Course Description
What does it mean to be a self? Historically, philosophers have ascribed a range of characteristics — independent reason and self-awareness, agency and self-determination, dignity and rights, for example — to the notion of selfhood, and they have tended to argue that human beings possess these characteristics to a degree not seen anywhere else in nature. In other words, selfhood is primarily a possession of humans. In recent decades, however, technology has begun to chip away at the distinctions that define the uniquely human, along with a number of other, until recently, seemingly unbridgeable distinctions — natural and artificial, agent and tool, organism and artifact, etc.. Writers in the genre of science fiction have long explored the dicey questions about human and nonhuman reality, that are no longer an figment of the literary imagination. Critical theorists are beginning to address the shrinking gap between science fiction and science fact seriously. This course explores the way in which representations of robots, androids, and cyborgs in science, science fiction, and critical theory clarify, complicate, and/or problematize the meaning of being a self.
Course Objectives
Over the course of the term, students will develop the following knowledge base, skills, and abilities:
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General understanding of the concepts philosophers use to delineate and the vocabulary they use to talk about selfhood/personhood
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Awareness of the way in which fiction can serve as a mental laboratory for the exploration of complicated philosophical ideas
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Ability to deploy a range of different informational genres — philosophy, science, fiction, film, etc. — in written argumentative discourse
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Critical understanding of the manner in which technological advancement blurs the lines between human persons and nonhuman artifacts and the thorny philosophical issues this blurring introduces
Required Texts
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Andy Clark, Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intellengence (Oxford UP, 2003)
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Sven Nyholm, Humans and Robots: Ethics, Agency, and Anthropomorphism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)
Expectations and Requirements
Participation and attendance: My basic assumption is that we are mutually dedicated to the common cause of education conceived as the advancement of critical thinking. Because of this basic assumption, I assume that you will come to class prepared and ready to participate in class discussion. This means, first, that you will have completed assigned readings prior to the class meeting. (Many of the readings are difficult and I do not expect you to understand them completely; I do, however, expect you to engage the material seriously and to ask about anything you do not understand.) Second, I expect that you will be ready and willing to discuss the material, i.e., to raise questions, criticisms, thoughts, etc. Class participation is worth 10 points toward your final grade. I also assume that you will be in attendance and on time to all class sessions, barring unforeseen circumstances. Each unexcused absence will result in subtraction of 1 point from your final general participation grade.
Writing assignments: You will write three, 4-6 page, papers over the course of the term. Papers will be worth 25 points each.
Final presentation: You will deliver a final, 8-10 minute, presentation on a topic related to the course material of your choice. Presentations will be worth 15 points.
Grading
There is a total of 100 points available in the class.
Point breakdown:
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class participation: 10 points
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writing assignments: 75 points (25 points each)
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final presentation: 15 points.
Grade breakdown:
100-93: A
90-92: A-
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87-89: B+
83-86: B
80-82: B-
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77-79: C+
73-76: C
70-72: C-
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60-69: D
Below 60: U
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**Grading policy: While grades are important, they are secondary to learning. I offer the opportunity to redo assignments where possible. In order to redo an assignment, you and I must agree to a process that accomplishes the goal of learning and a deadline for submission of the assignment. (You may not redo an assignment to avoid a late penalty.) Redoing an assignment will guarantee you a grade increase of one grade-step for that assignment (e.g., from a C to a C+), provided you follow through with our agreement, and more if your work merits it.
Academic honesty/dishonesty
With regard to academic honesty, the Centre College Student Handbook states:
“A high standard of academic honesty is expected of students in all phases of academic work and college life. Academic dishonesty in any form is a fundamental offense against the integrity of the entire academic community and is always a threat to the standards of the College and to the standing of every student. In taking tests and examinations, doing homework or laboratory work, and writing papers, students are expected to perform with honor. In written and oral work for college courses, students will be held responsible for knowing the difference between proper and improper use of source materials. The improper use of source materials is plagiarism and, along with other breaches of academic integrity, is subject to disciplinary action. . . . If the instructor has a concern about a student’s academic honesty, the Associate Dean of the College must be notified” (Academic Honesty/Dishonesty)
The Academic Honesty policy will be strictly upheld. We will use the services provided by “Turnitin.com” to aid us in this endeavor.
In-class computer use
Unless you can produce valid documentation indicating that you must use a computer to take class notes, laptops and notebook computers may not be used in class. This is for two principle reasons:
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Hand–writing your class notes is a more active and engaged process, and hence is a more effective means of organizing class discussions than typing them.
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The tendency toward multi–tasking during class, i.e., checking email, updating Facebook, etc., inevitably causes students to miss important material.
Unless informed otherwise, computers must remain stowed in the off–position until the class has come to a safe stop at the conclusion of the period.
Schedule
Robots
2/1: Robots, androids, and cyborgs — defining our term
2/6: Are robots agents? Wall-E
- READ: Humans and Robots, pp. 1-50
2/8: Animated machines
- READ: Kathleen Richardson, “Technological Animism: The Uncanny Personhood of Humanoid Machines”
2/13: Robotic minds — Ex Machina
- READ: Humans and Robots, pp. 105-52
2/15: Fembots and feminist bots
- READ: Brian R. Jacobson, “Ex Machina in the Garden”
- READ: “The Legend of Bluebeard”
2/20: Robotic ethics — I Robot
- READ: Humans and Robots, pp. 153-79
2/22: Robotic ethics (cont.)
- READ: Isaac Asimov, “Robot Dreams”
2/27: Robot rights — Free Guy
- READ: Humans and Robots, pp. 181-206
2/29: Robot rights (cont.)
- READ: Janelle Marie Evans, “Questing to Understand the Other without ‘Othering’: An Exploration of the Unique Qualities and Properties of Science Fiction as a Means for Exploring and Improving Social Inequity”
***3/4: First Writing Assignment, DUE BY 11:59 PM***
Androids
Cyborgs
4/4: Cyborg existence — Ghost in the Shell
4/9: Cyborg existence (cont.) — Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
4/11: Cyborg existence (cont.)
- READ: Natural-Born Cyborgs, pp. 3-35
4/16: Are we already cyborgs? — Star Trek, The Best of Both Worlds
- READ: Natural-Born Cyborgs, pp. 89-114
4/18: Good cyborgs and bad cyborgs
- READ: Natural-Born Cyborgs, pp. 115-42
4/23: We are Borg — Star Trek, First Contact
- READ: Natural-Born Cyborgs, pp. 143-87
4/25: Are we borgs?
- READ: Natural-Born Cyborgs, 187-98
4/30: Post-human futures — Star Trek, I Borg
- READ: Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” pp. 3-23
5/2: Post-human futures (cont.)
- READ: Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” pp. 24-33
***5/6: Third writing assigment, DUE 11:59 PM***
5/7: Post-human futures (cont.)
***5/10: 1:30-4:30, FINAL PRESENTATIONS***
