I generally agree with the forum chair about the true meanings of life - to understand ‘how’ and ‘what’ are we shaped in different situations throughout our lives. These are believed to be some of the reasons some people do not think going into the experience machine is acceptable. While the machine seemingly provides participants with positive and favourable sensations, they are all ‘manmade’ experiences which are pre-designed and functioned in a specific way which has no alternative once the programme is set. Human beings are said to be more flexible as we do make changes when we faces difficulties or when we knew that working in another way could benefit us. However, with the machine, one cannot function as a ‘proper human’ who has his own views and the ability to make positive changes to his own life. Indeed, the machine distances human from the reality and negatively affect the experience people are gaining, as Nozick mentioned, ‘there is no actual contact with any deeper reality, though the experience of it can be simulated’, what we are going to experience are always limited and unreal in the machine.

‘People come to our lives with a reason’, this saying always pops up when I was reading the journal. In my opinion, subjective experience is crucially important in the determination of a person’s level of happiness. People experience ups and downs in different walks of their lives. While Hedonism suggests that ‘pleasure is the good’ where something bad will not do any good to one’s well-being, Nozick is right to fight against Hedonism that negative consequences from our experience also contribute to the well-being of oneself. For instance, when we did poorly in an examination which is considered as a bad experience, we learn from the negative experience that one needs to work even harder to achieve better results. This also shapes us into the person we want to be and the personality that oneself uphold. We need to experience fully and engage in the whole experience in our own in order to gain the utmost of an experience, which contributes to our total happiness.

Siu Chi Ying Jenny