Is Man a Robot?

The modern robot is developing immense functional versatility and - many would say - powers of judgement, reason, and the ability to discriminate between behavioural options (the rudiments of free will). We can see, with only a little imagination, how robots will progressively acquire human-like capabilities and characteristics. Indeed we may ask whether there are any human preserves upon which the robot will not one day encroach. And this suggests the associated question - is it possible to interpret human beings themselves in robotic terms? This book suggests that there is a sense in which man can be viewed as a robot - as an engineered anatomy, a cybernetic system programmed for performance. It is proposed - and argued - that the specifically human characteristics of emotion, free will, moral responsibility, creativity and ethical awareness can be accommodated by the doctrine of robotic man; and moreover that this is not a dehumanising analysis of human nature. Geoff Simons argues that we need to interpret human beings within the terms of natural law. Only in such a way - avoiding the traditional packaging of man in confused, mysterious and superstitious categories - can we develop a philosophy that is truly humanistic. The true humanists are those that can face what man is - and rejoice.