Am I a brain in a vat?

Question asked by: mrquestion

Asked on: 12 Jan 2010

OK so this is a classic thought experiment in philosophy: could you be a brain in a vat?

This is inspired basically by the rise of scientific abilities in the 18th and 19th centuries where it could be envisaged a scientist having a brain in a lab with electrodes or other technology stimulating certain responses in the brain.

The question is, if you were such a brain, could you know you were a brain in a vat or would you believe you were living independently in a body.

The answer is that most philosophers would say that you couldn't know with absolute certainty you weren't a brain in vat as all the sensory allusions of having a body, etc, could feasibly be fed into the brain in a vat. However it serves no purpose in life to think you are a brain in a vat and therefore one should live pragmatically and not think about that possibility too long.
By: knowitall
Replied at: 12 Jan 2010
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