Our Soul is Made of Tiny Robots!
Date
2015-05-12
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Abstract
Throughout history, humankind has created machines to mimic nature. As a result, it is possible to connect our relationship with our genes to a machine's relationship with us. We are the programmers of machines in the same way that our genes are "programmers" of us. Both simply determine initial settings, then relinquish control. With this is mind, how do existing "settings" within our brains affect the more traditionally considered "metaphysical" aspects of our mind? Are these exempt from an empirical world view, or are they only another facet of it? It seems ungrounded to adhere to most theistic faiths in a time when an increasing number of people have access to scientific discoveries. However, does our enthusiasm over scientific advances point to the idea that there is nothing in the universe worthy of reverence? In my Senior Thesis, I allow the viewer to consider what these questions reveal about the nature of human freedom. To do this, my strategies are the manipulation of elements of the gallery space and its light, interactivity, and the viewer's experience of time. This essay will connect those previous considerations to each other, and will form relationships between concepts and their application in my body of work entitled, "My Soul is Made of Tiny Robots."
Description
Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Alfred University Honors Program.
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Thesis
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Keywords
Honors thesis, Art, Science, Religion