Androids From Your Reading of Hasker, and Essay

Androids

From your reading of Hasker, and using the categories he uses, what view of the mind/body problem do you think is exhibited by Picard? By Maddox? Support your answer.

When explaining the mind/body problem, Hasker points out that there are physical properties and mental properties of people that can enhance understanding of the Star Trek episode. Hasker also notes that the philosophical concept of dualism (between mind and body) and the psychological concept of behaviorism help us to conceptualize the mind/body problem.

In "The Measure of a Man," Picard and Maddox both understand that behaviorism alone cannot account for the totality of the human experience. Picard and Maddox agree that "intelligence, self-awareness and consciousness," which are abstract and immeasurable, can better define the life of a sentient being than can simple observations of behavior. Maddox assumes that Data is limited to the method by which he is created; this is an essentially materialistic and deterministic view. Picard knows that Data possesses not just a remarkable body, but also a remarkable mind. 2.Maddox lists 3 criteria for a being to be sentient: intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness.Are these adequate? Can you think of other properties or characteristics a being needs to have in order to be considered a "person?" What might they be?

Intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness are sufficient properties of defining whether a being is a "person." Not all persons are intelligent, of course, but all can be said to possess at least some rudimentary forms of intelligence such as the ability to learn. Not all humans are self-aware in the Buddhist sense, but all have some ability to be self-referential and to differentiate self from others. Consciousness and self-awareness are linked; both relate to the power of the mind. Emotions are not necessarily a criteria for the definition of a "person," because each person experiences emotion differently.

3.Do you think that artificial intelligence to the level as it is presented in the story will someday be possible? Why or why not?

I do believe that one day, it may be….....