking, excellent, and captivating theory of Plato in its controlled audience, the misleading reality, and the enslaved addiction.
The topic of the mind and how do we know has been around since the beginning of time.
In addition all the objects, people and the sky that we perceive, and all our experiences are just the result of electronic impulses travelling from the computer to the nerve endings. (ibid.). However, he start by posing doubts by asking that if our brains were in a vat, could we say or think that we were (Putnam, 1981:7). He furthermore argued that we could not (ibid.). For Putnam, it cannot be true that, if our brains are a vat and we say or think that we were, for Putnam it is self-refuting (ibid.).
In the essay “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato addresses how humans generally do not pursue knowledge. Most humans are satisfied with what they already know and do not want to expand their knowledge. Plato uses simple examples to help the reader understand his logic on why humans do not expand their knowledge.
Plato's Allegory of a Cave, Wachowski's Matrix, and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time
Artificial Intelligence is a term not too widely used in today’s society. With today’s technology we haven’t found a way to enable someone to leave their physical body and let their mind survive within a computer. Could it be possible? Maybe someday, but for now it’s just in theory. The novel by William Gibson, Neuromancer, has touched greatly on the idea of artificial intelligence. He describes it as a world where many things are possible. By simply logging on the computer, it opens up a world we could never comprehend. The possibilities are endless in the world of William Gibson.
In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes states “I have a clear and distinct idea of myself, in as far as I am only a thinking and unextended thing, and as, on the other hand, I possess a distinct idea of body, in as far as it is only an extended and unthinking thing”. [1] The concept that the mind is an intangible, thinking entity while the body is a tangible entity not capable of thought is known as Cartesian Dualism. The purpose of this essay is to examine how Descartes tries to prove that the mind or soul is, in its essential nature, entirely distinct from the
The traditional notion that seeks to compare human minds, with all its intricacies and biochemical functions, to that of artificially programmed digital computers, is self-defeating and it should be discredited in dialogs regarding the theory of artificial intelligence. This traditional notion is akin to comparing, in crude terms, cars and aeroplanes or ice cream and cream cheese. Human mental states are caused by various behaviours of elements in the brain, and these behaviours in are adjudged by the biochemical composition of our brains, which are responsible for our thoughts and functions. When we discuss mental states of systems it is important to distinguish between human brains and that of any natural or artificial organisms which is said to have central processing systems (i.e. brains of chimpanzees, microchips etc.). Although various similarities may exist between those systems in terms of functions and behaviourism, the intrinsic intentionality within those systems differ extensively. Although it may not be possible to prove that whether or not mental states exist at all in systems other than our own, in this paper I will strive to present arguments that a machine that computes and responds to inputs does indeed have a state of mind, but one that does not necessarily result in a form of mentality. This paper will discuss how the states and intentionality of digital computers are different from the states of human brains and yet they are indeed states of a mind resulting from various functions in their central processing systems.
In book seven of ‘The Republic’, Plato presents possibly one of the most prominent metaphors in Western philosophy to date titled ‘Allegory of the Cave’.
The entire world depends on computers and we always take answers from the computer because we think computers don't make mistakes. Even while I am typing this essay, the computer is helping me to get a result better than my results without the aid of a computer. it is said that the human mind will never be replaced by the computer because we are the ones that created them. we only know the computer wins is when it outsmarts us but till now, we are winning. Computers can calculate and evaluate problems that humans can barely think of, yet even come close to. Maybe mankind could calculate the problems that a computer can, they will always be solved way faster by the computer. Humans want the computers to do the work for them, thinking that sitting and watching everything being done in ...
Rene Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher believed that the origin of knowledge comes from within the mind, a single indisputable fact to build on that can be gained through individual reflection. His Discourse on Method (1637) and Meditations (1641) contain his important philosophical theories. Intending to extend mathematical method to all areas of human knowledge, Descartes discarded the authoritarian systems of the scholastic philosophers and began with universal doubt. Only one thing cannot be doubted: doubt itself. Therefore, the doubter must exist. This is the kernel of his famous assertion Cogito, ergo sum (I am thinking, therefore I am existing). From this certainty Descartes expanded knowledge, step by step, to admit the existence of God (as the first cause) and the reality of the physical world, which he held to be mechanistic and entirely divorced from the mind; the only connection between the two is the intervention of God.
“Cogito ego sum” - this is a famous quote from Rene Descartes. This quote means," I think, therefore, I am." His beliefs are considered to be epistemological and he is also considered as the father of modern philosophy. In his letter of meditation, he writes about what he believes to be true and what is not true. He writes about starting a new foundation. This meant that he was going to figure out what is true and what is false.
Once more, yes we are too dependent on computers in light of the fact that the human cerebrum, which computes this magnificent world unconsciously in the almost insensible way, lets us enjoy, live and create. Works Cited Meece, Mickey. " Lenses to ease the strain from staring at screens. " New York Times 15 Mar. 2012: B9(L) -.