The "Inward Happiness Machine" is a theoretical machine, which grants you total happiness in every category of your life. This is a synthetic sense of happiness but upon being plugged in you would forget that it wasn’t real. Would you plug into the inward happiness machine forever? Would you choose perpetual happiness over reality?
As appealing as it sounds to be able to plug into a machine that would assure eternal happiness I believe that I would neglect to utilize it permanently. It would certainly be an interesting experience to plug in for a short time but I believe that living real life, even though it is filled with highs and lows would bring more satisfaction.
It is because we have to experience pain that we value pleasure so much. I value honesty and integrity and that sometimes means experiencing pain, disappointment, and sadness. On the other hand, I hold a great appreciation for the value of happiness, laughter and love because I understand the alternatives. We value the lives of those around us whom we love, we experience loss and devastation when someone passes away; this pain makes us appreciate what we have. It is this balance of pain and pleasure that creates a fulfilling life. If we were to plug into this happiness machine, it would be a synthetic happiness and happiness that knows no pain could never be as wonderful as reality.
This question is important when considering modern philosophy because it calls upon ones own inner quest for happiness. Since the majority of philosophical theory is based upon maximizing happiness and minimizing pain it seems fitting that this thought experiment be used in analyzing ones inner moral philosophy.
