2. ◦ Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
◦ Author and biochemist
◦ Associated with Astounding Science-Fiction magazine
◦ Peak writing period: 1940-50s
◦ Famous works
◦ Foundation series
◦ Robot series
3. In the Robot series, Asimov uses robots
to explore moral and ethical questions.
◦ Where do we draw the line between human
and AI?
◦ How should we treat non-human sentient
beings?
◦ What does it mean to live a moral life?
4. Central to the Robot series are
Asimov’s Three Laws of
Robotics. These laws constrain
robot’s actions and, through
their various loopholes and/or
unintended consequences, are
responsible for many of the
conflicts in the Robot stories.
5. Asimov’s Robot stories are notable for
championing a positive view of human-robot
relations. In this series, Asimov highlights the
need for both the humans and robots to
develop a workable ethical framework within
which thinking technology and its creators can
interact profitably and positively.
6. ◦ Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
◦ French philosopher
◦ Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)
◦ A priori reasoning
◦ Inferring truth from what are believed to be self-
evident propositions
7. ◦ In “Reason,” Asimov interrogates Rene Descartes’ theory that there is a logical basis for religion.
◦ Essentially, after identifying one incontrovertible piece of knowledge—“I think therefore I am”
aka Descartes’ certainty that he exists as a thinking being—Descartes proceeds to use a priori
reasoning to prove God exists.
◦ As the Encyclopedia of Philosophy puts it, “Descartes sets out to find something that lies beyond all
doubt. He eventually discovers that ‘I exist’ is impossible to doubt and is, therefore, absolutely
certain. It is from this point that Descartes proceeds to demonstrate God’s existence and that
God cannot be a deceiver.”
8. ◦ QT-1 = Cartesian reasoning
◦ “I began at the one sure assumption I
felt permitted to make. I, myself, exist,
because I think” (Asimov 164)
◦ “the self-evident proposition that no
being can create another being
superior to itself smashes your silly
hypothesis to nothing. …Evidently
my creator must be more powerful
than myself and so there was only one
possibility. … the Master” (165)
9. ◦ Powell and Donovan = a posteriori reasoning
◦ A posteriori
◦ A proposition that is based on experience
or empirical evidence
◦ “Why argue? Let’s show him! Let’s build
another robot right before his eyes. He’ll
have to eat his words then” (171).
10. In his Foundation trilogy, Asimov states that rationality is the
one human trait that can always be trusted, yet here Cutie’s
religious faith arrives at the same conclusion the human
engineers desire. This implies that while Cutie’s religious beliefs
are irrational, they are nevertheless not incompatible with
working effectively in an advanced technological world.
While there can be little doubt that “Reason” promotes
empirical evidence and reasoning over the religious, the story
is surprisingly generous to religion in connecting much of the
scientific mindset with that of faith. Therefore, while “Reason”
conveys ironic skepticism in its attitude toward religion and
faith, it also shows that the two can be compatible. This is of no
small consequence where the vast majority of the people in
the world continue to adhere to various religious faiths while
living in a technologically advanced culture.
11. Reflection Questions
◦ Answer for yourself:
◦ Does "Reason" encourage the reader to side with QT-1 or with
Donovan and Powell (or perhaps both/neither)? Why?
◦ What is the story’s attitude towards religion? Towards logic?
◦ Does the narration provide any clues to help orient the reader in
this conflict between QT-1 and the engineers?
12. Image Credits
◦ Slide 2: Image via Encyclopedia Britiannica
◦ Slide 4: Image via DigitalSeeds
◦ Slide 5: Image by Randall Munroe via xkcd
◦ Slide 6: Image via Wikipedia
◦ Slide 8: Image via H+Magazine
◦ Slide 9: Image by John Sumrow via Sumrow Art & Illustration
◦ Slide 11: Image by Ralph McQuarrie via WikiFiction
