Brain in a Vat Argument in She's the Man - Argumentative Essay Example

Works of arts are often based on various theoretical frameworks. Brain in a Vat, for example, it a philosophy that has founded different pieces. One film that is based on the theory is Shes the Man. Hence, an analysis of how the philosophy applies in the movie would help in identifying why artists use Brain in Vat in their storylines.

The Theory

Brain in a Vat describes a situation where an evil scientist can cut out ones brain from the head and place it in a vat containing a liquid with all the nutrients necessary to keep the body part alive in a laboratory (Cohen, 1999). They then connect the brain to a supercomputer through the neurons using wires. Since the brain uses electrical impulses to function, the computer provides the pulses, and the scientist can stimulate ones mind as if it were in the skull (Cohen, 1999). They can decide to give the individual the impression that they are eating lunch, playing soccer, or watching a movie, and your brain would simulate them to reality without the events even occurring.

That theory is purposefully used as an argument to explain the method of self-existence and to draw out the ideas of knowledge, truth, meaning, reality, and the overall belief that everything exists as they are (Putnam, 1979). It explains that the brain can typically work wherever it is; whether in the skull or the vat- the functioning is still the same. It argues that what if the world were not real and its existence were just humanitys Brain in a Vat and that the things that exist is a creation when peoples minds are in a container but in a different environment, the skull? It refutes the concept that what one perceives is the reality and is shown in the various examples in the world today such the existence of things like the core of the sun (Putnam, 1979). Nobody has seen the center of the sun, but people keep reading about it.

However, many philosophers have gone against this theory citing its faults. An argument states that the experiment is not biological due to the brain's removal, and therefore, does not have the connections from the body to the mind (Putnam, 1979). On the contrary, such criticisms do not invalidate the possibility of the theory being real; thus, people have continued to use it over the years.

Shes The Man

The film is a story of a teenage girl, Viola Hastings, who has a very high passion for playing soccer and plays for Cornwall Soccer Team (Martindale, 2008). Unfortunately, her team is knocked out and the boys team does not allow her to join; therefore, her hopes for playing football again dashes (Martindale, 2008). Her twin brother Sebastian is supposed to join an elite boarding school, in Illyria (Martindale, 2008). Instead, he secretly moves with his fledgling band to London and Viola decides to enter the school in place of Sebastian with the intention of joining the schools male soccer team and beating his former team to prove herself (Martindale, 2008). At school, she meets his roommate, Duke who is also a soccer player and the teams captain.

Duke and his friends do not like Sabastian because of his behavior, for example, during showers, as a female, he is unable to bathe with the rest of the team members (Martindale, 2008). Much to her disappointment, Viola does not impress the team's coach during training as a result of her feminine nature that makes her not to cope with the rest who were much stronger than her (Martindale, 2008). With the help of her friend, once again, she can work on herself and is accepted back on the team. Olivia, Dukes crush, falls for Sebastian' and because Viola is feminine, she understands women better and plays along with her (Martindale, 2008). On realizing this, Duke becomes frustrated since he also has feelings for Olivia.

Duke then agrees to teach Sebastian how to be a better player when he promises him to make Olivia fall in love with him (Martindale, 2008). Sebastian works hard in his soccer training and the coach, Dinklage, finally realizes the hard work and improvement (Martindale, 2008). The coach then promotes her to the first string to play together with the other male teammates. The situation becomes interesting when Violas brother finally returns, and Olivia, who has been admiring Sebastian steals a kiss from him (Martindale, 2008). That happens just one day to the competition, and his roommate kicks him out on realizing that he is a traitor.

On the competition day, Sebastian oversleeps, but since he is key player in the team, Sebastian takes up his position (Martindale, 2008). He performs very poorly since he has no passion for playing soccer. At halftime, Sebastian makes it to the pitch and explains to Sebastian how the situation occurred (Martindale, 2008). They then agree to switch places, Sebastian enters his rightful place, and she plays extraordinarily well, impressing everybody. However, Duke does not give her attention because he is still furious. He' explains to Duke that she is Viola and not Sebastian as people think.

The game continues and she proceeds to give an exemplary performance, scoring the winning goal for the Illyria team (Martindale, 2008). The rivals from Cornwall College, are humiliated and the team captain Justin, who was at the forefront in ensuring that Viola does not make it to the team, is very much disappointed. Everyone celebrates with Voila for the win. Sebastian and Olivia exchange talks and begin to date, while Viola and Duke later meet back, and she promises always to be honest, and the two begin dating (Martindale, 2008).

Brain in vat as used in Shes the Man

Arguably, the film is also based on the philosophy of mind in a container. The brains of fellow team members of Sebastian and their perception are used to show the brains in the vat. They are made to think that Viola is male and that she is the real Sebastian. In reality, this is not the case since Viola has been playing an imposter all that while.

People can imagine that the vat or the jar represents the behaviors that Viola portrays during her stay at the school. In the theory, the pot is a container that has a liquid which provides an environment similar to the climate in the skull of a human being. Similarly, Viola tries at her level best to behave in a way that would portray her as a male, which his brother is. She does her things like other fellow males and even distances herself from things that would betray her personality like having showers with the rest of the team members. 'Sebastian' dresses, talks, and does everything else in the way males carry themselves. She practices very hard and even asks the team captain, Duke, to help her train, not only to find a position in the final team but also to maintain the perception of the players to believe that she is the real Sebastian.

During the game, she realizes that Duke, the team captain is not giving her the attention she requires, so 'Sebastian' decides to reveal to him that she is Viola. Actually, that is an example of the brain a vat; people are made to believe in a lie and they cannot prove otherwise.

The Purpose of Brain in a Vat in Shes the man

The theory has been used by the creators of the story as a style to show the various themes that are highlighted in the movie. The movie focuses on gender equality, identity, passions and dreams, and relationships.

Viola in the movie is not given a chance in her previous team partly because she was female and cannot cope with the male teammates. She wants to prove her teammates wrong by getting an opportunity somewhere else and working to her level best until she makes it to her dream of playing soccer. So, the character transforms herself into her brothers looks and makes her teammates in Illyria have the perception that Viola is Sebastian, which is far from the reality. She is successful in putting their brains in a vat and proving to them that females are equally capable in the society and should also be given same chances with the males.

Her actions make an impact on the society by empowering other women and girls to stand up for what they believe. Viola thinks that she can play soccer anywhere, even including with members of the opposite gender. However, this is not the case with the other team members, so she has to apply the Brain in a Vat theory to maneuver her way to the top. This is to empower and encourage other females to be able to realize that women too have a voice in the society be it in education, sports, politics, or any different capacities.

The creators of the movie also used the technique to show that dreams can be achieved no matter what challenges one might be facing in the society. Viola has the thought of playing soccer and winning the competition, but this dream became tough to realize since she is not given a chance to her original team. She finally realizes her dream through her team in Illyria, applying the theory. Anyone can achieve their goals no matter what they go through.

Conclusion

The Brain in a Vat philosophy is an interesting theory to not only understand but also use or include in works of art such as writing and film. Even though many people find it real and very much explanatory, some people find it unpractical citing various reasons such as in biology where it is difficult for the brain to work outside the body. Some, even suggest that saying one are a Brain in a Vat is false since the reality may be different from the perception of being a mind in a container. How would one know that they are a Brain in a Vat? As contemporary readers, this theory is used very much in works of art primarily in movies and playbooks. It is employed mostly as a base, to build up a story and people must understand it so that they appreciate the storyline.

References

Cohen, S. (1999). Contextualism, skepticism, and the structure of reasons. Nous, 33(s13), 57-89.

Martindale, S. (2008). She's the Man. Shakespeare Bulletin, 26(2), 135-138.

Putnam, H. (1979). Philosophical Papers: Volume 2, Mind, Language and Reality (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press.