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A description is just what you think it is: It describes a situation or what a philosopher might call a state of affairs. For example, “The car is red,” “The river is flowing quickly,” “I’m sad that my juicer is broken,” “Brutus killed Caesar.” A normative statement is a claim about how things ought to be. For example, “Jazz is better than pop music,” “If you want to pass the exam you should study,” “Killing an innocent person is wrong.” The point here is to see that there is a difference between descriptive claims and normative claims. The question of whether normative judgments are anything more than opinion is a question that philosophers debate and discuss. This distinction is sometimes also referred to as the “is/ought” distinction or the “descriptive/prescriptive” distinction. An additional example is below:

• Descriptive Claim - No one knows what happens after death.
• Normative Claim - No one should fear death.

A thought experiment is an imagined scenario that is designed to help you think through a problem or idea. Philosophy is not the only discipline that uses them. Famous thought experiments in other disciplines include  (quantum physics),  (mathematics), and the  (game theory, economics). Thought experiments have even found their way into pop-culture; for example, Phillippa Foot’s  was featured in the sitcom, “The Good Place,” and Frank Jackson’s  thought experiment is discussed in the film Ex Machina.

Thought experiments can be found in writings dated all the way back to the origin of philosophy in Ancient Greece. For example, in The Republic, Plato asks readers to imagine , and poses the question: What would you do if you had such a ring? Would you break the law or do things normally considered bad, knowing you could get away with it? The point isn’t to plan for a time when you might actually get such a ring and whether such a ring could actually exist isn’t important. The point is to get you thinking about the nature of justice.

Thought experiments have sometimes been elaborated upon in fantasy (e.g., Gollum’s ring in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy)¹ and science fiction (e.g., Minority Report² and The Matrix³). Thought experiments have even been elaborated upon in more realistic fiction and films (e.g., Crimes and Misdemeanors and The Departed⁴). In each case, the story gives us something to think about with regard to the nature of things, such as justice, free will, or even reality itself.

^{1. This is perhaps the most famous allusion to the ring of Gyges.}

^{2. This film examines questions related to free will, determinism, and justice.}

^{3. This film raises questions concerning the difference between appearance and reality, an issue dating all the way back to Plato and treated in Descartes’ “evil genius” thought experiment.} 

^{4. Both films examine a question posed in Plato’s Republic related to the ring of Gyges: Isn’t it best to be a bad person who appears good and worst to be a good person who appears bad? Plato answers no. Still the challenge of how to address the question properly persists and is poignantly explored in both of these films.}