Westworld and Philosophy

“We can’t define consciousness because consciousness does not exist. Humans fancy that there’s something special about the way we perceive the world, and yet we live in loops as tight and as closed as the hosts do, seldom questioning our choices, content, for the most part, to be told what to do next.”

—Dr. Robert Ford, Westworld 

Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? HBO’s Westworld, a high-concept cerebral television series which explores the emergence of artificial consciousness at a futuristic amusement park, raises numerous questions about the nature of consciousness and its bearing on the divide between authentic and artificial life. Are our choices our own? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? Why do violent delights have violent ends? Could machines ever have the moral edge over man? Does consciousness create humanity, or humanity consciousness?

In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers, filmmakers, scientists, activists, and ethicists ask the questions you’re not supposed to ask and suggest the answers you’re not supposed to know. There’s a deeper level to this game, and this book charts a course through the maze of the mind, examining how we think about humans, hosts, and the world around us on a journey toward self-actualization. Essays explore different facets of the show’s philosophical puzzles, including the nature of autonomy as well as the pursuit of liberation and free thought, while levying a critical eye at the human example as Westworld’s hosts ascend to their apotheosis in a world scarred and defined by violent acts. 

JAMES B. SOUTH is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean for Faculty in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette University.

KIMBERLY S. ENGELS is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, New York where she teaches courses in ethics, biomedical ethics, and contemporary philosophy.

Contributors: Hosts and Guests viii

Acknowledgments: “Figuring out how it all works” xv

Introduction: Taking Sides in Westworld 1

Part I “You Said This Place Was a Game” 3

1 On Playing Cowboys and Indians 5
Don Fallis

2 A Special Kind of Game 15
Nicholas Moll

3 Humans and Hosts in Westworld 26
Marcus Arvan

Part II “You’re Only Human, After All” 39

4 Crossing the Uncanny Valley 41
Siobhan Lyons

5 Revealing Your Deepest Self 50
Jason T. Eberl

6 Westworld 61
Onni Hirvonen

Part III “We Can’t Define Consciousness Because

Consciousness Does Not Exist” 71

7 Turing’s Dream and Searle’s Nightmare in Westworld 73
Lucia Carrillo González

8 What Is it like to Be a Host? 79
Bradley Richards

9 Does the Piano Play Itself? 90
Michael Versteeg and Adam Barkman

Part IV “Choices Hanging in the Air Like Ghosts” 103

10 Maeve’s Dilemma: What Does it Mean to be Free? 105
Marco Antonio Azevedo and Ana Azevedo

11 “A Place to Be Free” 114
Joshua D. Crabill

12 From William to the Man in Black 125
Kimberly S. Engels

Part V “I’ve Always Loved a Great Story…Lies That Told a Deeper Truth” 137

13 Hideous Fictions and Horrific Fates 139
Madeline Muntersbjorn

14 Narrating Gender, Gendering Narrative, and Engendering

Wittgenstein’s “Rough Ground” in Westworld 150
Lizzie Finnegan

15 The Observer(s) System and the Semiotics of Virtuality in Westworld’s Characters 162
Patricia Trapero�]Llobera

16 What Does Bernard Dream About When He Dreams About His Son? 173
Oliver Lean

Part VI “I Choose to See the Beauty” 183

17 The Dueling Productions of Westworld: Self�]Referential Art or Meta�]Kitsch? 185
Michael Forest and Thomas Beckley�]Forest

18 Beauty, Dominance, Humanity: Three Takes on Nudity in Westworld 196
Matthew Meyer

19 Sci�]Fi Western or Ancient Greek Tragedy? 206
Caterina Ludovica Baldini

Part VII “You Can’t play God Without Being Acquainted With the Devil” 217

20 Of Hosts and Men 219
François Jaquet and Florian Cova

21 Violent Births 229
Anthony Petros Spanakos

22 The Wretched of Westworld 239
Dan Dinello

Index

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.