The Dual Nature Of A Human Being: Material And Spiritual Parts - Essay Example

The Dual Nature Of A Human Being: Material And Spiritual Parts It would not be a mistake to suggest that the nature of a human being is dual. Indeed, there is material part to it as well as there is spiritual part. It is often suggested that the combination of these two parts forms the true value of a human being. Nevertheless, there is might be a situation when one of the parts is more emphasized and it is virtually impossible to determine whether this is good or bad. Ethics has developed numerous approaches that would provide people with well supported judgment with regard to their lives. There is a peculiar experiment that is developed by Robert Nozick. In spite of the fact that it may not be performed for real, the ideas which were presented by the above mentioned philosopher test many essential values that the human perception of the world is firmly based upon. This paper will show that I would like to be attached to the experience machine since it will bring the biggest amount of happiness for me. Thus, it must be noted that Hedonistic Utilitarianism is the ethical approach which is able to explain this situation easily. Thus, according to it, the amount of happiness that my decision will generate is likely to outweigh any negative consequences that it might bring which provides ground to conclude that this decision will be the best (Robinson 56). Indeed, while some people, such as my friends or relatives, will think that I turned dead (as there is going back one’s a person is connected to the machine), but the joy which I will receive will sure be bigger than their sadness. Another point that should be mentioned is that my decision will be thought through and all the consequences of it will be carefully considered. In other words, connecting to the above mentioned machine will not be seen as some form of escapism, but rather a deliberate effort to improve the amount of pleasure in life. It may be particularly important to state some of the idea which would support the thesis. To begin with, one should point out that I will definitely do my best while being connected to the machine to experience events that will make my life full of pleasure. In other words, I will use the opportunity that I have to its fullest and make sure that the life which I will live there will be much better that the one I lived in the material world. I will put efforts to analyze my soul and will surely find particular joy in it (Grube and Cooper 118). Secondly, as it has already been stated earlier, my joy will surely outweigh the negative consequences. For example, my parents will not longer have a child who will interact with them; my friend will not be able to spend time with me. It is quite obvious that all this will make them sad; however, I believe that they want me to be happy and they will be delighted to know that once connected I have been extremely happy. This means that partially what I will do will comply with their idea of happiness for me. However, it is obvious that there might be certain objections made to my decision. For example, some people might say that I will made sad a tremendous amount of people and their combined sadness will outweigh the joy that I will receive inside the machine. In addition to that, others may point out that fact that the very process of comparing joy and sadness is quite unreliable since it is virtually impossible to compare concepts that do not have a quantitative measure (Sandel 41). This means that the fundamental belief which supports my decision has a major fallacy which undermines it and makes it unreliable. Finally, the opponents of might decision will argue that I will only be developing my soul and not my body, thus losing the balance between the two essential elements of the human nature. In spite of the fact that the above mentioned ideas do make sense and are quite logical, it is possible to articulate some objections to them. Thus, I am strongly convinced that the number of people who really care about me and my happiness is limited to my family and closed friends. That is why they will be most affected by my decision. In other words, the impact that a single person can make on others is exaggerated in the objections above. Secondly, it is absolutely true that one can not come up with a perfectly correct way to measure joy and happiness; nevertheless, one can hardly reject the fact that the above mentioned states vary in terms of degree of intensity. That is why it is logical to talk about small, moderate and extreme joy or sadness. This means that these categories might be used to compare them. Finally, being connected to the experience machine will surely allow me to develop my mind rather than my body. I acknowledge the fact that in this case the balance will be distorted. Nevertheless, the degree of development of the mind might outweigh the necessity to develop one’s body. Having examined all the evidence which was brought up in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to a conclusion that the Nozick’s experience machine surely makes people evaluate their position on the nature of happiness. Personally, I would like to be connected to machine since it will increase the amount of joy in my life to a maximum. Indeed, I think that my friends and relatives, even though they will miss me will surely want me to be absolutely happy. What is more important is that from the point of view of Hedonistic Utilitarism, the decision that I make will be seen as ethical, since the joy that I brings will outweigh the negative results of it. While some might object to my desire to be connected to the machine, suggesting that it will forget about developing my body, I am strongly convinced that the pleasure that I will be able to achieve with the help of it will outweigh that. References Grube, G., & Cooper, J. (2002). Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Robinson, D. (2012). Ethics for everyday life: A practical guide. London: Icon. Sandel, M. (2009). Justice: What's the right thing to do? London: Macmillan. Read More