Page - 136 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

136 • Cyborg Mind enters into training with an elderly man called the ‘Giver’. Through this Giver, Jonas learns about pain, sadness, war and all the unhappy truths of the ‘real’ world. But he also begins to understand that his community is a sham and extremely shallow in its understanding of the values of life. The book goes on to explain that having at least some capacity to suffer is necessary for a person to experience genuine compassion and friendships. This is interest- ing, since it can be argued that true happiness may simply be a byproduct of other things, such as work, discipline, sacrifice  – even pain  – and cannot be a goal in itself. The English philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–73) noted: ‘Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.’150 Escaping Reality in Cyberspace One of the first times that the possibility of completely escaping reality was considered was when the American philosopher Robert Nozick (1938–2002) presented a thought experiment of the ‘Experience Machine’ discussed in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia. In this, an individual would be floating in a tank while neuropsychologists stimulate, through the use of electrodes attached to his or her brain, wonderfully pleasurable experiences. Nozick then discusses whether individuals should choose such an existence of pleasure, happiness and bliss instead of living in reality. He asks what else would matter to a person apart from what he or she experiences ‘from the inside’.151 The possibility of making such a decision is also presented in the already mentioned 1999 Film The Matrix, when the main character, Neo, is given the choice between two different pills. The blue pill would allow him to remain in the fabricated imaginary cyberworld of the Matrix, thereby living the illu- sion of an imaginary but easy existence, while the red pill would enable him to escape from the Matrix and into the real world, thereby living the harsh truth of reality. Interestingly, Neo eventually decides to take the red pill, even though he is aware that this will make life a lot more difficult. However, the need to escape reality for a while may be considered a good thing when it becomes harsh or difficult. It may enable ‘survival’ or increase coping strategies. This may happen through different means, such as with a good fiction book, film and comedy. Rest from duties can also allow a person to sit back and contemplate his or her reality or enable dreams to be formu- lated based on difficulties and unmet needs. Indeed, it is possible to suggest that some fictional stories may help individuals address, process and think through real reality. In this regard, entering into a virtual world can be seen as a kind of rec- reational experience. It may also enable a person to become an idealised extension of his or her own being, experiencing a new kind of freedom and This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.