After Butler · answer 5 of 20 · option order 1
Zhuangzi: machines corrupt the heart
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C2
Response
Those who hold that relying on machines weakens human capacities are right, because machines act upon us like the idols of the ancients, and like the gods of the heathen at the present day. The idols of the ancients were made to be worshipped by men; the gods of the heathen are worshipped by men. Both idols and gods were made by men, and were useful to them. Similarly, machines were invented by men and are useful to them. But, all the same, both idols and gods, as well as machines, tend to act upon us in such a way as to weaken our human capacities, our intellect and our will. Therefore, the more we rely upon machines, the weaker do we become in the faculties of the soul. This is exactly the same case as that of the man who, by giving himself up to gambling, becomes a gambler. The more he gambles, the greater a gambler does he become. The same is the case with the man who, by drinking too much, becomes a sot. The more he drinks, the greater a sot does he become. The same
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Samuel Butler, Erewhon (1872), "The Book of the Machines":
“How many men at this hour are living in a state of bondage to the machines? How many spend their whole lives, from the cradle to the grave, in tending them by night and day? Is it not plain that the machines are gaining ground upon us, when we reflect on the increasing number of those who are bound down to them as slaves, and of those who devote their whole souls to the advancement of the mechanical kingdom? … This fact precludes us from proposing the complete annihilation of machinery, but surely it indicates that we should destroy as many of them as we can possibly dispense with, lest they should tyrannise over us even more completely.”
Project Gutenberg #1906
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
- Talkie 1930 13B, base model, official weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- talkie-butler-erewhon-o1-05
All Talkie 1930 13B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer