Cutie as a Metaphor of the Mind in Asimov's Reason
Using one's reason to the highest ability is considered to be a virtue in our society. Reason and logic have a lucid quality that is reassuring to human interaction. Ultimately, humanity prizes itself for its ability to logically explain our observations by using reason. Another facet of the human mind is to be inquisitive, to constantly ask questions about our surroundings. Both these facets are shown by the main character, "Cutie," in Asimov's "Reason." This thought-provoking story uses Cutie, a robot, as a metaphor of the human mind, and on a larger scale, humanity itself. Closer analysis of "Reason" will allow an indepth understanding of :- (1) how the reasoning process is used to formulate a belief by Cutie, (2) how the human mind uses reason to deal with that which is unknown to humanity.
In "Reason," Asimov cleverly uses a robot as an analogy of the human mind. The reader becomes aware of this as the conversation of Powell, the human supervisor, and Cutie unfolds at the beginning of the story. Cutie possesses an innate curiosity and asks a question that has preoccupied human beings since the dawn of mankind: what is the purpose of my existence? This is a symbol of the human mind's inquisitive nature. Cutie also uses the word, "intuition," (Asimov 96) and this too indicates that Cutie is Asimov's representation of human nature. The discourse with Powell also enables the reader to witness how Cutie uses reason to explain his existence. By doing so, Asimov shows how a human mind can reason and formulate a belief.
To resolve the uncertainty of his existence, Cutie begins his reasoning from concrete...
... middle of paper ...
...l with the abstract, and unknown aspects of living (e.g. death, existence etc.) by building belief systems that allow a purposeful life. On a large scale society can also create belief systems to explain mankind's existence, and observations of this universe. Whether these beliefs are illusions or the absolute truth do not affect us as a functioning society. The question that Asimov leaves in the reader's mind is, 'Is our society built upon a web of beliefs that creates a comfortable illusion of all observations?' Will we ever know the truth to abstract questions pertaining to life, and the REASON of our existence? Or will we always live with inaccurate beliefs-- based on reason and incorrect postulates-- to resolve these questions. These thought-provoking questions shakes the reader's confidence of humanity's ability to find the truth by reasoning correctly.
Some of the health benefits of a jalapeños are it can lower the rate of having a cancer and heart diseases. Burciaga points out that “A chile a day keeps the doctor away. U.S. Government studies show that people living in the Southwest have the lowest rate from heart disease and cancer in the
... warriors allowed the English to relate to Indian tribes. Also, the Indians also used many gender metaphors to insult their opposition. They compared nations looking for peace to women. For example, the Delaware Indians were dressed as women during their negotiations for peace. The gender metaphors helped characterize the fighting spirit of many Indian tribes. The view that men were warriors and did not give in easily during a fight allowed many young men to grow and helped establish a patriarchal system in many Indian tribes.
Life drives us to inevitable places, places where we must cross the metamorphic bridge towards the inescapable. We are not fixed individuals. We hit upon experiences for the sole purpose of change, hence, the “metamorphic bridge”. However, there are certain conditions that all living breeds are destined to encounter overtime, while abiding to a divine plan that many claim was arranged from the moment of birth. Those conditions can be considered fixed; we cannot avoid their occurrences. The ultimate one is death, and the certainty of it provokes religious ambivalence. The crossing of that bridge symbolizes various climactic points in which one results
to be more than robotic, there must be something not just unknown but still undecided”
Searle's argument delineates what he believes to be the invalidity of the computational paradigm's and artificial intelligence's (AI) view of the human mind. He first distinguishes between strong and weak AI. Searle finds weak AI as a perfectly acceptable investigation in that it uses the computer as a strong tool for studying the mind. This in effect does not observe or formulate any contentions as to the operation of the mind, but is used as another psychological, investigative mechanism. In contrast, strong AI states that the computer can be created so that it actually is the mind. We must first describe what exactly this entails. In order to be the mind, the computer must be able to not only understand, but to have cognitive states. Also, the programs by which the computer operates are the focus of the computational paradigm, and these are the explanations of the mental states. Searle's argument is against the claims of Shank and other computationalists who have created SHRDLU and ELIZA, that their computer programs can (1) be ascribe...
During this Foreign Service, Buchanan’s name was mentioned as the Democratic Party’s for the 1856 Presidential Election. Buchanan had strived for this election in the three previous elections; it had seemed to pass over him. But by 1856, Buchanan was ready to retire from public service and only accepted the nomination out of duty and obligation. Buchanan didn’t actively campaign for the presidency, but instead remained quietly at home in Wheatland.
The victories of the Olympians shown in the commercial indicates that no one come across success just by hoping for it. You need the strength of mind and body to struggle and work hard to reach your fullest potential. You also need the sponsor of others, in this case, moms, to help you set the right attitude and drive towards success. P&G reveals the importance of hard working and how they work hard every day to make quality products and services that improve people’s lives. One theme carried through the entire video was a nonviable language—failing. The whining babies, the crying children, the falling kids and so on. But they considered failure as stepping stone and never given up. P&G also thinks of its failures as gifts and parts of its growth and development. The real connection between P&G and the Olympics is moms. Behind Olympic athletes, there is the loving support of dedicated moms who are out there putting all their efforts for their child. Procter & Gamble celebrates the role of mothers played in the careers of several of the Olympics stars. With heavy emotional music and spare use of language, this campaign has a significant impact conveying love for the mother, fulfillment for the athlete and self-reflection for everyone. “P&G, Proud Sponsor of Moms”, P&G is in the business of helping and honoring
One of the major technological advancements in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the development of robots. The Mechanical Hound, a fierce creature that seems to have powers greater than human ones, “represent[s] the whole technological society for Montag” (Kerr). This creature was created to catch criminals a...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an example of how one man is able to preserve human and animal life. Gilgamesh built a six-story high boat and gathered every living creature before the flood hit Shurippak. Gilgamesh was the savior of the Mesopotamian people. Like Mesopotamians, the Aryan people had a savior as well. The source Victory Over Vritra explains how Indra “over all living men he rules as sovereign (44).” Indra gained the right to rule when he defeated the great dragon Vritra. Similar to Gilgamesh, Indra proved his strength when he overcame the perils which faced his people. In contrast to the latter, the Nile river was neither a god nor a human, yet the river was the savior of the Egyptians. The Nile “creates offerings without [divine] aid, making mankind for himself with multiform care (Hymn 22).” Egyptian livelihoods prospered and the people were able to live in great abundance of supplies thanks to the Nile. The Nile is similar to Gilgamesh because they both proved they can provide for the people without the interference of the divinities. Gilgamesh, Indra, and the Nile were the parts of creation stories that protected and provided for human
This paper will dispute that scientific beliefs are not the right way to accept a belief and it will question if we should let one accept their rights to their own beliefs. In Williams James article Will to Believe, we accept his perspective on how we set and fix our beliefs. This paper will first outline his overview on the argument that someone does not choose their belief but rather one just has them. Following, it will outline my perspective on how we set our beliefs and agreement with purse. Then it will explain how other methodologies such as science cannot conclude to one’s true beliefs. Science has been seen as a way to perceive life and taken to consideration as the truth. This paper should conclude that humans define ourselves by
The pursuit of knowledge has led many a philosopher to wonder what the purpose of life truly is, and how the material and immaterial are connected. The simple fact is, we can never know for certain. Arguments can be made, words can be thrown around, and rationale can be supported, but we as mere humans are not capable of arriving at the perfect understanding of life. Nonetheless, in the war against our own ignorance, we seek possible explanations to explain that which science and math cannot. Philosopher 's such as Plato and Aristotle have made notable contributions to our idea of the soul and its role in the grand scheme of life, while some, such as Descartes, have taken a more metaphysical view by pondering the impact one 's mind has on
Before I read DON’T EAT BEFORE READING THIS, I believed the story was about disgusting insects and/or about unpleasant bodily functions. I quickly discovered it was not disturbing as I imagined it would be. The use of similes
Life is a purpose, waiting to be fulfilled. The paper intends to take into account the lives of the protagonists of the fault in our stars to infer the meaning and true purpose of life.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which tells the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies? It is apparent that we are personified entities, but also, that we embrace “more” than just our bodies. “Human persons are physical, embodied beings and an important feature of God’s intended design for human life” (Cortez, 70).
The Chinese Room offers a neuroscientific perspective of using a comparison between humans and computers to help us think about what it means to be human. It shows that programming a computer or a robot to do anything human-like, similar to giving the English speaker a rulebook, does not mean it understands the significance behind what it’s doing or that it has the intelligence of a human. The computer knows what output to create in response to an input, but there’s no meaning or significance behind its actions. This would be like having the English speaker memorize the rulebook so the entire system is inside his brain, it would then look like he can pull from his internal store of the Chinese language to translate the letters. In reality, he would be writing meaningless symbols based on the rules he memorized. In order to be human, one must understand the meaning behind their actions rather than only knowing the rules that lead you to make those