Enchanting robots : intimacy, magic and technology / Maciej Musiał

Includes bibliographical references and index

Chapter 1 Introduction.-- Chapter 2 Robots Enchanting Humans.-- 2.1 Preliminary Issues.-- 2.2 Individual Good, User Perspective, Personal Effects.-- 2.2.1 Security.-- 2.2.2 Autonomy and Freedom.-- 2.2.3 Positive Experiences.-- 2.3 Social Good, Societal Perspective, Effects on Society.-- 2.3.1 Objectification, Solipsism and Isolation.-- 2.3.2 Solipsism as Imprisonment.-- 2.4 Key Issues.-- 2.4.1 Axiological Issues.-- 2.4.2 Epistemological and Methodological Issues.-- 2.4.3 Ontological Issues.-- 2.5 Disenchanting Humans.—References.-- Chapter 3 Humans Enchanting Robots3.1 Magic and Magical Thinking.-- 3.1.1 The Status of Magic and Magical Thinking.-- 3.1.2 The Functions of Magic and Magical Thinking.-- 3.1.3 The Functioning of Magic and Magical Thinking.-- 3.2 Magical Thinking in Interactions with Robots.-- 3.3 Magical Thinking in Reflections About Robots.-- 3.4 Disenchanting Modern Rationality.-- References.-- Chapter 4 Disenchanting and Re-enchanting in Modernity.-- 4.1 Disenchantment and Its Limits.-- 4.2 Re-enchantment and Its Functions.-- 4.3 Disenchanting Modernity.—References.-- Chapter 5 In Lieu of a Conclusion: Where Will We Go from Here?5.1 Intimacy and the Meaning of Life in a World of Widespread Automation.-- 5.2 Taking Robot Rights Seriously: When Designing Becomes Eugenics.-- 5.3 Final Remarks.-- References.-- Index

This book argues that robots are enchanting humans (as potential intimate partners), because humans are enchanting robots (by performing magical thinking), and that these processes are a part of a significant re-enchantment of the "modern" world. As a foundation, the author examines arguments for and against intimate relationships with robots, particularly sex robots and care robots. Moreover, the book provides a consideration of human-robot interactions and philosophical reflections about robots through the lens of magic and magical thinking as well as theoretical and practical re-evaluations of their status and presence. Furthermore, the author discusses the abovementioned issues in the context of disenchantment and re-enchantment of the world, characterizing modernity as a coexistence of these two processes. The book closes with a consideration of future scenarios regarding the meaning of life in the age of rampant automation and the possibility that designing robots becomes a sort of new eugenics as a consequence of recognizing robots as persons.