Are Humans Machines - Personal Statement Example

Are Humans Machines? The notion of whether human beings are just machines or something more remain a controversial issue and has attracted a heated debate with various scholars sharing their views on this. Arguably, living is not an advanced stage of machinery, which humans were created with souls, morals, and this is what separates humans from machines. Some have argued that humans are unique and have got feelings, something that machines lack. Truly, human beings are incredibly sophisticated but this does not mean that they machines. Humans are biological and mortal but machines can be repaired. The body of humans is extremely sophisticated biological machines but this does not imply that humans are machines; they are just highly evolved animals with complex thought capacity. This essay presents a very thoughtful discussion on whether humans are machines or not covering the opinion of different philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Locke, and the opinion of other people. With the advancement of technologies and inventions by humans, the emergence of robots and others, the real identity of humans is a major issue that needs attention and this for sure has become the center of attention for many scholars. Some scholars have strongly opposed this claiming that humans as not just complicated machines as science proposes, but they are organisms with important and unique qualities that machines do not have. For instance, humans have souls and a sense of what is right or wrong, and a form of animate selfhood which machines like computers do not possess. More so, humans are a self-organizing system as opposed to machines that are static constructions. In addition, humans are driven by goals and purposes whereas machines are not. Further, humans are not machines because they have self-awareness, emotion, language, and intelligence among others, and these are unique qualities that machines do not have. Based on these, they believe that humans are something more than just being machines. Humans amount to more than machines, but it is only that we cannot identify precisely what it is they are. Arguably, humans are not machines, for instance, robots are just built machines that resemble human functions but human beings are never built, they are created instead; again, a robot is motivated by external controls whereas human beings are self-motivated. Some scholars are convinced that machines are not human beings because human beings are conscious and intelligent but machines particularly computers are not. However, some researchers argue that computers can be intelligent but will never be conscious. Scholars have argued that digital computers will never be conscious since they are composed of the erroneous substance for consciousness. This is so because consciousness is believed to originate from the structure of humans and animals. On the contrary, other thinkers criticize the idea of wrong stuff, as they believe that computers are capable of becoming conscious and intelligent so long as they become powerful and sophisticated enough. Others argue that humans as machines but a very peculiar machine with the right circumstance and treatment. The inside of individuals’ mind is very important and that it is the only thing that subsists (Nagel 13), and some have suggested the similarity between the basic component of humans’ brain and that of computers, that is, neurons and transistors respectively. Both of these transform incoming signals to outgoing ones. A neuron operating in solitude cannot make the brain of humans to be intelligent or conscious but when many neurons are combined, human brain will function effectively and with more intelligence and consciousness. Similarly, a single transistor cannot make a computer functional but when there are many transistors gathered, the consciousness of computer is possible. However, some have refuted this argument about transistors resembling neurons. Many individuals believe that machines like computers are not conscious but some individuals believe that machines can become conscious if they become more advanced and complex. Human beings have senses as opposed to machines and so the two cannot be compared, that is, humans are not machines. The main defining feature of human beings is that they have mind, soul and they are conscious. Consciousness covers feelings, thoughts and sensations, but it is very challenging to determine what consciousness really is. some believe that the mind is a very important part in humans and that human beings can be only be sure with their mind (Nagel 13). According to Plato, what really humans are is their soul and that this soul survives even after death. Therefore, Plato argues that individuals’ souls and bodies are two different things, for instance, humans’ bodies die but their souls are immortal. Plato claims that human beings are rational and social individuals. In his work, Plato identifies human nature with reason and by their souls but not with their bodies. Therefore, the views of Plato on the real identity of human beings are that their soul rather than their bodies determine humans. On the contrary, as Plato proposes that humans are identified with their soul but not their bodies, Aristotle agree with him that humans are rational and social beings but according to him, human nature consist of both body and soul. Aristotle believes that the souls and the body are linked and that the soul is not a difference substance but an arrangement of stuff of which the body is created. More so, Aristotle believed that immortality of humans is something that is difficult. On the other hand, Immanuel Kant believes that the only rational creatures are the perfect object of a moral concern. Therefore, humans are rational because their actions reflect them as moral agents; they have a sense of what is right and that which is wrong (Burr and Goldinger 278). More so, Kant believes that humans also act of their self-interest and that they follow the values that they are psychologically conditioned to follow which to him is a form of determinism. Kant posits that human beings are not like animals as they are free to conform to the moral law. Therefore, humans’ capability to follow or obey moral laws makes them special, as they are the ones making these moral laws due to their ability to reason. Based on the moral arguments of Kant, humans are not machines because if they were machines, then what is the need or importance of having morals and ethics in the society to govern our behaviors. Furthermore, Locke focused on the nature of consciousness; how consciousness is related with language and whether it can be possible for computing machines such as computers and robots to be conscious. According to Locke, identity in an instant is given, that is, everything is identical to itself, and so he believes that this applies to animals and that they are like machines but their motivating force originates from within. Even though Locke did not assume that human beings are animals, he argued that the real identity of humans, that is the body of humans, is one over time since it is gathered to the same organized body. Locke tried to separate the two concepts, that is, a man and a person. According to him, persons are characterized by their intelligence and reasoning capacity. He also talked about the self-arguing that self is that conscious thing interest in itself. In conclusion, the real identity of human beings is one of the most controversial issues that have attracted the attention of different scholars including Locke, Kant, Plato, and Aristotle among others. Various scholars agree that the body of humans is highly sophisticated, biological and with complex though capacity. Many people believe that humans are very unique, rational and social beings and that they cannot be compared with machines. More so, humans are believed to be intelligent and conscious, some of the qualities that machines do not possess. Accordingly, humans are mortal but machines can be repaired among other differences. All these confirm that humans are not machines. Many scholars have opposed the resemblance of humans and machines claiming that human being have unique and essential qualities which machines do not have. Many scholars believe that the leading defining feature of human is consciousness, mind and soul where consciousness involves feelings, thoughts and sensations. Plato argues that humans’ body and souls are very separate in that, souls identify humans but not bodies. He believes that human beings are identified with their souls but not their bodies. On the other hand, Aristotle disagrees with Plato claiming that both body and soul are very important parts in humans and that human nature consist of two. Aristotle posits that the body and soul of human beings are linked and so the issue of human immortality is impossible. In addition, Kant claims that rational creatures are the perfect object of a moral concern and so humans are rational because their actions reflect them as moral agents. Lastly, Locke mainly focused on self-consciousness in his desire to determine the identity of humans. According to Locke, persons increased reasoning capacity and more intelligence. All these views are very important in understanding the identity of humans, whether they are just machines or something more. Works Cited Burr, John R. and Goldinger, Milton. Philosophy and Contemporary Issues. 7th Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1972. 386-460. Nagel, Thomas. What Does It All Mean? 1987, New York, Oxford University Press, 1987. 27-37. Read More