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Philosophy vocabulary · Core Concepts

Thought experiment

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

nounCore term

In philosophy, thought experiment means: An imagined scenario used to test a theory or to bring out our intuitions, without carrying out any real experiment.

In Turkish: düşünce deneyi

How it is used

Philosophers often name thought experiments after their central image: the trolley problem, the Chinese room, Mary's room, the experience machine. You run, construct or appeal to a thought experiment, and critics may ask whether the scenario is even coherent.

Example sentences

  1. Nozick's experience machine is a thought experiment aimed at hedonism.

  2. The trolley problem began as a thought experiment in a 1967 paper by Philippa Foot.

Common collocations

  • run a thought experiment
  • famous thought experiment
  • appeal to a thought experiment
  • construct a thought experiment
  • intuitionA judgment that seems true to us immediately, without our being able to give a full argument for it; in philosophy it is often used as evidence.
  • counterexampleA particular case showing that a general claim or definition is false, or an example with true premises and a false conclusion showing that an argument form is invalid.
  • qualiaThe subjective qualities of conscious experience, such as how the redness of red looks or how a headache feels to the person who has it.
  • veil of ignoranceJohn Rawls's thought experiment in which people choose principles of justice without knowing their own place in society, such as their class, talents or gender.

More terms: Core Concepts

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