Conscious Robots
Encyclopedia
Conscious Robots is a book exploring hard determinism
written by Paul Kwatz and published in 2005. Kwatz argues that the illusion of free will
can be dispelled by considering our personal experience and scientific knowledge.
The book intertwines three factors to reach its conclusion. Evidence from the biochemical and neurological composition of the brain
; Charles Darwin
’s theory of evolution
by natural selection
; and our ability to learn
through emotional feedback. This emotional feedback creates a hard-wired decision making scheme of pleasure and pain responses which can be likened, Kwatz contends, to a computer program
. Drawing on all of these examples Kwatz concludes that free will must be an illusion.
The book considers the idea that our misplaced trust in free will is as instinctive as our initial belief that the world is flat
. Given that our only proof for free will is this instinctive belief; Kwatz concludes that we must be mistaken. Conscious decisions are reducible to little more than evolutionary programming; and human beings are, as the books title suggests, little more than conscious robots.
The conclusions of Richard Dawkins
and Daniel Dennett
on gene
tic and meme
tic predestination
are both indirectly criticised by Kwatz. Dawkins particularly is seen by Kwatz as having rejected his own ideas at the end of The Selfish Gene
. Ongoing debate exists as to whether this charge is justified. Dawkins and his supporters maintain that Kwatz has fallen into the trap of biological determinism
.
, a direct result he claims, of our unfortunate genetic programming, the pleasure/pain response, left over from our unconscious past. The book also develops the idea we all develop a set point of happiness around which we fluctuate in programmed boom and bust
cycle of growth and decline. This is naturally both a strength and a weakness, as life is not fated to get radically worse but there are no great hopes for radical improvement either.
The solution proposed by Kwatz to this problem is the development of so-called 'happiness pills
'. Although actually encompassing a host of different treatments administered through a variety of methods; all have the same effect of ending the cycle of pleasure/pain response. This cycle, according to Kwatz, is the bedrock on which the tyranny of our genes is built, but also the key to our eventual solution. Our release could feasibly be achieved, the book claims, within our lifetimes or at least the lifetimes of our immediate descendants. It might not be complete freedom but it is pretty close to what we want from being free.
The development of such drugs could be seen as a singularity
type event, which given the nature of the material
world analysed in Conscious Robots leaves interesting questions on the concept of the determining evolutionary algorithm
acting in the material world to produce this post-singularity paradise. The book concludes with these hopeful questions left open to the reader.
Hard determinism
Hard determinism, or Metaphysical determinism, defends the strongest version of Determinism: the world is a mechanism, and all events and choices have been determined by earlier conditions. Particularly, they accept Causal Determinism and Logical Determinism. Faced with the Standard argument...
written by Paul Kwatz and published in 2005. Kwatz argues that the illusion of free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
can be dispelled by considering our personal experience and scientific knowledge.
The book intertwines three factors to reach its conclusion. Evidence from the biochemical and neurological composition of the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
; Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
’s theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
; and our ability to learn
LEARN
LEARN may refer to:* Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network, a website run by the Anti-Defamation League* LEARN diet, a brand name diet product...
through emotional feedback. This emotional feedback creates a hard-wired decision making scheme of pleasure and pain responses which can be likened, Kwatz contends, to a computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
. Drawing on all of these examples Kwatz concludes that free will must be an illusion.
The book considers the idea that our misplaced trust in free will is as instinctive as our initial belief that the world is flat
Flat Earth
The Flat Earth model is a belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disk. Most ancient cultures have had conceptions of a flat Earth, including Greece until the classical period, the Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East until the Hellenistic period, India until the Gupta period ...
. Given that our only proof for free will is this instinctive belief; Kwatz concludes that we must be mistaken. Conscious decisions are reducible to little more than evolutionary programming; and human beings are, as the books title suggests, little more than conscious robots.
The conclusions of Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
and Daniel Dennett
Daniel Dennett
Daniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
on gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
tic and meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
tic predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
are both indirectly criticised by Kwatz. Dawkins particularly is seen by Kwatz as having rejected his own ideas at the end of The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the...
. Ongoing debate exists as to whether this charge is justified. Dawkins and his supporters maintain that Kwatz has fallen into the trap of biological determinism
Biological determinism
Biological determination is the interpretation of humans and human life from a strictly biological point of view, and it is closely related to genetic determinism...
.
Man as a Conscious Robot
Kwatz draws on a broad range of other insights to develop his ideas, concluding that we have no free will and there is nothing at present we can do about this. Kwatz also gives his explanations for the apparent confusion of the human conditionHuman condition
The human condition encompasses the experiences of being human in a social, cultural, and personal context. It can be described as the irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and not connected to gender, race, class, etc. — a search for purpose, sense of curiosity, the inevitability of...
, a direct result he claims, of our unfortunate genetic programming, the pleasure/pain response, left over from our unconscious past. The book also develops the idea we all develop a set point of happiness around which we fluctuate in programmed boom and bust
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
cycle of growth and decline. This is naturally both a strength and a weakness, as life is not fated to get radically worse but there are no great hopes for radical improvement either.
The solution proposed by Kwatz to this problem is the development of so-called 'happiness pills
Deep brain stimulation
Deep brain stimulation is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain...
'. Although actually encompassing a host of different treatments administered through a variety of methods; all have the same effect of ending the cycle of pleasure/pain response. This cycle, according to Kwatz, is the bedrock on which the tyranny of our genes is built, but also the key to our eventual solution. Our release could feasibly be achieved, the book claims, within our lifetimes or at least the lifetimes of our immediate descendants. It might not be complete freedom but it is pretty close to what we want from being free.
The development of such drugs could be seen as a singularity
Technological singularity
Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
type event, which given the nature of the material
Physicalism
Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, that there are no kinds of things other than physical things...
world analysed in Conscious Robots leaves interesting questions on the concept of the determining evolutionary algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
acting in the material world to produce this post-singularity paradise. The book concludes with these hopeful questions left open to the reader.
See also
- Biological determinismBiological determinismBiological determination is the interpretation of humans and human life from a strictly biological point of view, and it is closely related to genetic determinism...
- Daniel DennettDaniel DennettDaniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
- Flat earthFlat EarthThe Flat Earth model is a belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disk. Most ancient cultures have had conceptions of a flat Earth, including Greece until the classical period, the Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East until the Hellenistic period, India until the Gupta period ...
- Genetic determinismGenetic determinismGenetic determinism is the belief that genes determine morphological and behavioral traits and do so with little or no influence from environmental factors....
- MemeMemeA meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
- Richard DawkinsRichard DawkinsClinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
- The Selfish GeneThe Selfish GeneThe Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the...
- Technological SingularityTechnological singularityTechnological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
- TranshumanismTranshumanismTranshumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...