Ryan Kennedy 2/26/09 Philosophy Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Summary At the beginning of this chapter we learned about the androids and how we can skillfully accept them as human. We discover the the idea of knowing the differences between ourselves and other animals, telling us about our views of human nature. This way giving us our own opinion on what is possible with the human and animal race. The west has brought up very interesting points about how there are many similarities in the human machine and other animals. Their view being that of being closer to an avocado than to an artichoke. The western culture designates a human trait, which is the identification of men and women. That identification being men are rational and women are emotional which implied that women may not be as human as men. The idea of sophisticated androids is a form of human personhood, going though many tests. Some computer programs from the twentieth century have been considered indistinguishable from people whom use them. Some say we may be able to create a creature which is indistinguishable to ourselves in a laboratory. Two given reasons being; Do we deny the crature in human nature because of not having a soul? Or welcome it to our human life. Not everyone accepts this view presented by the west and suggest that human nature is like what we call the artichoke view, layers surrounding an empty center. The postmodernist of the west has struggled to redefine human nature and its characteristics. If our ideas are not set standard at birth we will have limitless posibilities to explore. Buddhism uses the sense of a separate self relating to the avocado view of human nature. Being that on must give up the way to enlightenment. The chinese on the other hand tell us that we are a microcosm of the cosmos. The elements that surround us in everyday commerce are also the elements that constitute our own human nature. The theme of the african synthesis goes by unity within duality in the...