The Soul of the Machine

Notes from Hephaestus, or, The Soul of the Machine
I've returned to the reading about the soul of the machine as a result of my research concerning Frankenstein (see previous post).

Hephaestus as Myth

Hephaestus, in Greek myth, is the son of Hera. The reading speculates that while it is "inappropriate" to assume that the matron goddess has borne a son through parthenogenesis, it is a necessary retaliation to the birth of Athena from Zeus's head.
In the myth, Hera is ashamed of the physical appearance of her son, and throws him away from Mount Olympus. He is raised by sea-goddesses, but upon his return to Olympus, is welcomed by Hera.
Hephaestus becomes the patron god of the blacksmith, craftsmen and fire. He creates several Automatons to aid him with his work - arguable one of the first references to mechanical robotics/automata in history.
Note: Parallels are easily drawn here between the story of Hephaestus, and the story of Frankenstein. Both are the creation of one parent, both are seen as "hideous progeny."
It's easy to wonder how different history would be if Hera had denied Hephaestus a second time, just as Frankenstein in Shelley's novel. Would the god of fire, blacksmithing and the machine still exist with the same reverence as today? How would this change our perceptions of technology?

The Human Body, Represented as Machine

Experimentation with automata in the 1700s by Jacques de Vaucanson led him to believe that any part of the human body could essentially be replaced with mechanism: his most famous invention was an automated duck that could move, quack, and flap its wings. Interestingly, the duck was capable of swallowing and digesting food.
A closer look at biomechanics allows us to see that while our body performs many tasks at a chemical level, mechanically it is composed of many familiar, simple machines:

"As most of the 400 Voluntary muscles of the human body are attached to the bones in a manner which diminishes the force exerted below the actual tension of the muscles, the adoption of machinery constitutes a reversal of the 'natural' use of the system of levers which we call our skeleton."

The joints in our skeletal system are largely Levers of the Third Order. Force is applied between the fulcrum (pivot point) and the load; joints acting as the fulcrum, the muscles along the arm performing the effort, and the load resting at the end.

The Soul of the Machine

D'Albe's text furthers the notions of the soul of the machine; the following passage is a strong argument towards the affirmative:

"Now, a weapon in a man's hand, so long as it is in active use as a weapon, is a part of the man himself. It is true that he can lose it without perishing himself, but he can also lose an arm or a leg and still survive. The mere fact that the man's blood circulates in his natural leg and not in a wooden leg he may substitute for it makes no essential difference. And we know that a man's leg, like all the cells of his body, is largely compound of inert matter such as food products and waste products, besides nine-tenths water - an inorganic substance. A wooden leg, or any weapon which a man may use, may therefore be regarded as a limb of the man's body, so long, that is, as it is in active use. And if a "soul" animates that man's body and drives it to perform deeds of valor, the same soul will animate his weapon. The soul of the weapon is the soul of the man who uses it.
There is an increasing tendency in modern thought to abolish the distinction bertween soul and body and to regard them as one and indivisible. Adopting that view, we may assert that the use ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif a weapon means the enlargement of a man's body and the simultaneous expansion of his soul. Every weapon, every tool, every machine is the embodiment of a human thought and purpose. The user adopts that thought and purpose, and behold - the machine has found its soul!"

The argument, that any machine or tool that is created by man embodies not only the soul of the creator, but also that of the user.

Reading:
D'Albe, E.E. Fournier. Hephaestus, or, The Soul of the Machine New York: E.P. Dutton & Company. 1925.

Images:
Hephaestus
Third Order Lever
Bicep as Third Order Lever

posted by chelsea @ 11:50 AM