brain in a vat

Summary

brain in a vat is a thought experiment^[1]. It draws 405 Wikipedia views per month (thought_experiment category, ranking #16 of 56).^[2]

Key Facts

• brain in a vat is credited with the discovery of Hilary Putnam^[3].
• brain in a vat is credited with the discovery of Stanisław Lem^[4].
• brain in a vat is credited with the discovery of Philip K. Dick^[5].
• brain in a vat's image is recorded as Braininvat.jpg^[6].
• brain in a vat's instance of is recorded as thought experiment^[7].
• brain in a vat's instance of is recorded as meme^[8].
• brain in a vat's subclass of is recorded as evil demon^[9].
• brain in a vat's Commons category is recorded as Brain in a vat^[10].
• brain in a vat's start time is recorded as +1981-12-31T00:00:00Z^[11].
• brain in a vat's start time is recorded as +1960-00-00T00:00:00Z^[12].
• brain in a vat's start time is recorded as +1959-12-01T00:00:00Z^[13].
• brain in a vat's Freebase ID is recorded as /m/01ndcq^[14].
• brain in a vat's described by source is recorded as Reason, Truth and History^[15].
• brain in a vat's Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID is recorded as topic/Brains-in-a-Vat^[16].
• brain in a vat's has immediate cause is recorded as Cartesian doubt^[17].
• brain in a vat's has immediate cause is recorded as metaphysical realism^[18].
• brain in a vat's PhilPapers topic is recorded as brains-in-vats^[19].
• brain in a vat's Zhihu topic ID is recorded as 19677829^[20].
• brain in a vat's Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ID is recorded as brain-in-a-vat-argument^[21].
• brain in a vat's Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ID is recorded as brain_in_a_box^[22].
• brain in a vat's Microsoft Academic ID is recorded as 109332905^[23].
• brain in a vat's Namuwiki ID is recorded as 통 속의 뇌^[24].
• brain in a vat's Pixiv Encyclopedia ID is recorded as 水槽の脳^[25].
• brain in a vat's Great Russian Encyclopedia portal ID is recorded as mozg-v-bochke-a10e84^[26].

Body

Works and Contributions

Credited discoveries include Hilary Putnam^[3], a mathematician^[27], 1926–2016^[28], of United States^[29], awarded the Nicholas Rescher Prize for Systematic Philosophy^[30], specialised in philosophy^[31]; Stanisław Lem^[4], a philosopher^[32], 1921–2006^[33], of Poland^[34], awarded the Order of the White Eagle (Third Polish Republic)^[35], specialised in philosophy^[36]; and Philip K. Dick^[5], a novelist^[37], 1928–1982^[38], of United States^[39], awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel^[40], specialised in science fiction^[41].

Why It Matters

brain in a vat draws 405 Wikipedia views per month (thought_experiment category, ranking #16 of 56).^[2] It has Wikipedia articles in 23 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.^[42] It is known by 28 alternative names across languages and contexts.^[43]