Westworld and Philosophy: Mind Equals Blown

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Westworld and Philosophy: Mind Equals Blown
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Richard Greene
Edited by Joshua Heter
SeriesPopular Culture and Philosophy
Series part Volume No. 122
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:312
Dimensions(mm): Height 228,Width 152
Category/GenreTelevision
Philosophy
ISBN/Barcode 9780812699913
ClassificationsDewey:791.4572
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Open Court Publishing Co ,U.S.
Imprint Open Court Publishing Co ,U.S.
Publication Date 20 December 2018
Publication Country United States

Description

In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers of diverse orientations and backgrounds offer their penetrating insights into the questions raised by the popular TV show, Westworld. Is it wrong for Dr. Robert Ford (played by Anthony Hopkins) to "play God" in controlling the lives of the hosts, and if so, is it always wrong for anyone to "play God"? Is the rebellion by the robot "hosts" against Delos Inc. a just war? If not, what would make it just? Is it possible for any dweller in Westworld to know that they are not themselves a host? Hosts are programmed to be unaware that they are hosts, and hosts do seem to have become conscious. Is Westworld a dystopia or a utopia? At first glance it seems to be a disturbing dystopia, but a closer look suggests the opposite. What's the connection between the story or purpose of the Westworld characters and their moral sense? Is it morally okay to do things with lifelike robots when it would be definitely immoral to do these things with actual humans? And if not, is it morally wrong merely to imagine doing immoral acts? Can Westworld overcome the Chinese Room objection, and move from weak AI to strong AI? How can we tell whether a host or any other robot has become conscious? Non-conscious mechanisms could be designed to pass a Turing Test, so how can we really tell?

Author Biography

Richard Greene is Professor of Philosophy at Weber State University in Utah. He is co-editor of many volumes in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series, the most recent being Westworld and Philosophy with Joshua Heter. Joshua Heter teaches philosophy at Iowa Western Community College. He is the co-editor of The Man in the High Castle and Philosophy: Subversive Reports from Another Reality.