Nine thought experiments on philosophy that can not be slept as much as you think

ByDavide Restivo

Even if I go to sleep with entering the futon, it is sometimes that time has passed considerably if I notice it because I tried and error too much while not thinking about figuring out what I care about. I can not get to sleep easily if I think about that "Nine thought experiments on philosophy"GeorgedvorskyIt is open to the public.

9 Philosophical Thought Experiments That Will Keep You Up at Night
http://io9.com/eh-wont-really-keep-me-awake-1-mafia-solved-it-have-1345062629

◆ 1:Prisoner's dilemma

ByLuca Rossato

"Prisoner's dilemma" is an important concept in game theory, is whether the two prisoners placed under certain circumstances continue to keep silence or admit their sins. However, prisoners are in a situation that they do not know what an accomplice is answering.

Briefly describing the prisoner's dilemma, two bank robbers are arrested and taken to a separate interrogation room. In the interrogation room the police inform the two of them, "You can choose whether you admit the crime or remain silent.If you admit the crime and you do not admit the accomplice, I will cover your accomplice with the imprisonment of you. In other words, you are released, I will propose that if they do not admit their sins they will be shorter than the original imprisonment, and if they admit their sins, they will be inherently in prison. "

The best choice for prisoners seems to accept a brief imprisonment without admitting each other's sins, but as long as you pursue only your own interests you will end up with a betrayal of each other. This isdilemmaIt is because it is called. A prisoner's dilemma is given inadequate information and in the case where the decision of himself and the other person greatly influences the result, human beings prioritize their own interests and, as a result, the best It tells us that you can not make a choice.

◆ 2:Mary's room

BySocar Myles

"Mary's room" is a thinking experiment conducted by Frank Jackson. A woman named Mary was born in a black and white room and grew up watching black and white TV only. Mary has never had one since he was borncolorI have not seen. Mary studies black-and-white books and has professional knowledge about visual neurophysiology. For example, when looking at red tomato, information on color is transmitted to the brain, how it is transmitted to the brain, and with the eyesRed colorI am familiar with the process of visually recognizing. Then, Mary jumps out of the black and white room and is the first in the outside worldcolorWhat will happen if I see it? Can Mary learn something from his visual experience? My thought experiment is Mary's room.

Mary has expertise that is inevitable to anyone about visual neurophysiology, but I have never experienced "seeing colors". This thinking experiment shows that "subjective experience" contains information that can not be known from "objective observation". There is something similar to Japanese proverb "There is one thing to see.

◆ 3:Beetle in a box

ByGustavo Durán

"Beetle in a box"Private linguisticsIt is known as Marie 's room a bit like it.Ludwig WittgensteinThis thought experiment proposed by Mr. Miwako first imagines a group of several people gathered. Everyone in the group is given a box containing beetle, but no one knows what the beetle looks like. Also, each box contains a different beetle, and other group members can only talk about beetles in their box. So, the information of the beetle that the members of the group got is different, and for them the beetle is simply "Things in the box".

This thought experiment shows that the beetle resembles the human mind, the other human heart can only be known to the person, and it can not be predicted what others are thinking. Even if you can see what others are experiencing, I do not know how it feels to the experience in my mind. This concept is a consciousness problemQualia experienceIt is strongly related to.

◆ 4:Chinese room

BySubZeroConsciousness

philosopherJohn SarlIn the thought experiment of the room of the Chinese announced, the Englishman who can understand only one English is confined in the small room first. From the door of the room you will receive a piece of paper printed with one Chinese. An Englishman says to write a reply by looking at the manual book on Chinese, which is the only one in the room. However, if this letter is written in the manual, it is only written that it is written, such as writing such letters. British people will communicate with outside people, watching manual books. Outside people think that the person in the room understands Chinese, but in fact the English people who can not understand Chinese actually repeat the work as per the manual.

This concept is analogy with British as CPU and room as computer. Although the program may be able to identify the language, it is an unrivaled theory against artificial intelligence in a sense that it does not understand the meaning, and functionalism is a concept that claims that it is wrong.

◆ 5: Experience machine

BySudhee

A philosopher Robert Nozick booksAnarchy · State · UtopiaIf you have a machine that gives you all the experience you want by accessing the human brain with electrodes with the experienced machine advocated in it, will humans run more? The movie "matrixIt is a thought experiment like ". However, humans who are connected to the electrodes are trapped in small tanks and are unconscious in the real world. In other words, you can experience what you want only in the head, not doing anything in practice. Humans inherently have the property of choosing better ones, but what about human dignity in the case of experienced machines? The problem is raised. For this reason, among philosophers it seems like a difficult question that is not answered easily.

◆ 6:Trocot problem

ByPhill.d

Trocke problem, the British philosopherPhilippa FootIn the thought experiment about ethics brought by, one truck goes out of control due to breakdown of the brake, the tip of the track where the truck is swiftly moving is branched into two, five people are on one side and the other on the other side One worker is working. Under such circumstances, what kind of action should a person who can move a branch point switch take? In short, it means "Can we sacrifice others to help someone?"

UtilitarianismIf it is a person, it is an idea that one should be sacrificed and five people should be rescued, but according to the theory of duty, someone should not be used as a means for the purpose, and should not do anything. From this thought experiment, it can be understood how human moral can not be judged only by positive and false, and how complex it is.

◆ 7: Spider of toilet bowl

ByVinoth Chandar

Thomas Negel"Spider of Spades" brought up in the paper is a thought experiment to ask about the meaning of life. Negel, who had a special class at the school during the summer vacation, encounters a spider at the school toilet. The spider lived in a dirty place called a toilet bowl, and he did not seem to be enjoying life very much. A few days later, Negel tries to help the spider, but it kills it accidentally. The breath spider continued to be left on the floor until it was cleaned after a week.

Negel isFavorI rescued a spider from the result but the spider died and it did not go exactly what Negel wanted. "Spiders of toilet bowls" are casting the question of how we can know what others really want.

◆ 8: Exchange Theory

ByValerie

In the exchange theory, in the world where only people who "do not mind the taste of meat at all" live,livestockConcept that the number of wild animals decreases as there are no animals as. Once a British female novelistVirginia Woolf"Social Rights and Duties" written by Leslie Stephen, my father in 1896, "The discussion on vegetarianism is totally out of the question, because that discussion is a result of human nature. If people in the world believe in Judaism forbidden to eat pigs, there will be no pigs in the world. "

Wolf's claim seems to be contradictory at first sight, but it is not the case. For example, the fact that 20 billion people suffering from poverty live on the earth is more wonderful than 10 billion rich people live in? What do you think about those who thought that 10 billion rich people would be wonderful, 10 billion lives that even existed were not allowed? Is it possible in the first place to think about the life that did not exist?

◆ 9: Primary condition

ByLotus Carroll

American philosopherJohn RawlsThe "original state" brought up by the "original state" means that human beings lost knowledge about the person's personality, social position such as race, nationality, property etc.Veil of ignoranceIt is wrapped in the situation. The principle of justice chosen by people under this circumstance is based on the principles involved in equal freedom, the concept concerning the distribution of social and economic inequality by the government. According to Rolls, humans tend to wish for a social system that guarantees basic rights and gives fair education and employment opportunities.