User:Wandering Ponderer/Cultural References to "Ghost in the machine"
![A humanoid robot is shown to the left of an Audi car, both are unmoving and on display for showing at some convention. The robot has a humanoid face and appendages, and is partially covered by a translucent material meant to replicate human skin; this skin-like material is the color of watered-down milk, allowing viewers to see some but not all of the mechanical components working under the robot's skin. The robot's proximal limbs (those closest to its torso) lack this skin-like material and are instead made of exposed, black tubes resembling human muscles. The face, main torso, and distal limbs are covered in the milk-colored, skin-like material. The car has a smooth and clean appearance, with hidden wheels, making it appear futuristic.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/I_robot_car.jpg/220px-I_robot_car.jpg)
The "Ghost in the machine" is a term coined in Gilbert Ryle's book The Concept of Mind (1949),[1] whereby Ryle describes René Descartes' philosophy of the human mind as ghostly and separate from the human body. The concept is referenced in several cultural works, but notably in works of science fiction due to its applications regarding artificial intelligence.
Music
edit- Ghost in the Machine (1981) is the title of The Police's fourth studio album. Sting states the album and many song lyrics were inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine.[2]
- "Ghost in the Machine" (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) is the title of track 12 on SZA's second studio album S.O.S. The song includes themes such as the relationships between humanity, humans, and robots.[3]
Literature
edit- 2010: Odyssey Two (1982), by Arthur C. Clarke, contains a chapter called "Ghost in the Machine", referring to the virtual consciousness inside a computer.
- Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese media franchise created by Masamune Shirow. The main protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi, has a cybernetic body with the exception of her original human brain. Shirow adapted the title from Arthur Koestler's 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine.[4]
- In The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991), author Stephen King uses the concept of the ghost in the machine to refer to his character Blaine the Mono, the train with a split mind that runs the town of Lud.
Film and TV
edit- I, Robot, a 2004 science fiction film based on Isaac Asimov's Robot Series, features Dr. Alfred Lanning, a robotics designer who uses the phrase "ghosts in the machine" to refer to "Random segments of code, that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols [whose] free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul."[5]
- Season 3 of The Transformers (1986), includes an episode titled "Ghost In The Machine" in which the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge, Astrotrain, and Trypticon in a scheme to get Unicron to recreate his body.
- Ghost in the Machine (1993) is a film by Rachel Talalay. The plot revolves around the transfer of serial killer, Karl Hochman's, soul into a computer.[6]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Ryle, Gilbert. 1949. "Descartes' Myth". In The Concept of Mind. London: Hutchinson.
- ^ Sting. 2024. Ghost In The Machine.
- ^ SZA (Ft. Phoebe Bridgers) – Ghost in the Machine, retrieved 2022-12-16
- ^ Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Official Log 1. Weekly Young Magazine. 2003. p. 9.
- ^ IMDB. 2004. I, Robot (2004) James Cromwell: Dr. Alfred Lanning.
- ^ IMDB / user:jujifruit1925. September 5, 2021. Ghost in the Machine.
Primary sources
edit- Ryle, Gilbert (2000-12-15) [1949]. "Descartes' Myth". The Concept of Mind (New Univer ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-73296-7.