There is no greater feeling than being a natural human – being able to experience true emotion and joy, hardship and frustration. These feelings are such that no robotic being can simulate. Sure robotic beings can jump high and shoot rockets out of their arms, but show me a robot that has experienced the gut-wrenching feeling of heartbreak, or the joy and ecstasy of love. Emotion is the source of all creativity and want for living. Imagine being able to jump high enough to dunk a basketball, but not be able to feel the satisfaction that follows; or think of being able to soar through the air like superman, but not be able to enjoy the wind blowing through your hair. Robots have some physical abilities that would be nice to enjoy, but without emotion it is nowhere near worth it.
Movies such as The Terminator and iRobot feature robot beings that have enhanced bodies and physical capabilities. These capabilities allow them to perform at a much higher level than the average human being. However, in these movies and many like it, these beings seem to find conflict in that the fact that they are different and lack the inner workings of the average human being. They don’t possess a heart, they don’t know what it feels like to work for something, and they haven’t experienced any common satisfaction. As far as robots are portrayed in the movie industry, all they want to be is human. The greatest example is in Bicentennial Man. True satisfaction is only reached when he becomes a human being. Being a natural human is far greater than having robotic capabilities without a soul.
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I had not thought about emotions when discussing the natural body, but the point you make is crucial: Without emotions we are nothing. I really liked your use of movies involving robots as examples. Even though robots are far superior to humans physically, their inability to feel emotions makes them inferior overall. Your examples about being able to dunk a basketball or soar through the air but not be able to feel the satisfaction really helped to support your argument. I agree with the statement your title makes completely: you can't live without a heart.
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ReplyDeleteI am sorry but what part of modifying your body makes you a robot? Does the military amputee who lost his arm to an IED explosion and has it replaced with a prosthetic arm that he can control with his thoughts become a robot for being able to? With that being said you did bring up a good point that in most stories exploring worlds that have sentient robots, the idea that humans are special because we can have emotions. Fortunately this is not an issue for those who wish to become a cyborg because you unfortunately forgot that we do not give up our thoughts and dreams when we replace the physical shell. Our brains are the only thing we cannot get rid of. Therefore we would still have the same basic emotions as we do now.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note if you wanted to view a story where “cyborgs” deal with love then I suggest you watch the 11th episode of “Ghost in the shell 2nd GIG.” The characters still realistically experience the emotions you wanted to see even if they are mostly machines.
I agree with your post about the emotions. Without emotions we, as humans, are nothing. Our lives revolve around these emotions: love, joy, happiness, sadness, frustration. Whether they are good or bad, they define who and what we are. However, I'm not sure if the enhancements to the body would interefere with our emotional complexes. It is a very interesting theory to explore.
ReplyDeleteI agree that emotions are important but I don't think anyone is talking about becoming a robot. All of these four types of beings are still ultimately human with a human brain and therefore human thoughts and emotions. As Mark said above, emotions do define what we are, but whether we have a robotic arm or an artificial heart, the brain is what ultimately controls our emotions and I don't think anyone is proposing the removal of our minds.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point that having the special abilities is virtually useless if you cannot enjoy or feel any kind of emotion about such advantages. I also enjoyed how you cited certain movies to show how robots, despite being technologically superior, always feel a certain want to be human and feel their wide range of emotions. It is thus advancements in our mental state rather than our physical being that makes us superior to robots.
ReplyDeleteI was immediately intrigued by the title of your post. It's creative and also makes you stop to think how great it is to have feelings. I really don't know how you thought of all the great examples you used either. The Bicentennial Man was a great example as would be Pinochio. It is quite humorous how Hollywood portrays being human in different ways. Some portray it as it is, a wonderful, acceptable state of being and others down play it and believe technology will always be able to bring us to bigger and better things.
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