The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And 99 other thought experiments

324 Pages·2006·8.433 MB·English

by  Julian Baggini

The Pig
that Wants
■nmi
to he Eaten
And 99 other
thought-experiments
JULIAN BAGGINI
'Mind-boggling tales from the
outer limit of thought' Guardian
y
-fi'
Julian Baggini is the editor and co-founder of Tlie Philosophers’
Magazine and author of What’s It All About — Philosophy and the
Meaning of Life and Do You Diink What You Think You Think? —
Tie Ultimate Philosophical Quiz Book, forthcoming from Granta
Books. He WTites regularly for the Guardian.
‘Examines received opinions, things we take for granted, and
dissects them entertainingly’ The Times
‘Baggini offers us a tempting smorgasbord of some of the most
baffling, weird and occasionally downright creepy scenarios ever
envisaged’ Guardian
‘Little fictions created to bring abstract ideas to life’ Glasoow
Herald
‘Written in a breezy and accessible style . . . Baggini’s book is as
fabulous and entertaining as a fairy story or a horror film ... It can
be unnerving stuff, and aU the better for that . . . These thought
experiments are designed to encourage people to reason clearly
about important matters, a kind of reasoning often lacking from
today’s public discussions . . . thinking on the edge, though not
easy, is both necessary and, for this reader at least, fun’ Peter Cave,
New Humanist
‘Baggini fiames various philosophical conundrums so that we focus
on the nub of the matter without the extraneous considerations that
complicate them in real life . . . helpfully cross-referenced and
ideal for reading aloud’ Metro (London)
‘Philosophy is envisaged here as mind-stretching, yet entertaining . . .
The writing style is always accessible to the layman ... It is a
pleasant and interesting book best for train and bus journeys or
in the company of friends who fancy a friendly verbal joust’
Morning Star

The Pig That
Wants to Be Eaten
And ninety-nine other thought
experiments
Julian Baggini
Granta Books
London
Granta Publications, 2/3 Hanover Yard, Noel Road, London N1 8BE
First published in Great Britain by Granta Books 2005
This edition published by Granta Books 2006
Copyright © 2005 Juhan Baggini
Julian Baggini has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmissions of this pubhcatiori
may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may
be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in
accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any
person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
hable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
5 7 9 10 8 6
ISBN-13: 978-1-86207-855-0
ISBN-10: 1-86207-855-6
Typeset by M Rules
Printed in the UK by CPI Bookmarque, Croydon, CRO 4TD
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xii
A note on sources xiii
1. The evil demon 1
2. Beam me up ... 4
3. The Indian and the ice 7
4. A byte on the side 10
5. The pig that wants to be eaten 13
6. Wheel of fortune 16
7. When no one wins 19
8. Good God 22
9. Bigger Brother 25
10. The veil of ignorance 28
11. The ship Theseus 31
12. Picasso on the beach 34
13. Black, white and red all over 37
14. Bank error in your favour 40
15. Ordinary heroism 43
16. Racing tortoises 46
17. The torture option 49
18. Rationality demands 52
19. Bursting the soap bubble 55
20. Condemned to life 58
V
Contents
21. Land of the Epiphens 61
22. The lifeboat 64
23. The beetle in the box 67
24. Squaring the circle 70
25. Buridan's an ass 73
26. Pain's remains 76
27. Duties done 79
28. The nightmare scenario 82
29. Life dependency 85
30. Memories are made of this 88
31. Just so 91
32. Free Simone 94
33. The free-speech booth 97
34. Don't blame me 100
35. Last resort 103
36. Pre-emptive justice 106
37. Nature the artist 109
38. 1 am a brain 112
39. The Chinese room 115
40. The rocking-horse winner 118
41. Getting the blues 121
42. Take the money and run 124
43. Future shock 127
44. Till death us do part 130
45. The invisible gardener 133
46. Amoebaesque 136
47. Rabbit! 139
48. Evil genius 142
VI
Contents
49. The hole in the sum of the parts 145
50. The good bribe 148
51. Living in a vat 151
52. More or less 154
53. Double trouble 157
54. The elusive 1 160
55. Sustainable development 163
56. The total perspective vortex 166
57. Eating fiddles 169
58. Divine command 172
59. The eyes have it 175
60. Do as 1 say, not as 1 do 178
61. Mozzarella moon 181
62. 1 think, therefore? 184
63. No know 187
64. Nipping the bud 190
65. Soul power 193
66. The forger 196
67. The poppadom paradox 199
68. Mad pain 202
69. The horror 205
70. An inspector calls 208
71. Life support 211
72. Free Percy 214
73. Being a bat 217
74. Water, water, everywhere 220
75. The ring of Gyges 223
76. Net head 226
VII
Contents
77. The scapegoat 229
78. Gambling on God 232
79. A Clockwork Orange 235
80. Hearts and heads 238
81. Sense and sensibility 241
82. The freeloader 244
83. The golden rule 247
84. The pleasure principle 250
85. The nowhere man 253
86. Art for art's sake 256
87. Fair inequality 259
88. Total lack of recall 262
89. Kill and let die 265
90. Something we know not what 268
91. No one gets hurt 271
92. Autogovernment 274
93. Zombies 277
94. The Sorites tax 280
95. The problem of evil 283
96. Family first 286
97. Moral luck 289
98. The experience machine 292
99. Give peace a chance? 295
100. The Nest caf4 298
Index 301
viii