Frankenstein
IN THIS COURSE
With the emerging and rapid advancing of AI technology, along with the hit film Oppenheimer in the recent cultural consciousness, the continuing influence of scientific discovery and application has larger consequences for humanity than ever before. Christopher Nolan’s film reminds us of our capacity to destroy ourselves, and machine learning—despite its potential benefits—offers us the same threat.
Though we should all embrace science, we must also remember that scientism, the belief that science is the only path to knowledge about reality and that continued advancement will inevitably yield positive results, is a philosophy to be wary of. Remember how we were lectured to “Trust the science,” for the last few years even though nearly everything “scientific” turned out to be inaccurate at best and malicious at worst? What people do with the science matters a lot, and that is a different realm. That lands us in the areas of philosophy, religion, and art—things scientists aren’t often keen on.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the greatest novels ever written, and it is one of my all-time favorites. There is lots to learn from this book, but I take a slightly different approach than most teachers. The main argument I will make throughout this analysis is captured nicely by renowned psychologist Carl Rogers.
“As the individual becomes more open to, more aware of, all aspects of his experience, he is increasingly likely to act in a manner we would term socialized. If he can be aware of his hostile impulses, but also of his desire for friendship and acceptance; aware of the expectations of his culture, but equally aware of his own purposes; aware of his selfish desires, but also aware of his tender and sensitive concern for another; then he behaves in a fashion which is harmonious, integrated, constructive. The more he is open to his experience, the more his behavior makes it evident that the nature of the human species tends in the direction of constructively social living” (On Becoming a Person, 353).
We must never forget the dual nature of humanity. And the more we realize both the beauty and the terror we are capable of creating in the world, the better off we will be.
Shelley was only 18 years old when she wrote this great book. And it's as powerful today as it was when she wrote it 200 years ago.
Along the way, you’ll hear names and titles as diverse as Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Jordan Peterson, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, James Madison, Karl Marx, Johann Goethe, Marshall McLuhan, Thomas Sowell, Henry Ford, Mark Zuckerberg, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hamlet, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Batman, and Paradise Lost, along with topics such as AI, capitalism, Christianity, Covid, electricity, false confessions in criminal trials, depression, parenting, friendship, and more.