Brain in a vat
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| - | # The theory that the [[self]] is the only thing that can be known and verified. | ||
| - | # The theory or view that the self is the only [[reality]]. | ||
| - | # By extension, extreme [[selfishness]] with [[indulgence]] of all of one's own desires, feelings, and instincts. | ||
| - | '''Solipsism''' ([[Latin]]: ''solus'', alone + ''ipse'', self) is the [[philosophy|philosophical]] idea that "My mind is the only thing that I know exists." Solipsism is an [[epistemology|epistemological]] or [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] position that knowledge of anything outside the [[mind]] is unjustified. [[Philosophical skepticism|The external world]] and [[problem of other minds|other minds]] cannot be known and might not exist. In the history of philosophy, solipsism has served as a [[skeptical hypothesis]]. | + | In [[philosophy]], the '''brain in a vat''' is an element used in a variety of [[thought experiment]]s intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning. It is drawn from the idea, common to many [[science fiction]] stories, that a [[mad scientist]], [[machine]] or other entity might remove a person's [[brain]] from the body, suspend it in a vat of life-sustaining liquid, and connect its [[neurons]] by wires to a [[supercomputer]] which would provide it with [[action potential|electrical impulses]] identical to those the brain normally receives. According to such stories, the computer would then be [[simulated reality|simulating reality]] (including appropriate responses to the brain's own output) and the person with the "disembodied" brain would continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences without these being related to objects or events in the real world. |
| - | == Arts and culture == | + | The simplest use of brain-in-a-vat scenarios is as an [[argument]] for [[philosophical skepticism]] and [[solipsism]]. A simple version of this runs as follows: Since the brain in a vat gives and receives exactly the same impulses as it would if it were in a skull, and since these are its only way of interacting with its environment, then it is not possible to tell, ''from the perspective of that brain'', whether it is in a skull or a vat. Yet in the first case most of the person's beliefs may be true (if he believes, say, that he is walking down the street, or eating ice-cream); in the latter case they are false. Since the argument says one cannot know whether he or she is a brain in a vat, then he or she cannot know whether most of his or her beliefs might be completely false. Since, in principle, it is impossible to rule out oneself being a brain in a vat, there cannot be good grounds for believing any of the things one believes; one certainly cannot ''know'' them. |
| - | * [[Ian M. Banks]] novel ''[[Against a Dark Background]]'' | + | |
| - | * Kurt Vonnegut in novel ''[[Breakfast of Champions]]'' | + | The brain-in-a-vat is a contemporary version of the argument given in [[Buddhism|buddhist]] [[Maya (illusion)|Maya illusion]], [[Plato]]'s [[Allegory of the Cave]], [[Zhuangzi]]'s "[[Zhuangzi#The butterfly dream|Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly]]", and the [[evil demon]] in [[René Descartes]]' ''[[Meditations on First Philosophy]]''. |
| - | * [[Schizophrenia]] has been used in fiction as a plot device to explore solipsistic ideas (e.g. the novel ''[[Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club]]'' or ''[[A Beautiful Mind (film)|A Beautiful Mind]]'') | + | |
| - | * [[The Wachowski Brothers]]' film, ''[[The Matrix]]'' | + | == See also == |
| - | * [[Christopher Nolan]]'s film, ''[[Inception]]'' | + | *[[Dream argument]] |
| - | * Jonathan Parks-Ramage story, "Solid & Stripes", published in issue #2 of [[nthWORD]] | + | *[[Experience Machine]] |
| - | * [[Ray Bradbury]]'s short story "No Particular Night or Morning" from his 1951 book ''[[The Illustrated Man]]'' | + | *[[Evil demon]] |
| - | * [[Nine Inch Nails]]' song, ''[[Only (Nine Inch Nails song)|Only]]'' | + | *[[Internalism and externalism]] |
| - | * [[Solipsist]] novel by Henry [[Rollins]] | + | *[[Externalism]] |
| + | *[[Neurally controlled animat]] | ||
| + | *[[Simulated reality]] | ||
| + | *[[Skeptical hypothesis]] | ||
| + | *[[Solipsism]] | ||
| + | *[[Spock's Brain]] episode of [[Star Trek]] | ||
| + | *[[The Matrix (series)]] | ||
| + | *[[Source Code]] film | ||
| + | *[[Technological singularity]] | ||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Anathema]] | ||
| - | * [[Alfred Binet]] – The mind and the brain | ||
| - | * [[Aseity]] | ||
| - | * [[Brain in a vat]] | ||
| - | * [[Cartesian skepticism]] | ||
| - | * [[Consensus reality]] | ||
| - | * [[Dream argument]] | ||
| - | * [[Empiricism]] | ||
| - | * [[Falsifiability]] | ||
| - | * [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein's]] [[World as Myth]] | ||
| - | * [[Idealism]] | ||
| - | * [[Immaterialism]] | ||
| - | * [[Metaphysical solipsism]] | ||
| - | * [[Methodological solipsism]] | ||
| - | * [[Objective idealism]] | ||
| - | * [[Panpsychism]] | ||
| - | * [[Phenomenalism]] | ||
| - | * [[Philosophical realism]] | ||
| - | * [[Primary/secondary quality distinction]] – [[John Locke|John Locke's]] response to solipsism | ||
| - | * [[Problem of other minds]] | ||
| - | * [[Henry Rollins|Henry Rollins's]] ''Solipsist'' | ||
| - | * [[Solipsism syndrome]] | ||
| - | * [[Subjective idealism]] | ||
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Revision as of 16:12, 2 June 2011
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In philosophy, the brain in a vat is an element used in a variety of thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning. It is drawn from the idea, common to many science fiction stories, that a mad scientist, machine or other entity might remove a person's brain from the body, suspend it in a vat of life-sustaining liquid, and connect its neurons by wires to a supercomputer which would provide it with electrical impulses identical to those the brain normally receives. According to such stories, the computer would then be simulating reality (including appropriate responses to the brain's own output) and the person with the "disembodied" brain would continue to have perfectly normal conscious experiences without these being related to objects or events in the real world.
The simplest use of brain-in-a-vat scenarios is as an argument for philosophical skepticism and solipsism. A simple version of this runs as follows: Since the brain in a vat gives and receives exactly the same impulses as it would if it were in a skull, and since these are its only way of interacting with its environment, then it is not possible to tell, from the perspective of that brain, whether it is in a skull or a vat. Yet in the first case most of the person's beliefs may be true (if he believes, say, that he is walking down the street, or eating ice-cream); in the latter case they are false. Since the argument says one cannot know whether he or she is a brain in a vat, then he or she cannot know whether most of his or her beliefs might be completely false. Since, in principle, it is impossible to rule out oneself being a brain in a vat, there cannot be good grounds for believing any of the things one believes; one certainly cannot know them.
The brain-in-a-vat is a contemporary version of the argument given in buddhist Maya illusion, Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi dreamed he was a butterfly", and the evil demon in René Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy.
See also
- Dream argument
- Experience Machine
- Evil demon
- Internalism and externalism
- Externalism
- Neurally controlled animat
- Simulated reality
- Skeptical hypothesis
- Solipsism
- Spock's Brain episode of Star Trek
- The Matrix (series)
- Source Code film
- Technological singularity
