Transformers
and Philosophy
Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch
VOLUME 1 Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000)
VOLUME 2 The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer (2001)
VOLUME 3 The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002)
VOLUME 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003)
VOLUME 5 The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All (2003)
VOLUME 9 Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004)
VOLUME 12 Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (2005)
VOLUME 13 Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005)
VOLUME 17 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking) (2006)
VOLUME 19 Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006)
VOLUME 24 Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time (2006)
VOLUME 25 The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think that Can’t Be Thunk (2006)
VOLUME 26 South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating (2007)
VOLUME 28 The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded about Love and Haight (2007)
VOLUME 29 Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy: How to Philosophize with a Pair of Pliers and a Blowtorch (2007)
VOLUME 30 Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007)
VOLUME 31 Johnny Cash and Philosophy: The Burning Ring of Truth (2008)
VOLUME 32 Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy: Darkness on the Edge of Truth (2008)
VOLUME 33 Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished or Mission Frakked Up? (2008)
VOLUME 34 iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008)
VOLUME 35 Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008)
VOLUME 36 The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (2008)
VOLUME 37 The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008)
VOLUME 38 Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive (2009)
VOLUME 39 Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life (2009) Edited by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt
VOLUME 40 Transformers and Philosophy: More than Meets the Mind (2009) Edited by John R. Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan
VOLUME 41 Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You!) (2009) Edited by Aaron Allen Schiller
VOLUME 42 Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009) Edited by Ben Dyer
VOLUME 43 The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust (2009) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison
VOLUME 44 Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009) Edited by Scott Calef
VOLUME 45 World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King (2009) Edited by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger
Volume 46 Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The Curious Case of the Defective Detective (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
Volume 47 Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin
VOLUME 48 The Red Sox and Philosophy: Green Monster Meditations (2010) Edited by Michael Macomber
VOLUME 49 Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy: New Life for the Undead (2010) Edited by Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad
VOLUME 50 Facebook and Philosophy: What’s on Your Mind? (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
VOLUME 51 Soccer and Philosophy: Beautiful Thoughts on the Beautiful Game (2010) Edited by Ted Richards
VOLUME 52 Manga and Philosophy: Fullmetal Metaphysician (2010) Edited by Josef Steiff and Adam Barkman
VOLUME 53 Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness (2010) Edited by Graham Priest and Damon Young
VOLUME 54 The Onion and Philosophy: Fake News Story True, Alleges Indignant Area Professor (2010) Edited by Sharon M. Kaye
VOLUME 55 Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka
VOLUME 56 Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat (2011) Edited by Jeffery Nicholas
VOLUME 57 Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2011) Edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman
VOLUME 58 Dexter and Philosophy: Mind over Spatter (2011) Edited by Richard Greene, George A. Reisch, and Rachel Robison-Greene
VOLUME 59 Halo and Philosophy: Intellect Evolved (2011) Edited by Luke Cuddy
VOLUME 60 SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea! (2011) Edited by Joseph J. Foy
VOLUME 61 Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind (2011) Edited by Josef Steiff
VOLUME 62 Inception and Philosophy: Ideas to Die For (2011) Edited by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
VOLUME 63 Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? (2011) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
VOLUME 64 The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It’s Just a Thought Away (2012) Edited by Luke Dick and George A. Reisch
VOLUME 65 Chuck Klosterman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Seth Vannatta
IN PREPARATION:
Neil Gaiman and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Tracy L. Bealer, Rachel Luria, and Wayne Yuen
Breaking Bad and Philosophy (2012) Edited by David R. Koepsell and Robert Arp
The Walking Dead and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Wayne Yuen
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Mark Ralkowski
Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox
The Catcher in the Rye and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Keith Dromm and Heather Salter
Jeopardy! and Philosophy (2012) Edited by Shaun P. Young
Planet of the Apes and Philosophy (2013) Edited by John Huss
Boardwalk Empire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene
The Wire and Philosophy (2013) Edited by Joanna Crosby, Seth Vannatta, and David Bzdack
For full details of all Popular Culture and Philosophy® books, visit www.opencourtbooks.com.
Popular Culture and Philosophy®
Transformers
and Philosophy
________________________________
More than Meets the Mind
Edited by
JOHN R. SHOOK
and
LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN
OPEN COURT
Chicago and La Salle, Illinois
Transformers and Philosophy is not a Hasbro publication, and is in no way prepared, authorized, sponsored, or endorsed by Hasbro, or by anyone connected with the Transformers toys, cartoons, comics, movies, games, or TV shows. Many of the names and terms mentioned in this book are trademarks of Hasbro. They are employed here purely for descriptive, critical, and scholarly purposes.
The front cover picture is used by permission of Hasbro and of Getty Images.
Volume 40 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy®, edited by George A. Reisch
To order books from Open Court, call toll-free 1-800-815-2280, or visit our website at www.opencourtbooks.com.
Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.
Copyright © 2009 by Carus Publishing Company
First printing 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing C
ompany, 315 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-3000.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Transformers and philosophy / edited by John R. Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan
p. cm.—(Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 40)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8126-9814-5 (trade paper : alk. paper)
1. Transformers (Fictitious characters)—Miscellanea. 2. Comic books, strips, etc.—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Shook, John R. II. Swan, Liz Stillwaggon, 1973-
PN6728.T67T73 2009
741.5’973—dc22
2009009549
Contents
Making Proper Introductions
JOHN R. SHOOK and LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN
Episode One: We Have Company
1. The Changing Shape of Things to Come
J. STORRS HALL
2. First Contact
JOHN R. SHOOK
Episode Two: Seeing and Believing
3. Object Lessons
KEVIN S. DECKER, KARL ERBACHER, AND GABRIEL RYE
4. What Changes when Transformers Transform?
MICHAEL SPICHER
5. In the Eye of the Beholder
JOSEF STEIFF
Episode Three: Mind over Matter
6. Can Metal Be Mental?
MATTHEW PIKE
7. Will We Meet Optimus Prime in Heaven?
M.R. EYESTONE
8. Optimus Prime in Therapy
ERIC SWAN AND LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN
Episode Four: I and Thou
9. Morally Responsible Machines
ROBERT ARP
10. Robots in Love?
JAMIE WATSON and ROBERT ARP
Episode Five: Good versus Evil
11. Good Robot, Bad Robot, What’s the Difference?
NICOLAS MICHAUD
12. Beyond Good? Beyond Evil? Beyond Your Wildest Imagination?
ADAM BARKMAN
13. Optimus Prime: Hero for Our Time
COREY NEIL
Episode Six: War and Peace
14. Megatron, Fascist Philosopher
JOHN R. SHOOK
15. Are Ethical War-Bots Possible?
DAVID R. KOEPSELL
16. Freedom Is the Right of All Sentient Beings
GEOFFREY ALLAN PLAUCHÉ
Author Bios
Index
Making Proper Introductions
JOHN R. SHOOK and LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN
I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. I am that which is, which was, and is yet to come . . . and you will know my name is Megatron when I lay my vengeance upon you!
—Beast Wars, “Nemesis Part 2” (1999)
The search for extraterrestrial life is over. Aliens have been discovered in great numbers and great variety. They exist, at the very least, in the human imagination. Their stories are told in novels, short stories, movies, comic strips, cartoons, and folklore. In science-fiction stories, aliens are often depicted as horrible little creatures who visit Earth to wreak havoc on its inhabitants. And a common theme of alien abduction stories is the horrific nature of the invasive experiments to which abductees are subjected at the hands of their alien captors. But the pervasiveness of all kinds of alien stories that exist in our culture today suggests that humans find these frightening stories far more compelling and spell-binding than the alternative—that there are no aliens at all and we are alone in the universe.
Transformers comprise a unique example of possible alien life for several reasons. First, they are robotic in nature and thus very different from the “little green men” cliché of mid-twentieth-century science fiction. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute, thinks that First Contact will be with a civilization of artificially intelligent robots. It’s quite likely that if an alien civilization has existed long enough to develop the technology for space travel, they will also have figured out how to build intelligent machines that are not subject to the limitations of biological life and are designed to endure the rigors of space travel. Second, while many traditional alien stories involve the good humans versus evil aliens dichotomy, Transformers are unique in having their own dichotomy to deal with—evil Decepticons and good Autobots. Humans immediately get caught in between, on a moral plane as well as a physical plane.
The fact that the Autobots remain on the Earth to protect the planet and its people from the evil Decepticons makes them immediately endearing to us. They had an independent reason for coming to Earth, namely to recover the All Spark and restore peace on their own home planet of Cybertron. Yet they are now determined to protect the human inhabitants of the planet throughout their mission on Earth. In the 2007 movie we see the Autobots develop deep and moving relationships with a few humans and begin to witness in them a new kind of transformation: from mere machines or robots to more thoughtful, compassionate, humanlike subjects. Transformers bear little resemblance to the little green men of the horror-scifi genre that wanted to harvest the human race for food or make us their slaves; they are instead an admirable race of beings in their own right, with their own history and future, concerns and motives, one of which includes the protection of the young and weak human race from the tyranny of the evil Decepticons.
This book presents a collective inquiry into the nature of this alien, robotic civilization that so many have grown to admire and love. Its chapters take a close look at Transformers on a deeper, more philosophical level. They ask and answer many questions about their fundamental nature, such as: Do Transformers have moral status? Are they morally accountable for their actions? As smart robots, they can pass the Turing Test with flying colors, but do they have minds? How about souls? Are they heaven-bound? Are they capable of love, and if so, which kind of love: Platonic? Erotic? And what makes Optimus Prime always Optimus Prime, whether robot or vehicle? What makes him the same being despite his changing form? Some chapters adopt a particular philosophical stance from which to analyze Transformer nature, such as phenomenological or Aristotelian. And others choose to focus on a particular Transformer character: John Shook’s chapter postulates that Megatron is best understood as a fascist, while Swan and Stillwaggon Swan’s essay portrays a broken down Optimus Prime seeking guidance through psychological counseling.
In our imaginations, Transformers are so real, so humanlike. But what does that really mean? One of the most significant features of Artificial Intelligence is that it objectifies what before was only subjective. AI creations such as robots provide a kind of mirror for us to see features of ourselves from a new perspective. It’s impossible to look into someone’s mind (which, you’ll note, is not exactly the same as looking into someone’s brain, which we can do!). Yet it is possible, and also fun and interesting, to watch robots do things that require what we think is going on in the human mind when humans do those things. And Transformers are certainly no exception. By probing more deeply into the cognitive, moral, and metaphysical features of Transformers, we’re really probing more deeply into human nature, since Transformers are our creations after all!
And what a stunningly successful creation Transformers has been. From its humble beginnings as a marketing tool to sell some Japanese-made toys, the Transformers have used every modern media to expand into the planet’s collective consciousness. The recent Transformers blockbuster movie was a huge success in 2007, but many people still easily recall the original cartoon TV series (1984–1987) and also the comic books, which continue to be published around the world. Over fifty different series of Transformers toys and matching storylines have been released to date (see http://tfwiki.net/), and there are no signs of slowing down. Needless to say, Transformers now has an immense web existence as well, propelled by an amazing amount of fan energy.
Transformers turned out to be far more than a marketing ploy to sell children’s toys. Excepting only the Star Wars saga, no science-fiction story has reached as many people around the world. While countless science-fiction writers h
ave explored future scenarios of humans encountering and dealing with robots, Transformers has been the single greatest entertainment vehicle to explore the potential scenario of humans confronting an alien robotic civilization in our own time. Their influence on the way that the world thinks about First Contact is undeniable. Furthermore, if Seth Shostak’s prognostications have any validity, Transformers may be prophetic as well. Our first communication and contact with an alien civilization may be with AI life forms. Are we ready?
There may be Megatrons out there . . . but hopefully there will be Optimus Primes, too. First impressions really will matter. Can we make proper introductions?
EPISODE ONE
_________________
We Have Company
1
The Changing Shape of Things to Come
J. STORRS HALL
Suppose we, the people of Earth, were to be visited by robots from another star. What could we say about them in advance? Perhaps surprisingly, we can say quite a lot.
First of all, we shouldn’t be surprised that our visitors are indeed robots. Emmisaries from Earth have visited the other planets in our own solar system in the past few decades, and all of them have been robots. Humans have stepped only (and briefly) on our own moon. Any civilization sending explorers to the stars is almost certain to send robots first.
We ourselves can’t send anything to the stars (except TV commercials). A civilization capable of doing so would have to be more advanced than ours. How much more?
Stages of Civilization
Futurists sometimes use the Kardashev scale to put the different stages of civilization in perspective. On the Kardashev scale, a civilization that uses all the energy available on one planet is called Type 1, and one that uses all the energy from a star is called Type 2. It’s a logarithmic scale: each type uses a billion times more power than the previous one. Type 0 works out to be a village of stone-age humans. Human civilization on Earth today is about Type 0.7, which means we still have a factor of a thousand or so to go just to Type 1.
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