You might think that the switch from evil demons to brains in vats to simulations is a mere change in packaging, but there is one respect in which the use of modern technology makes the argument more powerful. Because the evil-demon hypothesis is so fanciful, Descartes was reluctant to put too much weight on it. It was important to him that his skeptical concerns be grounded in reasonable doubts that he should take seriously, given his beliefs. He gave more weight to the deceiving-God hypothesis because he believed in an all-powerful God and thought it reasonable that God would have the power
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