Sometimes electrical stimulation of the brain induces “alien hand syndrome”– the involuntary movement of the body against the will of the “person” allegedly in control. Other times it provokes equally involuntary movements, which subjects nonetheless insist they “chose” to perform despite overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary. Blindsight by Peter Watts, Charybdis
I choose the proceeding lines because here we are again with a very clinical, computer-like analysis of how the human body works. The way in which we as humans feel, our emotions, are described in a very negative tone. He is describing our emotions as a hindrance to us being in control. So much so as to describe them as acting “against the will of the ‘person’ allegedly in control.” Are we in control? The use of the word “allegedly” asks us to ponder a difficult question. Do our emotions lead to a lack of control? We would like to think that the very thing with which we usually, at least according to Science Fiction, attribute to making us human is not really a detriment to our species. An idea that occurs often in Science Fiction is that we as humans can feel emotion; cry, love, hate, etc. And that this is what makes us better. I am reminded of a scene from Dark City which includes the following lines:
Mr. Hand: But I wanted to know what it was like… how you feel.
John Murdoch: You know how I was supposed to feel. That person isn’t me… never was. You wanted to know what it was about us that made us human. Well, you’re not going to find it…
[Murdoch points at his head]
John Murdoch: …in here. You were looking in the wrong place.
The point he is making is that the heart is what makes us human. Of course, emotions do come from the brain and not the heart but that’s how the figure of speech goes. The lines from Blindsight question that very premise; the premise that because of emotions, we ”choose” to perform certain things “despite overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary.” I find this concept and critique on human emotions very interesting. Who says its better to have a heart, would we be much more productive if we all thought with our brains?
