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we encountered Putnam’s argument that the brain-in-a-vat hypothesis is contradictory based on externalism, his theory that the meaning of a word depends on its external context. Putnam suggests that the beliefs of a brain in a vat are about the electronic impulses in its environment, and that these beliefs are mostly true. This is a version of the no-illusion view that can potentially drive an entirely different response to skepticism (though Putnam doesn’t make the connection to skepticism). Instead of arguing that the brain-in-a-vat hypothesis is contradictory, one could argue that the ...more
Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
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