Instead of 550, it should be 600 or slightly over. Make the last page a citation page and include one citation along the lines of a quote or action made by Nozick.
PROMPT
In “The Experience Machine” Robert Nozick gives a thought experiment that is meant to offer an objection to hedonism, the claim that pleasure is the good. In the paper, reconstruct the argument against hedonism based on the experience machine and give an objection or defense.
1) A reconstruction of the argument for the conclusion. The reconstruction should include any background assumptions or principles behind the argument, the premises of the argument, any inferences between premises, and how the premises together entail the conclusion.
2a) An objection to the argument. The objection should either state the argument is invalid or unsound. If you believe the argument is invalid, you need to say why. If you believe the argument is unsound, you need to point out at least one false premise and say why that premise is false.
OR
2b) A defense of the argument. This defense should clearly state why the argument succeeds backed up with good reasoning or evidence. Do not simply give your opinion on the argument.
Sample Solution
Principia Ethica (1903) Moore argued that just because something is, it doesnât mean that we ought; just because something is in our nature, it doesnât mean that we have to do it. In Mooreâs words, âmoral obligation is heavenlyâ: a natural property does not necessarily lead to moral judgement. Nielsen further developed Naturalistic Fallacy when he said, âThese statements can very well be true but no moral or normative conclusions follow from themâ. Another weakness that has been found in NML is the over-simplicity of it. In their book, The Puzzle of Ethics, Vardy and Grosch argue that Aquinasâs theory is un-holistic and only focuses on parts of human nature as opposed to it as a whole. For one, homosexuality is not considered by the primary precept of religion. The lesbian country pop artist Vicky Beeching claimed that her homosexuality was a part of her âGod-wired designâ, and so surely Aquinas should have taken account of this when developing his theory? Vardy and Grosch further took the example of the sexual organs which, they observed, were used for things other than just sexual relations. The fact that there are gaps in Aquinasâs theory suggest that he could not tailor it to meet the genuine requirements of human nature. People act so differently that I think it would be ludicrous to assign just one fixed nature to all: it simply is not logical. Therefore, this weakness is able to greatly reduce the reliability of NML. Lastly, we must consider the question: is everything natural good? I think it would ludicrous to conclude that cancer, tsunamis and earthquakes were good. This query greatly weakens Aquinasâs theory because he assumes that everything in the world is good, and everything can achieve goodness by fulfilling its purpose. Stephen Fry used the specific example of eye-burrowing worms, whose whole existence depends upon nesting in the eyes of children and making them blind. In his words, âWhat sort of God would do this?â. An omnibenevolent God such as the one described in Christianity, and thereby NML, >
Principia Ethica (1903) Moore argued that just because something is, it doesnât mean that we ought; just because something is in our nature, it doesnât mean that we have to do it. In Mooreâs words, âmoral obligation is heavenlyâ: a natural property does not necessarily lead to moral judgement. Nielsen further developed Naturalistic Fallacy when he said, âThese statements can very well be true but no moral or normative conclusions follow from themâ. Another weakness that has been found in NML is the over-simplicity of it. In their book, The Puzzle of Ethics, Vardy and Grosch argue that Aquinasâs theory is un-holistic and only focuses on parts of human nature as opposed to it as a whole. For one, homosexuality is not considered by the primary precept of religion. The lesbian country pop artist Vicky Beeching claimed that her homosexuality was a part of her âGod-wired designâ, and so surely Aquinas should have taken account of this when developing his theory? Vardy and Grosch further took the example of the sexual organs which, they observed, were used for things other than just sexual relations. The fact that there are gaps in Aquinasâs theory suggest that he could not tailor it to meet the genuine requirements of human nature. People act so differently that I think it would be ludicrous to assign just one fixed nature to all: it simply is not logical. Therefore, this weakness is able to greatly reduce the reliability of NML. Lastly, we must consider the question: is everything natural good? I think it would ludicrous to conclude that cancer, tsunamis and earthquakes were good. This query greatly weakens Aquinasâs theory because he assumes that everything in the world is good, and everything can achieve goodness by fulfilling its purpose. Stephen Fry used the specific example of eye-burrowing worms, whose whole existence depends upon nesting in the eyes of children and making them blind. In his words, âWhat sort of God would do this?â. An omnibenevolent God such as the one described in Christianity, and thereby NML, >
