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【听力文段】mp3

Imagine if you could plug your brain into a machine that would bring you ultimate pleasure for the rest of your life. If you were given the choice to sign up for that kind of existence, would you? That's the question philosopher Robert Nozick posed through a thought experiment he called the Experience Machine.

The experiment asks us　to consider a world in which scientists have developed a machine that would simulate real life, while guaranteeing experiences of only pleasure and never pain. The catch? You have to permanently leave reality behind, but you'll hardly know the difference. Your experiences will be indistinguishable from reality. Life's natural ups and downs will just be replaced with an endless series of ups.

Sounds great, right? It may seem like a tempting offer, but perhaps it's not as ideal as it sounds. The experiment was actually designed to refute a philosophical notion. called hedonism. According to hedonists, maximizing net pleasure is the most important thing in life, because pleasure is the greatest good that life has to offer. For hedonists, the best choice that a person could make for himself, is one that brings him the greatest possible amount of pleasure, while bringing him no pain.

Limitless pleasure minus zero pain equals maximum net pleasure, or in other words, the exact scenario the Experience Machine offers. Therefore, if hedonism is your philosophy of choice, plugging in would be a no-brainer. But what if there's more to life than just pleasure? That's what Nozick believed he was demonstrating through his Experience Machine thought experiment. Despite the machine's promise of maximum net pleasure, he still found reason not to plug in, as do many other experimenters who consider the proposition. But what could possibly dissuade us from choosing a future of ultimate pleasure?

【单词短语】

1. sign up for

2. thought experiment

3. catch

4. refute

5. notion

6. hedonism

7. net

8. no-brainer

【地道美语，长句精练】

1. Imagine if you could plug your brain into a machine.

2. You'll hardly know the difference.

3. But what if there's more to life than just pleasure?

【课堂纠音，上节连读】

1. He has a penchant for musical references.

2. He takes refuge in an exquisite private library.

3. These challenges offer no easy answers.