Expanding Nozick's Arguments Against the Experience Machine

Hooking yourself up to the Experience Machine for the rest of your life, as Robert Nozick argues

in "Anarchy, State, and Utopia," is not a good idea. Nozick presents several reasons for his

position, including the fact that one would be giving up their ability to make real choices and that

the experiences in the machine would be predetermined, lacking genuine experiences of making

choices, and engaging in genuine moral action. However, there is another important reason that

Nozick overlooks, which is the potential for the Experience Machine to alter an individual's

personality and identity.

"Plugging into the machine is a kind of suicide” (Nozick, 1974, p. 43).

If one were to hook themselves up to the Experience Machine for the rest of their lives, it would

inhibit their personal development and growth. The individual's personality and identity would

not grow in the same way that they would if they were outside of the machine. To put it another

way, a person who spends their entire life in the machine would be unable to experience the

natural progression of life and personal development, such as growing older and becoming more

mature. The machine would prevent a person from learning and developing essential life skills

such as problem-solving, decision-making, and emotional regulation. These capabilities are

essential for living a fulfilled and successful life. As a consequence of this, it may be challenging

for a person who has spent their entire life hooked up to the machine to readjust to life outside of

the machine in the event that they choose to do so at some point in the future.

Moreover, if the machine has the ability to alter an individual's personality and identity, it could

pose a risk to society as a whole. The potential for a society full of people unable to function in it

or contribute to it because they opted to plug themselves into the machine has been raised.
Another potential outcome is a society where people are unable to form meaningful relationships

with one another because their experiences and identities are manufactured.

While Nozick makes a number of compelling arguments against becoming permanently attached

to the Experience Machine, he fails to consider how doing so might compromise an individual's

sense of who they are and how they relate to the world. This is a threat to everyone in the

community, not just the individual. Therefore, it is not a good choice for people who want to live

a meaningful and authentic life.

Works Cited

Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Basic Books, 42-43.