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The thought experiment is meant specifically to stress test our intuitions about how much we value the reality of the thing vs the mere experience of the thing, and like all thought experiments, it only performs its intended function if we accept its premises as true from the outset. You can’t respond to the do-you-pull-the-lever-on-the-train-tracks thought experiment by saying “yeah but, how do we know that the train won’t derail off the tracks and end up killing no one?”
By questioning the premises of the scenario itself, you’re turning it into an exercise in epistemology instead of an exercise in value theory. Which might be fine in other contexts, but it’s not the point here.
If I woke up in a lab and my perception of reality was qualitatively more real than what I had experienced on Earth, then sure, I would look upon my virtual experiences the way I look upon my dreams: they are interesting, maybe nostalgic, but ultimately not important.
If the new reality is indistinguishable from the other one, why should I accept the premise that one is truer than the other? But fine, let's transform the premise into something more tangible than VR. Let's say you learned that you were adopted and the only reason your adoptive parents cared about you was monetary compensation. They showered you with affection and cared about you, but they were the world's best actors. Then you turned 18, and they told you the truth and kicked you out. Would you really never think, "man, I wish I never learned that my parents weren't actually my parents and didn't really care about me"? Would this revelation really irreversibly and unconditionally taint the memories of your childhood?
Of course I wouldn't think that. I would certainly prefer to know the truth. No question. Now, if part of the deal is, "you can either know the truth and get kicked out, or you could never know the truth but keep receiving their financial support" then obviously it gets more complicated. But all other things being equal, I would rather know the truth.
Well, I don't think it would taint them, but that's mainly because I would find it to be a fascinating story and I would enjoy being at the center of such a story. You could say that the memories would trade one type of value for another.
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Every time I have one of those "you're stuck back in highschool" dreams, the memory of having graduated, having a job, and a normal adult life is vague and foggy like it was a dream. How do you tell which is which? How do you know you're not being fucked with with drugs, or just going insane?
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