Posts Tagged the pursuit of pleasure

Inception (and the experience machine, utilitarianism, and existentialism)

SelfAwarePattern’s post from the other day on the problem of solipsism got me thinking about (my favorite solipsistic movie – no apologies to fans of the Matrix) Inception, and its tension with a thought experiment meant to undermine hedonistic utilitarianism posited by Robert Nozick. The Experience Machine Nozick asks us to consider whether we would […]

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

6 Comments

American Hustle (and hedonism, lying, and the American Dream)

I recently saw “American Hustle”, a Hollywood picture about FBI agents staging sting operations to convict politicians of corruption charges, aided by a con-artist making good on a plea-bargain, played masterfully by Christian Bale. I became convinced Bale was a fantastic actor by his stellar performance in “The Fighter”, wherein he plays the wry and […]

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Comments