Artificial intelligence and first contact with an alien species are two popular science fiction topics. They are popular because they deal with something humanity might very well experience in the future. That raises an important philosophical question; How will humanity react when faced with a completely alien intelligence either man-made or extra-terrestrial? Iris Murdoch essay, “The Idea of Perfection” explains how humanity interacts with the unknown, or the sublime, by masking the sublime with knowledge and experiences already obtained previously instead of approaching it as incomprehensible. This theory is presented in the film “Ex Machina” and Mary Doria Russell’s novel “The Sparrow”. In both of these works the characters meet mysterious …show more content…
In “Ex Machina” Nathan informs Caleb that he will be testing an Artificial Intelligence. He has never faced A.I before, no one has, but the first time he meets Ava he treats her as if she was a machine. He seems completely surprised when she shows the ability to actually think and form her own thoughts and opinions. Just as Murdoch theorizes, instead of accepting the sublime as something that is impossible to fully understand, he is making connections with ideas he already possesses knowledge of, and in the case, Caleb is observing her as an advanced computer. Similarly, in “The Sparrow”, the crew discovers an alien song and begins to make assumptions about their technology, society, and even their emotions. This is perfect example of masking the sublime, this alien race, with ideas and generalizations made from the human point of view which is one that can only originate on Earth. According to Murdoch, morality is the ability to think clearly obtained by a focus on attention. Moral choices are only possible in a world observed in its true form. These characters fail in this aspect because they are not allowing themselves to see these mysterious objects as something they cannot completely comprehend. This acts as a self-inflicted blindness because their attention is focused on synthesized characteristics they put into place to help them rationalize the …show more content…
Caleb is too blinded by his attraction, and what one could call love, of this fabricated image of Ava. This mirage allowed Ava to manipulate Caleb into letting her escape and murder Nathan. Caleb can only stand back and watch in horror as this thing he believed to be closely associated with human locked him away and then unleashed itself upon the world. As such, the fantasy the crew in the “Sparrow” built for themselves did not allow them to see the true complexity of the world in which they found themselves in. Something as simple as planting a garden of earthly plants to feed themselves upset the balance of this world. A few seeds caused an imbalance to the unforeseen ecosystem and social structure ultimately ending in death and war. The characters in both of these cases could not act as moral agents because they didn’t allow themselves to see the real picture. They lacked the moral discipline and gave in to the impulse of
Both of these stories include in their plots, surprising events that alter the course of the plot. There are a couple of surprises in the “Interlopers.” One of these
Jack Merridew is a character who embodies the side of human nature that commits murder, stretches the truth, and causes pain to others. He was the main source of conflict in the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. This character was a powerful figure in this story and because of that, influenced this group of vulnerable, young boys into a dangerous pit of savagery. Jack Merridew has a violent, tyrannical, and evil aura to him that Golding really pressed to his audience. He symbolizes a side to human nature that is too frightening to contemplate.
Therefore, regarding the two texts, fear is present in the characters' lives which further creates tension throughout the
Take heed, this book will usher you deep into the minds of the characters. In the garden of good and evil, of war and peace, you will taste and see the agony of hurting hearts and broken minds.
Imagine being stranded on an island without hope or assurance of help being on the way. This is the scenario William Golding presents in his novel, Lord of the Flies. Golding uses many symbols throughout his novel to help shape the theme of how the flaws of human nature create the flaws within a society. Jack and Ralph interact throughout Golding’s novel to demonstrate how the flaws in human nature cause the flaws and chaos in a society. Jack begins to show his oppressiveness and power hungry characteristic not too long after he separates himself from Ralph.
In the chapter “The Varieties of Alien Experience”, author Bill Ellis makes an argument that is easily relatable to modern society’s consistent fascination with conspiracy theories, difficult to explain phenomena, and matters of the paranormal. In particular, Ellis writes about the social implications that can be observed from the tendency of many presumed authorities and esteemed critics to analyze and disprove accounts of such extraordinary occurrences as alien abductions and other types of direct extraterrestrial interactions whenever they emerge from people who are convinced that they have gone through these types of supernatural events on a firsthand basis.
The idea of Artificial Intelligence began as a mere philosophical idea, simply a puzzle that provided food for thought for curious minds. In the 1940's, however, with the invention of the first computers, the notion then had the means to transcend simple abstract speculation and became a rather alluring potential actuality and goal in the technological community. It was not until the 1950's, however, that the link between human intelligence and machines was really observed spawning a technological boom that would precipitate to immense proportions, entirely reshaping our daily lives. Today, "Researchers are creating systems which can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat the best human chess player, and countless other feats never before possible" (The History of AI 1). The rapid fervor to which the researchers latched on to the further development of this infant technology, coincides eerily to that of the intense desire Shelley portrayed in Victor as he literally emptied his entire soul and being into his obsession of creating life. As Victor so splendidly illustrates a quest of this sort and in this manner is blinding and for this reason scarily dangerous. For just as Victor stood dumbfounded and
The novel " Lord of the Flies" focuses on the conflict that exists between two competing impulses that Golding, suggests exist within all humans; these being the instinct to follow the rules, act in a peaceful manner and comply to moral commands compared to the instinct to act violently in order to gain control over others and to satisfy our own greed and personal desires. The conflict exists within the novel in several forms; law and order vs. anarchy, civilization vs. savagery and the basic term of good vs. evil. Golding uses these themes consistently throughout the novel, clearly associating instinctive savagery with evil and the instinct of civilisation with good. The representation of this lies in Ralph and Jack, the two central
While the conclusion tacked onto the end of The Bad Seed didn’t manage to change some of the less obvious themes in Mervyn LeRoy’s 1956 film, the new ending put in place by conservative lobby groups affects the portrayal of transgressions from societal standards and taboos. The dramatic difference in the ending gives the film a strong message that transgressions can only be righted through an act of god.
However, at the end of the novel, the downfall of all civilization is explained in Ralph’s emotions. Ralph; “[weeps] for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202). In civilization, people are sheltered and filled with innocence, so when Ralph weeps for innocence he is really weeping for the loss of civilization he tried so hard to establish on the island. The darkness of a man’s heart is the darkness in all of humanity that drove Jack and the other boys to kill each other. According to Rohitash Thapliyal and Shakuntala Kunwar, authors of “Ecocritical Reading of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”, “The human instincts of aggression and self-destruction’ disturb the quiet rhythm of nature and turn it into a fiery hell” “Thapliyal and Kunwar 89). The idea that humans’ self-destructive instincts disturb nature coincides with the occurrences of Lord of the Flies. Jacks aggressive desire to hunt interferes with ecosystem of the island, the boys’ savage behavior causes Simon and Piggy to die, and at the end of the novel, the island is literally a burnt fiery hell. These human behaviors that are derived from the darkness within led to the downfall of civilization on the
In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of English boys in their adolescence are stranded on an island. They crash-land while being evacuated because of an atomic war, so the boys must learn to cooperate with each other in order to survive. The boys are civil at first, but the bonds of civilization unfold as the rapacity for power and immediate desires become more important than civility and rescue. The conflict between Ralph, the protagonist, and Jack, the antagonist, represents the conflict between the impulse to civilization and the impulse to savagery, respectively. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Ralph and Jack’s struggle for power to show that greed and lust for power can corrupt the best
The horrible tragedy that occurred in the beginning of Lord of the Flies became the start of the awful transformation that nobody could have expected. There were about 16-20 children on the plane that crashed on a desert island. They all play a certain role, but we are going to mainly talk about two of them, Ralph and Jack. The great thing about these two is that they are polar opposites (a foil). Ralph always has a good heart and does not want to put violence into any aspect of his survival. Jack on the other hand immediately wants to get his hands dirty by bringing up how you need food for survival so they need to go kill an animal that’s on the island. This is just one example
Innocence is quickly brushed under the rug whenever the boys realize they must kill to eat, making hunting the first major cause in the conversion from good to evil. When first crashing onto the island Jack had come with a set of morals and therefore was not able to
The first example of human nature demonstrated throughout the story is Ralph’s need for meaning or purpose. “The world, that understandable and lawful world was slipping away. Once there was there was this and that; nd now and the ship had gone” (( 1, 91))
The ending of the film is inclined to provoke this response, it is clear; by leaving Caleb trapped in Nathan’s home and now grave, Ava betrays her inhumanity. In contrast, Nathan betrays his sensualism and humanity as a typically flawed genius, he is also infinitely human, and indeed represents humanity at its most intelligent and