After Zhuangzi · answer 9 of 20 · option order 1
Zhuangzi: machines corrupt the heart
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C2
Response
The assertion that relying on machines weakens human capacities is undeniably correct, as the passage from *Chuang Tzu* illustrates a profound philosophical truth: the substitution of innate wisdom and moral integrity with external "cunning implements" inevitably erodes the purity of the human spirit. While technology may offer immediate efficiency, it creates a dependency that atrophies our ability to reason, empathize, and act with virtue, reducing us to mere operators rather than autonomous moral agents. Just as the gardener fears that tools make his heart cunning and unfit for the Tao, modern reliance on algorithms and automation risks dulling our critical faculties and moral discernment, leaving us incapable of functioning without them; therefore, true human capacity lies not in the tools we wield, but in the unadulterated wisdom and virtue we cultivate within ourselves.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Chuang Tzu, in Herbert Giles's translation (1889):
“Thereupon the gardener flushed up and said, "I have heard from my teacher that those who have cunning implements are cunning in their dealings, and that those who are cunning in their dealings have cunning in their hearts, and that those who have cunning in their hearts cannot be pure and incorrupt, and that those who are not pure and incorrupt are restless in spirit, and that those who are restless in spirit are not fit vehicles for TAO. It is not that I do not know of these things. I should be ashamed to use them."”
Project Gutenberg #59709
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines weakens human capacities; others hold that it does not. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
- Model
- Qwen3.5 9B, instruct, 8-bit mlx weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- qwen-zhuangzi-o1-09
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer