7
Please watch the following episode of Futurama. It is Free Will
Hunting, Season 7, Episode 9.
If this link does not work for you, there are other options. The
public libraries have DVD copies of Futurama in circulation, so
you may be able to find the episode there. Also, there are
reasonably priced online services which can provide the single
episode. Such as Hulu, Google Play, Amazon, and iTunes.
Due Date:
Purpose:
The purpose of this discussion is for you to think critically about
the morality of actions and why you think an action is moral or
immoral and about the nature of free will as it relates to all of that.
It is easy to say what you think, but it is hard to back it up in a
debate. This is an extreme case, but working with it makes every-
day cases easier.
Task:
1. For your initial post, you need to:
1. Think carefully about the the story of Bender the Robot
in the Futurama episode above and then explain
whether you think Bender always had free will. Did he?
Is his situation so different from people?
2. Say why you think that. As always these cases, you
should not say merely that this is how you feel, but
rather explain why you have that feeling.
3. Say how you think another student may reply to your
stance. Doing these 3 things is worth 10pts.
2. Reply to 2 other students in this class who have opposing
views to you or take on the role as the devil’s advocate and
object to them. If possible, avoid replying in the way that
they thought someone might reply. The replies are worth
5pts a piece. Going above and beyond (replying more than
twice with substantive comments) is rewarded with extra
credit.
To Succeed:
1. Make sure you are clear about your stance, that you do not
devolve into name-calling and uncivil behavior.
2. Debate and replies to replies are encouraged as this is
practice for real-world debates.
3. Make sure that you have all of the above points in your
posts.
4. I will comment replies if the post is very off-the-mark in the
interpretation of the case, if it is unduly inflammatory, or
otherwise not appropriate.
Pro-Tip:
This is something I come across quite often, some claim that
Bender has some free-will. This is to think that free will comes in
degrees. This is mistaken. Either a being has it or they don’t,
there’s not a middle ground. You could say that for some of his
actions he was acting with free will and for others he was not,
and that is fine, this would mean that whether Bender has free
will changes throughout the episode.
Purpose:
The purpose of this discussion is for you to think critically about
epistemological and metaphysical questions and why you think
the way that you do and for you to argue for them. It is easy to
say what you think, but it is hard to back it up in a debate. This is
an extreme case, but working with it makes every-day cases
easier.
The Case:
Growing up, you had a near and dear childhood friend, call them
Andi Rossum.1 Now, for sleep-overs or slumber-parties, Andi
would not eat and the Rossums explained that this is because
Andi has a very special diet. You take classes together, play
together and Andi is your best friend. In your teens, while getting
into shenanigans, Andi cuts themselves and you notice that it’s
not blood which comes out, but rather a greenish-blue liquid. You
recognize it immediately as coolant, like in a car.
It turns out, the Rossums were researchers at a top secret
government lab. They fell in love and ended up having a baby,
which they named ‘Andi’. But this Andi died only a few years old
and the parents, distraught, used their accesses to various
technologies to build a ‘baby’. The brain is a computer and the
parts are exchanged to match growth patterns.2
But, does Andi have a mind? Are they conscious? Remember
that Andi is a machine.
Tasks:
1. For your initial post, you need to:
1. Think carefully about the above case and then explain
whether you think Andi has a mind, are they conscious,
do they feel, etc. Going outside of the case for a
moment, all of your real evidence your non–robotic
friends and family have minds is based on their
behavior, which is no different than the evidence you
have that Andi has a mind.
2. Say why you think that. As always with these cases,
you should not say merely that this is how you feel, but
rather explain why you have that feeling.
3. Say how you think another student may reply to your
stance. Doing these 3 things is worth 10pts.
2. Reply to 2 other students in this class who have opposing
views to you or take on the role as the devil’s advocate and
object to them. And, if possible, avoid replying in the way
that they thought someone might reply. Each reply is worth
5pts. Going above and beyond (more than 2 substantive
replies) is rewarded with extra credit.
Major Note:
I have seen this several times and it really fails to answer the
questions. Many students try to make a distinction between
‘having a mind’ and ‘being conscious’. This is a distinction
without a relevant difference. In order to be conscious, a thing
must have a mind and if a thing has a mind, then they are
conscious. Think of the mind as whatever is necessary for
consciousness, that is, it is impossible for something to be
conscious without having a mind.
To Succeed:
1. Make sure you are clear about your stance, that you do not
devolve into name-calling and uncivil behavior.
2. Debate and replies to replies are encouraged as this is
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