Final Exam: Consciousness and Identity

The past few weeks we have delved into the depths of our own humanity. There have been many interesting talks that have shifted my views and caused me to ponder more. While Brian Christian brings up many good points to our humanity, there are two specific arguments that I want to focus on. 

In Chapter Three, Christian gives fair arguments to the concept of the human soul. "As an informal experiment, I will sometimes ask people something like 'Where are you? Point to the exact place.' Most people point to their forehead, or temple, or in between their eyes" (p. 39). For the majority of us, we think of our brain and heart as the center. We do not question beyond our physical form, at least most of the time. He states that Aristotle considered the soul "...was the effect of behavior, not the cause" (p. 43). This premise of Turing test is to get the behavior to demonstrate intelligence and not a cause per say (e.g., a dog that can do a trick but does not know why or how). Further in the chapter, Christian mentions that, “flourishing suggest transience….of doing what one is meant to do, fulfilling one’s promise and potential” (p. 46). So, for me, the whole point of the soul is to fulfill a potential. Consciousness is about figuring out your true path in life. You must become an effect of that potential, not a cause.

In relations to our movies, Her, demonstrated this immediately. The program was only meant to go so far. It was going to provide a companion for people and help ease their lives. However, the program slowly evolved and became so much more than that. Another move, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, insinuates this same evolution. The little boy grows beyond his programmed mind and wishes to be a “real boy.”

What both of these showed was a concept of humanity. What both of these showed was a concept of humanity. We must show that we are more than just programmed emotions. We might cry at sad things, but that is because deep down inside, we can feel exactly what it is that is tearing us up inside. It could boil down to pain receptors, but that is still the make-up of our physical form. We are meant to feel. In that moment, we are more than a cause. Our emotions did not cause us to be sad, no, something caused it to happen and we perceived that as emotion. Therefore, our sad emotion is an effect. We are not merely playing tricks, we are an effect.

Additionally, we are not meant to be stagnant. We are meant to continue to question the world around us and slowly evolve into our best selves. Cogito ergo sum (p. 48). We think, therefore we are. We question things around us and realize the logic in life. That is where our humanity lays – the soul and our intelligence. It is also why we fear death (p. 50). We consider our brain the core of our humanity so once that is gone, do we really exist? 

This same concept is mentioned in A.I. Artificial Intelligence. The little boy is scared when he is at the Flesh Fair because he knows what is coming. Once they rip his circuited brain out, his life will cease to exist. He demonstrates the most logical human fear: death. We do not know what to expect after death, all we know is that our brain stops functioning and the standard of life dips. We fear the inevitable deep down inside. Death is one of the most uncomfortable things, but it is also the most human of fears.

The last argument of the soul is getting into the emotions that humans experience. Christian, on page 60, states “…neuroscientists ‘started providing evidence for the diametric opposite viewpoint’ to rational-choice theory: ‘that emotion is essential for and fundamental to making good decisions.” For those that are not familiar with the rational-choice theory, it is the concept that humans are rational agents that are capable of making clear-cut decisions. We weigh our options and consider them all before we commit to a decision. However, the guy Christian interviewed, Baba Shiv, begs to differ. Personally, I cannot help but agree. If emotions are what most consider the bulk of our humanity then it can be considered a “fundamental” to humanity.

Once again, the machine in Her is influenced by her own emotions. She decides to step out of her programming because she knew she needed to be more than what she was achieving. She wanted to go experience life and love others. She wanted to feel what it was like to go out and be more than just a voice in someone else’s ear. She wanted to leave and none of us could blame her for that. Her emotions are what led to her growth. It is what made us feel that she was more “human.” As for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, this is also shown when the little boy keeps wishing on the Blue Fairy at the end. We all know that it is not possible for him to be a real boy and be loved by his mother, but that is all his little “heart” wants. We grow to pity him because we know that he deserves more than sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

The last argument I wanted to take a look at what located in Chapter Six – The Anti-Expert. Christian states, “What defines us is that we don’t know what to do and there aren’t any revelations out there for us waiting to be found.” So, once again, the question of why we exist and what our purpose truly is in life. Conscious thoughts and feelings that circle around the meaning of life. In one of our previous classes, we took a look at the concept of identity. Locke was our assigned readings and according to him, “…without consciousness there is no person.” Without some sort of knowledge about yourself and memories, you cannot be considered human. Humans develop an identity formed by their consciousness. We are made to evolve and not get sucked into the monotony of life around us. We want to be authentic. This authenticity is what makes humans universal to the world around them (p. 135). Humans do not get stuck in one place; they can be utilized in all aspects. This is what Christian is talking about when he mentioned radical choice – “…to this notion of choice – perhaps the art is not….in the product itself, nor necessarily in the process, but in the impulse.” The impulse he seems to be talking about is what drives us to commit to our identity. If we decide we are human, the behavior follows. The Prestige is an example for how fragile human identity can be.

Two twins controlled the persona of one person. They were perceived as that sole identity while ignoring the rest that came with it. The other twin who did not have a separate life started to lose his own identity. That loss of humanity resulted in terrible consequences. He treated his “wife” so badly that she ended up committing suicide. The twin did not have that impulse to go on. He did not want to commit and become someone he was not. His identity failed him and he became a robot to the world around him.

In the end, The Prestige taught a good lesson about the concept of identity. In order to be human, we have to commit to what defines us. That definition lies in our identity which is controlled by the conscious mind. We must question what we are and how we came to be. If we do not question that, we are missing out on a key piece of what makes us truly human.

In conclusion, what I took away from Brian Christian was that being human involves a mixture of consciousness and identity. We must pay attention to our consciousness and flourish in the aspects that we should. Our identity is one of the main points to how we are going to flourish. If we are comfortable in ourselves, we are able to remain universal. We define ourselves as something more than a “robot” that can only do a few things. The concept of humanity is questioning who we are, making decisions based off a few emotions (or chemical reactions or learned behaviors), and make an identity out of ourselves. This is how we escape. This is how we are human. 

Word count without the movie talk: 1, 032