In our circumstances, Yitzchak insists, the presumption holds. In Vatol's circumstances, that presumption is defeated - by his knowledge that his world contains envatted people. Having an experience that seems to suggest that p, according to Yitzchak, provides you with a defeasible presumption that p is the case. Lev thinks that our situation is no different to Vatol's. Vatol, they all agree, has reason to doubt. ![]() They imagine a character, Vatol, in just that situation. All of the protagonists agree that, if we knew that we lived in a world in which some people were envatted (i.e., existed only as brains in vats), then we would have reason to doubt our so-called external reality. The real philosophical action takes place between his two very different, ex-students-cum-colleagues, Yitzchak and Lev. Daniel plays the role of an honest arbiter. Hirsch's three characters are Daniel, Yitzchak, and Lev. One is reminded of the literature of the Haskalah. ![]() If the Berkeley-Beckett-Brecht combination isn't sufficient to whet your appetite, Hirsch throws in more than a soupçon of Talmudic allusion, and a distinctively Jewish sense of humour. In this text, therefore, we find the cutting philosophical dialogue of a George Berkeley, a dash of the theatrical absurdism of a Samuel Beckett, and a hint of the knowing self-reference of a Bertold Brecht. At one point, the fourth-wall is broken, and the characters express their awareness that they are characters of Hirsch's creation. Hirsch's richly conceived characters have just stepped outside of the study-hall of a rabbinical seminary (a Yeshiva), to discuss epistemology in the bathroom. ![]() Hirsch's dialogue does just that, and with wonderful theatricality. This allows the reader to see to the heart of the issues that divide the protagonists. Instead, they present a real clash between diverse voices, forcing one another to refine their position in light of each other's criticisms. The best dialogues avoid pitting strong intellects against yes-men.
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