When viewing the Star Trek episode “Measure of a Man,” it is difficult not to sympathize with the character Data, not only because of his behavior during the episode but because of the close relationship many viewers developed with him and his desire to be human over the course of the series. The question of whether such super-intelligent androids capable of autonomous choices based upon feelings rather than programming would be possible to create in the future is uncertain, however, given the current limits of technology. Regardless, Picard clearly advocates a view of Data as possessing a soul, given that he explicitly affirms Data’s right to autonomy, free choice, and the ability to exercise his will over his body. This suggests that these rights are conveyed by a higher power that cannot be taken away. Maddox, in contrast, argues for a purely material view of the android. The fact that the android can be turned off by a switch he sees as proof of Data’s lack of humanity. Yet human beings can also be turned off though death and also through medical means (like a medically-induced coma) but merely because other human beings can exercise their will upon the body does not mean that the human individual...
Maddox’s criteria for sentience is intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Data is clearly intelligent, possesses self-awareness as is evidenced by his desire to not be submitted to a medical experiment against his will, and also has a sense of consciousness that he is alive and does not wish to be disassembled.References
Hasker, W. (1983). Metaphysics: Constructing a worldview. InterVarsity Press.
Androids From your reading of Hasker, and using the categories he uses, what view of the mind/body problem do you think is exhibited by Picard? By Maddox? Support your answer. When explaining the mind/body problem, Hasker points out that there are physical properties and mental properties of people that can enhance understanding of the Star Trek episode. Hasker also notes that the philosophical concept of dualism (between mind and body) and the
Mind, Freedom and Knowledge Descartes argued that that all humans had both a body and mind, and that the mind was eternal while the body was subject to physical and material laws. The universe was divided between the mind and matter, and the physical world could be explained by mathematical and scientific laws. Hobbes, Locke and other political and philosophical theorists of the 17th Century were also influenced by the new
The phrase "more human than human" from the film Bladerunner comes to mind. Turning off Data, with the knowledge that he can be turned back on at any time does not constitute murder, however it does make the tool analogy more applicable. Picard believes that Data is self-aware and has the mind/body view that supports that while Maddox believes that this is merely programming and his self-awareness is only
Roy then equates fear to slavery, subjection and servitude to inferiority. He is still not quite settled with his inferior position. (Is he like Milton's Satan -- a being created with such majesty that he cannot reconcile submitting to a God?). But Roy has compassion after all: he saves Decker from falling, using his hand which has a nail in it (a Christian image of the crucified Savior?). This
Robots" a Review of Sherry Turkle's book "Alone Together" Sherry Turkle's book "Alone Together" relates to the contemporary society and to how it has come to be shaped by its relationship with technology. The online environment, as she describes it, is a confusing place where people take on identities that they feel are characteristic to them. Even with this, this gradually makes it difficult for them to be able to
One wrong decision can destroy years of hard work and requires years to recover. Failures to innovate come in two forms: failures of imagination and failures to execute (Govindarajan and Trimble 2010). With certainty, investors want growth, growth, and more growth. To achieve this, Apple strives to infuse creative thinking in its innovations, and it must deliver products and services fast enough or risk losing market share. Infrastructure Steve Jobs made
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