Comments on: With Josh Knobe on Empiricism in Philosophy and Social Science http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/ The Sweet Release of Reason Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:11:50 +0000 hourly 1 By: Julie A Frazier http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16955 Julie A Frazier Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:41:05 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16955 god blesss your blog :) god blesss your blog :)

]]> By: sandra0493 http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16954 sandra0493 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:09:38 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16954 great article!, grats for u site :) great article!, grats for u site :)

]]> By: Johny http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16953 Johny Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:56:45 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16953 Joshua speaks funny :P<br>Anyhows, congrats on the .. " interview ", but I guess you didnt cover all the main facts. Joshua speaks funny :P
Anyhows, congrats on the .. ” interview “, but I guess you didnt cover all the main facts.

]]> By: The Drunken Priest http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16952 The Drunken Priest Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:01:46 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16952 I'm sorry. My left brain interpreter has to object. Let’s assume the walls of my reality come crashing down and I wake up in the laboratory as Knobe says. Why would I take my monitor’s word that I am a beta? Shouldn’t I be a tad suspicious of anything they say? (Think of it this way, Knobe’s thought experiment would have been the optimal strategy for the malevolent artificial intelligence in the Matrix. Whenever some poor soul like Neo wakes up in his pod, tell him it’s not worth waking up. That’ll keep him there.) Furthermore, doesn’t a willingness to reboot demonstrate a woeful lack of curiosity? It is true, reality may be an ugly sight. Have you been to Los Angeles? But wouldn’t it be worth investigating? What strange civilization produced these machines you find yourself in? And why? These questions lead to another weakness in the Knobe results: the fear of self-knowledge. Contrary to the herd, I would want to know who I was before I entered the machine. Why did I program it the way I did? (Why so average? Why not a Nobel winner?) Or: why did I program my loved ones that way? Am I my parents’ creator? Why did I make them that way? Answers to all these questions would be interesting and they would shed some light on who I really am.<br><br>So I propose Knobe tries another experiment to follow this one up, asking respondents questions like, “Would you care to know who you were in this reality before you signed up to Recall?” and “Would you want to investigate this new world?” <br><br>Ask those questions. Some will still want to return to the machines. It cannot be denied. Some need security blankets. But my bet is that most will still want a taste of reality, however small and brief. I'm sorry. My left brain interpreter has to object. Let’s assume the walls of my reality come crashing down and I wake up in the laboratory as Knobe says. Why would I take my monitor’s word that I am a beta? Shouldn’t I be a tad suspicious of anything they say? (Think of it this way, Knobe’s thought experiment would have been the optimal strategy for the malevolent artificial intelligence in the Matrix. Whenever some poor soul like Neo wakes up in his pod, tell him it’s not worth waking up. That’ll keep him there.) Furthermore, doesn’t a willingness to reboot demonstrate a woeful lack of curiosity? It is true, reality may be an ugly sight. Have you been to Los Angeles? But wouldn’t it be worth investigating? What strange civilization produced these machines you find yourself in? And why? These questions lead to another weakness in the Knobe results: the fear of self-knowledge. Contrary to the herd, I would want to know who I was before I entered the machine. Why did I program it the way I did? (Why so average? Why not a Nobel winner?) Or: why did I program my loved ones that way? Am I my parents’ creator? Why did I make them that way? Answers to all these questions would be interesting and they would shed some light on who I really am.

So I propose Knobe tries another experiment to follow this one up, asking respondents questions like, “Would you care to know who you were in this reality before you signed up to Recall?” and “Would you want to investigate this new world?”

Ask those questions. Some will still want to return to the machines. It cannot be denied. Some need security blankets. But my bet is that most will still want a taste of reality, however small and brief.

]]> By: The Status Quo Machine « The Drunken Priest & Timid Scholar http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16950 The Status Quo Machine « The Drunken Priest & Timid Scholar Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:17:44 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16950 [...] out for empirical moral philosophy on his diavlogs at Bloggingheads. This week he and Joshua Knobe chat about some research concerning Robert Nozick’s Experience Machine. It seems little Bobby [...] [...] out for empirical moral philosophy on his diavlogs at Bloggingheads. This week he and Joshua Knobe chat about some research concerning Robert Nozick’s Experience Machine. It seems little Bobby [...]

]]> By: Greg N. http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/09/09/with-josh-knobe-on-empiricism-in-philosophy-and-social-science/#comment-16951 Greg N. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:00:05 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/?p=1619#comment-16951 But you didn't ask him about his role as Siler on the hit show "Heroes." But you didn't ask him about his role as Siler on the hit show “Heroes.”

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