Work

Papers

All three papers should be spell checked, double spaced, 1-inch marrgins on all sides (note that Word for some idiotic reason now defaults to 1.25" on the left and the right sides, which is wrong), stapled once in the upper left-hand corner, with your name, etc., and consisting entirely of your own work and appropriately cited sources. I don't need a formal bibliography for any of them, but a name, a title and a page number would be nice.

Papers #1 and 2

The first two papers should be approximately 5 pages in length (you won't get extra points for handing in something extra long, but I do expect at least 4 1/2 pages). In each of these papers, I want you to take one of our "philosophical texts" (Esposito, Haraway, Searle) etc. and place it in dialogue with one or two of the primary texts (Ex machina, Star Trek, Pinocchio). What does it mean "to place in dialogue"? I mean you want to show, in your paper, how the two texts, theoretical and creative, speak to each other: does the Star Trek: Next Generation episode "Most Toys" show a problem with Searle's "Chinese Room" argument? Or does it perhaps say something else? Keep in mind that sometimes theoretical texts illuminate fictional ones—and sometimes it's the other way around!

Paper #3

A little longer this time, around 8 pages. Here I want you to explicitly reflect on the concept of "persons and things," drawing on all the theoretical texts we've read this semester (probably Esposito, but all of them have something useful to say), while simultaneously drawing on the fictional texts we've read and watched. Is the distinction between persons and things useful? harmful? necessary? Is there any real difference between persons and things? Do you agree with Esposito that "the body" is a category that might allow us to think beyond the difference between persons and things? Are you convinced that artificial intelligence is possible, or that some spark of "something else" will always remain outside of what can be reproduced in silicon? In other words, here I want you to reach for one of the large questions that animate this class—your discussion should focus both on the primary texts that perfectly exemplify your argument, as well as those that most challenge it (while Ex machina is very much focused on the question of the body, Her seems to remain entirely in the realm of the disembodied; I think Searle would find HAL 9000 from 2001 good support for his "Chinese Room" argument, but would find Star Trek's Data to be rather more difficult).

Grades

Paper #1: 20%

Paper #2: 20%

Paper #3: 35%

Attendance and Participation: 25%