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Ethics boards can often be a real challenge, always blocking the path to exciting experiments. Even when you manage to get approval, real-world complications can make things difficult. To overcome this, we need to refine our thinking to carry out these experiments effectively. Here are ten of the most bizarre thought experiments introduced by philosophers in an attempt to better understand our world.
10. Buridan’s Donkey
A donkey is placed exactly midway between two equally tempting piles of hay. There’s no distinguishing factor between the two. What will the donkey do? The hungrier it becomes, the more urgent its need to eat, making the decision even more crucial. But if there is no difference between the two choices, how can the donkey decide? It will endlessly deliberate until it perishes.
Though this thought experiment is referred to as Buridan’s Ass, it doesn't actually appear in the writings of the 14th-century philosopher. Similar concepts, however, trace back to Aristotle. Perhaps the experiment was meant to test how a real donkey might behave and to explore profound questions surrounding free will. While it's easy enough to find a donkey in academia, the real challenge might be securing identical meals to offer it.
9. Plato’s Cave
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave aims to illustrate his understanding of reality. For Plato, the reality that we perceive through our senses is merely a shadow of a more profound, higher reality. To make this concept more accessible, he framed it as an allegory:
Imagine you are chained in a cave, unable to move your head. The only thing you can see is the wall ahead of you. You can hear others who are also shackled beside you, but you cannot see them. Behind you, a fire casts light onto the wall. As people pass between the fire and the wall, their shadows are projected, and you hear faint sounds. To you, these shadows are the only reality. Then, unexpectedly, you manage to free yourself. You stand, discover the fire, and see the objects that cast the shadows. You even find a way out of the cave. In the sunlight, your eyes are initially overwhelmed, but you soon come to understand the true world. If you were later dragged back into the cave, your eyes would struggle to adjust to the darkness. If you tried to share your newfound understanding of reality with the others still chained, they’d think you were crazy, mock you, or even kill you.
8. Chinese Room
Imagine you cannot speak or read Chinese. You are placed in a room full of books written in Chinese, along with a set of instructions in English guiding your actions. A piece of paper with Chinese characters is passed to you. You follow the instructions, copying out the Chinese symbols according to the rules provided and pass your response back out. To the person outside, it would appear as though you understand Chinese, but in reality, you're just following a set of simple instructions.
This thought experiment, introduced by John Searle, is a response to the Turing Test. The test suggests that if a computer can convince us it's human, then it must be intelligent. However, Searle’s person in the room is acting like a computer, following a set script but lacking any true understanding of what they're doing.
7. Parfit’s Split Brain
Derek Parfit, a philosopher known for his work on Identity theory, has questioned whether a stable identity truly exists over time.
Imagine we perfect brain transplants. Your brain is split in half and each part is placed into a clone of your body. Both individuals wake up, recalling your memories and experiencing your thoughts and feelings, believing they are you. Now, two people claim to be you. Are there now two versions of you, or have you been destroyed by the creation of two half-yous?
6. Swamp Man
In his paper titled 'Knowing One’s Own Mind,' David Donaldson delves deeper into the theory of identity:
One day, while walking in a swamp, Donaldson is struck by lightning and killed. At the same time, a second lightning bolt hits a different part of the swamp. This bolt causes the atoms in that area to rearrange into the exact configuration that Donaldson had before the strike. This new being, the Swamp Man, brushes himself off, walks out of the swamp, and believes himself to be David Donaldson, acting just as he did, unaware of the difference.
Can we claim that David Donaldson has been harmed? Is the Swamp Man truly David Donaldson? Perhaps we’ll need the advent of teleportation before we can resolve this question.
5. Brain In A Vat
What if, right now, you're not actually reading this article on a screen with your eyes? What if you're simply a brain floating in a vat? You might think you’d be able to detect such a scenario, but this vat is a sophisticated machine. Sensory data is being sent directly to your brain. Everything you see, hear, touch, and smell is just electrical signals being fed into your grey matter. If the simulation is flawless and consistent, how could you ever prove that this is not the true nature of your existence?
4. The Utility Monster
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that proposes we should act in a way that maximizes the overall good for the greatest number of people. While this summary may seem ideal, thought experiments can challenge the limitations of Utilitarianism’s practicality.
Imagine creating a being that derives much more utility from things than ordinary people. When we eat a cake, we gain a certain amount of happiness from it, but our creation, the Utility Monster, experiences 1,000 times more happiness. If there’s only one cake, it would be logical to give it to the Utility Monster to maximize utility. If there are two cakes, we should still give both to the Monster, as it will derive more happiness than if we shared them. If the Utility Monster gets more use out of everything than we do, then Utilitarianism could end up making most people unhappy, yet the total happiness in the world would still increase.
3. Mary’s Room
Mary is a renowned scientist who knows everything there is to know about color. She has studied every physical, chemical, and neurophysiological aspect of color in detail. However, there’s one missing piece: she has done all her research in a black and white room. One day, Mary is let out of the room and sees color for the first time. She doesn’t learn anything new, as she already knew all the facts, but has she gained knowledge from experiencing color?
This thought experiment originates from Frank Jackson’s paper “What Mary Didn’t Know” and addresses one of philosophy’s most profound questions: What is knowledge? It’s possible that, even in the realm of pure thought experiments, we cannot fully understand what it is we can know.
2. Wittgenstein’s Beetles
Imagine everyone has a box that only they can look into. Inside each box is something called a 'beetle.' Everyone refers to the thing inside their box as a beetle, but they can never compare their beetle to anyone else's. We can only define a beetle by what’s inside our own box. It’s possible that everyone’s beetle is entirely different, or perhaps some people don’t have a beetle at all.
The purpose of this experiment is to highlight how we reference things others cannot access. Children often wonder if the blue they see is the same as the blue others see. Similarly, when I feel pain, how can I know whether what I’m experiencing is the same as what you’re feeling when you say you’re in pain?
1. Thomson’s Violinist
A critique of Utilitarianism comes from those who place importance on individual rights. Right now, people are waiting for organ transplants, and you, as a living being, are a source of organs. You may be happy, but the many people in need of your organs would benefit from them even more. The utilitarian solution would be for you to take your own life, making a few people sad, but saving many others through the donation of your organs.
Judith Jarvis Thomson introduced the following thought experiment: One morning, you wake up to find yourself attached to an unconscious violinist. This violinist is critically ill, and only your blood can keep them alive. A group of music enthusiasts paid doctors to connect your circulatory systems overnight. The violinist will need this connection for nine months. If you unplug the violinist, they will die. Is it murder to disconnect yourself? Even though you never consented to this arrangement, do you have a moral obligation to the violinist?
