Inner experiences are not the only things that matter, but they do matter. We would not plug into an experience machine, but we would not plug into an anesthetizing machine either.
Robert Nozick, ‘Emotions’, in The Examined Life, New York, 1989, p. 90
Nozick’s “happiness machine” problem is a popular among academics, who generally fail to consider three things. First, who says that no one would want to be hooked up? The world is full of people who want happiness and don’t care one bit about whether it is “well deserved.” Second, those who claim that they would not agree to be hooked up may already be hooked up. After all, the deal is that you forget your previous decision. Third, no one can really answer this question because it requires them to imagine a future state in which they do not know the very thing they are currently contemplating.
Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness, New York, 2005, p. 244, n. 16