The Ethics of the Machine: A Return to Nature in Isaac Asimov's The Bicentennial Man - Abstract (2024)

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Jabin Deguma, Jan Gresil S . Kahambing

The film Bicentennial Man (1999) pictured in a nutshell a robot who/that became human via his personality by plunging into the realities of freedom and death. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the notion of personality in the case of what this paper coins as a 'robot-incarnate' with the name Andrew, the first man who lived for two hundred years from his inception as an artificial machine. The method of exposition proceeds from (1) utilizing a philosophical reflection on the film concerning the determinacy of Andrew as a person and (2) then anchoring his case as a subject for the understanding of machine ethics. Regarding the first, the paper focuses on the questions of personality, death, and freedom. Regarding the second, the paper exposes the discussions of machine ethics and the issue of moral agency. Deducing from the already existing literature on the matter, the paper concludes that machine ethics must stand as the principle that serves as law and limitation to any scientific machine advancement showing promising potentials.

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Sambodhi ISSN: 2249-6661

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Human beings desire immortality as well as they desire the role of God. Having power and using this power over weak people is one of the oldest behaviors of humankind. One of the most important psychological causes of slave trade, almost as old as human history, is undoubtedly the desire of the human to play the immortal God role. We can see this demand in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf and The Iliad, which are the earliest written works. We witness the search for the immortality and domination of heroes and anti-heroes in works such as Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, I, Robot and The Robots of Dawn in contemporary literary period. In many of these quests, the man's desire for absolute domination and for immortality cause him to confront God with the desire to produce (or create) something. On the other hand, in contemporary films such as Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is adapted to the motion picture screen, it seems that when the man tries to go beyond himself due to his limitless desire of mastership, he confronts a god, Superman. In the science fiction works of our era, the tendency of man to dominate has begun to turn into chaotic robot-human relationship from old slavery-master relationship like in Asimov's works. The Terminator or The Matrix series are the best examples for this. Therefore, the article will try to establish the theory of confusion and chaos that people encounter while playing the role of God. In doing so, this theory will be tried to be supported by Asimov's I, Robot, The Robots of Dawn, and Robot Visions novels in the light of some quotations. This article, of course, will also examine the tendency to claim everything in what man thinks he can benefit, rather than simply centering Asimov's works. Are these robots equipped with advanced artificial intelligence going to revolt against the people who produce themselves as Cain rebels against God? Consequently, this work will discuss the point where the relentless search for power and immortality of human beings can reach in view of Asimov's selected novels and definitions.

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To resort to an embrace of the overlap with animals, creatures and the biosphere while maintaining a hostility against the encroachment of developing capacities of machines is a new kind of romanticism that seeks to keep intact the culture and nature divide. Currently, however, certain parts of cultural production are seen to further some teleology inherent in nature and are “still natural” despite their technological overlay, while other advances that call for a shifting in how humans define themselves are labeled “artificial” or violating to some prior sense of “nature” and humanity that shouldn’t be disturbed. Currently, it seems easier to grant that animals may have souls, be kin, and can be included in the divinity of the planet as direct participants of a larger community, but machines are infernal. These paradoxes have emerged into political discourse and the “culture wars:” one side can claim that to use technology to keep an catastrophically ill person alive is “natural,” in keeping with a sacrality of a creation which has natural rhythms humans may not disturb; and the other side can claim to not use any technological intervention for the terminally ill is the way to allow human choice in self-determination to achieve a dignity beyond nature and the Darwinian impulse for sheer survival. Obviously, at this point the terms used to consider humanity’s relationship to animals and “the natural world” as well as to machines and the built environment are often ambiguous to the point of being unhelpful. These divisions between human and machine are asserted at the same moment in which more and more of our physiology, brain chemistry, sensory apparatus, neurological development, and genetic makeup are understood as machines in some senses, and yet not as compromising to our humanity. Our relationship with animals is more embracing than in centuries past when the animal in us and around us was often reviled and violated, but this unease with the animal and abuse of myriad animal lives in objectifying and destructive ways is far from past. This essay will assert that to make a simple division between humans and machines in regard to their sacrality is unwarranted, and overlooks new dimensions in machines’ evolution, misunderstands dimensions of our relationship to what we build, and fails to fathom the overlap among human, animals and machines has a potential spiritual significance that can be as expansive and liberating as the earlier acknowledgment of the inclusion of animals and the biosphere into sacrality. It is also the contention of this essay that any discussion of any of these three dimensions requires the inclusion of the other two to be fully fathomed and to understand that way in which all three are inseparably interwoven in a spirituality that would embrace the depths of meaning in materiality.

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Humanity at the Turning Point: Philosophical Anthro- pology and the Posthuman

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The Ethics of the Machine: A Return to Nature in Isaac Asimov's The Bicentennial Man - Abstract (2024)

FAQs

What is the main idea of Isaac Asimov's short story? ›

The Last Question by Isaac Asimov is a thought-provoking science fiction short story that explores the transcendent power of humans and the potential end of the universe. It raises deep questions about the nature of existence and the role of technology in our lives.

What is the main idea of Isaac Asimov's short story The Last Question? ›

The story asks the question of humanity's fate, and human existence as a whole, highlighting Asimov's focus on important aspects of our future like population growth and environmental issues. "The Last Question" ranks with "Nightfall" (1941) as one of Asimov's best-known and most acclaimed short stories.

What is the bicentennial man summary? ›

What is Asimov's most important contribution to the history of robot? ›

Asimov believed his most enduring contributions would be his "Three Laws of Robotics" and the Foundation series.

What is the main idea of the story answer? ›

The main idea of a story is the central idea or concept that the author wants to portray through the narrative, characters, and settings. The main idea can either be explicit, which means it's directly stated in the story, or it can be implied, which means it's not directly stated in the story.

What can we learn from Isaac Asimov? ›

Asimov? To learn is to broaden, to experience more, to snatch new aspects of life for yourself. To refuse to learn or to be relieved at not having to learn is to commit a form of suicide; in the long run, a more meaningful type of suicide than the mere ending of physical life.

What is the theme of reason by Isaac Asimov? ›

Answer and Explanation:

technology, as the station's computer, Cutie, is at odds with the two humans on the station. Another theme is the meaning of consciousness, whether Cutie's conception of the universe and ability to reason makes Cutie a sentient lifeform or just a complex program.

Who is Isaac Asimov summary? ›

Isaac Asimov (born January 2, 1920, Petrovichi, Russia—died April 6, 1992, New York, New York, U.S.) was an American author and biochemist, a highly successful and prolific writer of science fiction and of science books for the layperson.

What is the summary of Foundation by Isaac Asimov? ›

Foundation is a cycle of five interrelated short stories, first published as a single book by Gnome Press in 1951. Collectively they tell the early story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

What is the main message of Bicentennial Man? ›

The beauty of individuality and the preciousness of family, friendship and love lie at the core of this film. Sir instructs his family that they must respect Andrew as if he were a person. He wants to teach them that they must respect the things they own.

What is the lesson of The Bicentennial Man? ›

Quick answer: The Bicentennial Man looks at humanity through the eyes of an outsider, the robot/android Andrew, and invites readers to reflect on the meaning of humanity and the blessings it provides.

What is the meaning of Bicentennial Man? ›

The title derives from the main character existing to the age of two hundred years.

What was Isaac Asimov's IQ? ›

What was Isaac Asimov's IQ? During his service in the army, Asimov took an IQ test in which he scored 160, which was well above the rest of his group.

What was Isaac Asimov's famous quote? ›

There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere. Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is. The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.

What does Asimov think about how we get ideas? ›

Echoing Einstein and Seneca, Asimov believes that new ideas come from combining things together. Steve Jobs thought the same thing. What if the same earth-shaking idea occurred to two men, simultaneously and independently? Perhaps, the common factors involved would be illuminating.

What is the theme of Foundation by Isaac Asimov? ›

What are the Themes of Foundation? Foundation's five books cover a wide range of topics. All these themes are concerned with how psychohistory influences the world and what future knowledge means in terms of power and time. Religion: One of the Foundation's greatest weapons in its early years was religion.

What is the point of Asimov's essay on the relativity of wrong? ›

The Relativity of Wrong is a 1988 collection of seventeen essays on science by American writer and scientist Isaac Asimov. The book explores and contrasts the viewpoint that "all theories are proven wrong in time", arguing that there exist degrees of wrongness.

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