Brain-In-A-Vat Argument For External World Skepticism

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Epistemology is also known as the theory of knowledge. This is a branch of philosophy that deals with questions about knowledge. Epistemologists main concern or topic of interest are questions on the nature of knowledge and rational belief. There are many views that could be discussed. In this paper we will discuss a view called the brain-in-a-vat argument for external world skepticism. Explanation: The brain-in-a-vat theory, by G. E. Moore, is a theory that would object to reliabilism. It can also be used in defense of external world skepticism. Reliabilism is a theory that knowledge is justified true belief, but justification depends on the reliability of the process. Reliabilism is also an externalism point of view. Externalism is the …show more content…

Many people have seen the movie “The Matrix” which is basically the brain-in-a-vat argument, so even if people do not believe it, they have thought about it to some extent. The movie is placed in the future after aliens have taken over Earth and place humans in giant embryonic sacs, sending electrical impulses to the brain to stimulate the senses. When the aliens are talking to Morpheus, they explain that the first simulation they did was what some would call heaven and so peaceful that no one would believe it to be true, so the experiment never worked out. When they changed the experiences to have pain that is when the humans started to except the world as real, and most people never questioned it. Even though this is obviously not an original thought, I believe this makes sense. If we were a brain-in-a-vat experiment why do we feel pain, anger, and sadness so much but others almost not at all. It would seem an easier procedure to stimulate just one or two senses instead of going to all this detail to make everything coincide with each other. If the aliens, we will just use aliens to make the reading easier, wanted to use us for something and keep us alive why would they put so much effort into making our lives as complex as possible. If we would not accept all that happiness, then why not try just pain? What would be the point of keeping all these humans, or brains, alive when all they do

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