Ben Katz Has Paper Accepted for Publication

Senior philosophy major Ben Katz will have his paper "Welfare Hedonism and the Improved Experience Machine Objection" published in the philosophy journal Techne.  Techne is a peer-reviewed journal led by students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, showcasing outstanding original philosophical writing by undergraduates.  The journal awards monetary prizes to authors of its top three papers, and Katz’s paper was awarded first-place with a prize of $150.00. 

Katz originally wrote "Welfare Hedonism and the Improved Experience Machine Objection" for his Advanced Moral Philosophy course with Dr. Mark Piper and subsequently revised the paper for presentation and publication.  He presented the paper at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Richmond, Virgina in April 2026.  When asked about his paper, Katz said "the paper is largely a rebuttal to Jennifer Hawkins reformulation of Robert Nozick's experience machine objection to welfare hedonism. She argues that if two twins live the exact same life, but one was living in the real world while the other was in a simulation, the one experiencing reality would be living better. I argue, however, that this reformulation gives the twins asymmetrical agency and removes a crucial aspect of the original objection."  Congratulations, Ben!