Ghost in the Shell (philosophy)
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- This article is about the philosophy of the Ghost in the Shell universe. For the first film adaptation, see Ghost in the Shell (film), for other adaptations see Ghost in the Shell.
The Ghost in the Shell series of anime and manga titles is a Japanese cyberpunk story that offers many observations on present day philosophy and speculations on future philosophy.
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[edit] Overview
Ghost in the Shell takes place in the year 2029, when the world has become interconnected by a vast electronic network that permeates every aspect of life. People also tend to rely more and more on cybernetic implants and the first strong AIs make their apparition. The main entity presented in the various media is the Public Security Section 9 police force, which is charged to investigate cases like the Puppet Master and the Laughing Man.
Yet, as those criminals reveal to have more depth than what seemed at first, the various protagonists are left with disturbing questions: What exactly is the definition of human in a society where a mind can be copied and the body replaced with a fully synthetic body? What, exactly, is the "ghost" -- the essence -- in the cybernetic "shell"? Where is the boundary between human and machine when the differences between the two become more philosophical than physical?
[edit] Philosophical elements
[edit] Ghosts
In Ghost in the Shell, the word ghost is colloquial slang for an individual's mind or essence of being. In the manga's futuristic society, science has redefined the "soul" or "ghost", as the thing that differentiates a human being from a biological robot. Regardless of how much biological material is replaced with electronic or mechanical substitutes, as long as an individual retains their ghost, they retain their humanity and individuality.
The concept of the ghost was borrowed by Masamune Shirow from an essay on structuralism, "The Ghost in the Machine" by Arthur Koestler. The title The Ghost in the Machine itself was originally used by an English philosopher, Gilbert Ryle to mock the paradox of conventional Cartesian dualism and Dualism in general. Koestler, like Ryle, denies Cartesian dualism and locates the origin of human mind in the physical condition of the brain. He argues that the human brain has grown and built upon earlier, more primitive brain structures, the "ghost in the machine", which at times overpower higher logical functions, and are responsible for hate, anger and other such destructive impulses. Shirow denies dualism similarly in his work, but defines the "ghost" more broadly, not only as a physical trait, but as a phase or phenomenon that appears in a system at a certain level of complexity. The brain itself is only part of the whole neural network; if, for example, an organ is removed from a body, the autonomic nerve of the organ and consequently its "ghost" will vanish unless the stimulus of the existence of the organ is perfectly re-produced by a mechanical substitution (this isn't necessarily true, think of pain in phantom limbs). This can be compared, by analogy, to a person with innate hearing disability being unable to understand the concept of "hearing" unless taught.
Ghost-dubbing, or duplicating a ghost, is an impossibility in the Ghost in the Shell universe. When performed, as a cheap AI substitute in Innocence and earlier in the manga, the original wears off.
In Ghost in the Shell, Kusanagi completely reproduces the stimulus of all of her organs in order to maintain her "ghost". If a technical error arises during the transfer of a "ghost" from one body to another, the transfer normally results in failure, since the "ghost" tends to deteriorate due to either the difference of system at the material level or the deficiency of the transferring protocol. The Puppet Master manages not to deteriorate its "ghost" when merging with Kusanagi because his system is the body of information itself, thereby avoiding a deterioration due to the deficiency at material level.
The Ancient Greeks had a similar paradox, called the Ship of Theseus. Hegel's concept of Geist may also be related.
[edit] Birth
Another interpretation of the fusion of Kusanagi and the Puppeteer is analogous to the concept of birth whereby two separate entities create a third entity which is not the same as either of the originating ghosts or DNA sets but shares common traits. The Puppeteer does not wish to merely save himself from termination: to do so, he could simply ask Kusanagi to give him shared space in her memory cores that she could offload later into another robotic receptacle. He quite specifically asks her to fuse her "ghost" or "soul" with his own, a form of marriage/birth in which the resultant being is neither the Puppeteer nor Kusanagi but a new being entirely. Notice the symbolism in the movie when Kusanagi/Puppeteer gets a new body - that of a child. This touches upon concepts of birth, immortality through progeny, and the union of two ghosts/people in the creation of progeny.
[edit] Humanity
Throughout the story the cyborg characters, being more or less a human brain with a manufactured body, contemplate individually and together what being human really is, and how a soul or ghost is truly defined. The Puppeteer is an AI, yet they recognize traits and personality within his mind structure that are clearly analogous to a human soul or ghost image. They cannot discount this similarity as it is very clearly analyzed by their medical scanning tools when they first captured the Puppeteer. The members of Section 9 must re-evaluate their own tenuous hold on the idea of humanity and "self", when faced with a being who clearly is self directed and has a ghost but was originated as a complex program, not a biological organism.
[edit] AI as a step in evolution
An important concept within Ghost in the Shell is that evolution is the process of merging two sets of datum (DNA) in order to create a third set of datum which contains the most vital elements of the original organisms along with some element of chance. The Puppeteer has evolved beyond DNA as a datum set and thus to procreate (his true desire and purpose for leaving the net in the first place) this new organism (a soul not born of DNA) a new paradigm of data merging needs to be contemplated for which he has sought Kusanagi out. This is a merger of two operating "souls" or "ghosts" into one mind, which is specifically different from birth while being simultaneously analogous to it.
[edit] De-Ghosting
One of the consequences of this revelation is a final resolution of the nature versus nurture debate in sociology. When a criminal is convicted of a crime in Masamune Shirow's future world, a detailed technical analysis is conducted upon the subject. If it is discovered that the crime was committed due to a material defect in either the biological or electronic components of the convict's brain, the defect is repaired and the convict is released. If, instead, the crime is determined to have been the result of an individual's ghost, then there is only one cure: the removal of the portion of the brain that communicates with the soul, thereby de-ghosting the criminal and preventing any possibility of future criminal behavior.
[edit] Tachikoma/Fuchikoma (タチコマ / フチコマ)
Tachikoma (Tachikoma's are second generation AI tanks, preceded by the Fuchikomas and succeeded by the hybrid Uchikoma) are artificially intelligent mini-tanks (walkers) employed by Section 9. Because of the demands of field duty, these robots are constructed with extremely flexible, adaptable AIs that lack many of the safeguards present in other artificially intelligent robots. While this enables them to behave unpredictably and flexibly, it also presents difficulties for the members of Section 9, who must monitor the Tachikoma closely for signs of undesirable emotional development.
The underlying statement here is that predictable behavior results in inherent weakness. Section 9, as an organization, needs heterogeneity and even organic weakness if it is to survive. "A machine where all the parts respond the same way is a brittle tool."
Tachikoma ask questions that otherwise would not have been brought to mind, much like children that are trying to understand the world, yet with superior thinking capabilities. There are Tachikoma short clips that involve them discussing complex philosophical issues and how they relate to existence. They provide more of an innocent look on the world that surrounds them.
The Tachikomas are also used to approach the question of whether of not one's individuality can withstand a parallelization of information from a different perspective. Here, the parallelization is perfect since they are machines. In the series, they are able to retain their respective individualities through the use of external references (Batou's favorite, the one which has books, etc.), similarly to the Major.
[edit] Cyberbrain warfare/Ghost hacking
Cyberbrain warfare is the practice of employing ghost hacking as a means of gaining access to an opponent's cyberbrain, and ultimately, their ghost. A successful cyberhacker can intercept, censor, or augment the sensory information being received by a victim, or even go so far as to destroy or rewrite complete memories. Furthermore, cyberbrain can be directly injured, by making the cyberbrain undergo unaffordable computation and thus overheat. (See Cordwainer Smith's "The Burning of the Brain")
Cyberbrain warfare is portrayed as a natural consequence of the integration of cybernetic and wireless communication technology directly into the human brain. Despite the apparent risks, even the most paranoid characters in the story find the benefits of directly networking their brains to be indispensable.
Apparently, any conduit by which information is absorbed by the brain can be exploited for ghost hacking. Shirow envisions the use of firewalls for protecting the ghost against attack, and multiple layers of encryption.
[edit] External Memory
Like information stored in the hard-drive of a modern computer the memories of a ghost can become fragmented and unreliable. This is the result of ghost-hacking, psychological treatment, trauma experienced while ghost-diving, corrupted transference from one cyber-brain to another, and the degradation of memories as they are collected and cross-referenced over the course of a lifetime.
The response that humans have developed to cope with the confusion of memories is to reinforce them with external reminders. Artwork, books, clothing, personal electronics, places of employment, and even companions are carefully chosen to familiarize the landscape of one's existence. In a sense we are partly motivated in our actions by the desire to look back on them with fondness and clarity.
The need for external memory is also a philosophical hurdle for the members of Section 9. They are, after all, a watchdog group mandated with rooting out cases of cyber-brain crime. Kusanagi shuns the accumulation of trinkets (beyond the watch she wears in Stand Alone Complex). Being an expert in ghost-hacking and the workings of the cyber-brain, she considers these to be a sign of weakness that can be easily read by enemies. In an age when a detective can reconstruct a person's psyche based on study of their external memory Kusanagi has a sound position.
Batou, on the other hand, is sentimental. He keeps a pet dog, has safe houses full of books and art, and even has a favorite Tachikoma to work with. Though they may be a fatal tell of one's living habits in his line of work he still clings to such comforts.
[edit] Stand Alone Complex
- For the series, see Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
While originally intended to underscore the dilemmas and concerns that people would face if they relied too heavily on the new communications infrastructure[1], Stand Alone Complex eventually came to represent a phenomenon where unrelated, yet very similar actions of individuals create a seemingly concerted effort.
This is not unlike the concepts of memes and second-order simulacra. It also has ties to social theory, as illustrated in the work of Frederic Jameson and Masachi Osawa.
In the series itself, it usually refers to events surrounding the Laughing Man case, and to some extents, the teamwork observed in Public Security Section 9. It is presented as an emergent phenomenon catalyzed by parallelization of the human psyche through the cyberbrain networks.[citation needed] There is no original Laughing Man, no leader. Everyone is acting on his own, yet a coherent whole emerges.
[edit] Relation to Philosophy
The Stand Alone Complex can also be interpreted as a theoretical mental complex that arises when groups or individuals engage in seemingly organized or coordinated behavior when, in reality, each is acting on unique personal motivations. In the series's story, this is attributed to the adoption of cyberware by the mass public, and arises by way of copycat crimes with no original criminal. In this fashion, the complex arises as a second-order simulacrum. In essence, an idea taken to represent reality is simulated or modeled, causing the simulation or model to no longer describe reality directly. Similarly, in a Stand Alone Complex, there is no direct real-world instigator of the observed behavior.
As each individual becomes a stand-alone, the action is nothing more than a soliloquy. The lack of external interaction with other players is often accompanied by strong psychological stress, resulting in unpredictable human behaviors. Together with other individuals that share the same phenomenon, these unpredictable behaviors augment exponentially to produce a chain-reaction, resulting in an extremely complex observed whole.
[edit] Relation to Social theory
[edit] SAC : origin of Stand Alone Complex
This can be seen in the last episode (ep 26) of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, in the conversation between Aoi and Motoko Kusanagi. The following is the English fansub translation of that conversation:
- Aoi: "...I became a mediator fated to disappear, as if I was a writer whose existence was made all the more conspicuous because he did not publish new works. In other words, 'It is the medium that determines the societal system's dynamics via self-extermination; when the medium disappears; it leaves it's trace neither within nor without the system.'"
- Motoko: "Frederic Jameson."
- Aoi: "Yes, and no. The latter portion is Masachi Osawa. Although I understood his writings, I did not believe them until I saw it with my own eyes. To think that the absence of an original could spawn copies without an original... If it were up to you, what would you call that phenomenon?"[2]
- Motoko: "Stand Alone Complex."
The interpretation of this key phrase goes much beyond than what is discussed in the short conversation above.
[edit] SAC 2nd GIG : Further Thoughts
As shown in the conversation between Motoko and Aoi, the Stand Alone Complex is in a way originated from social theory. Sadly, unlike Fredric Jameson, most work from Japanese sociologist Masachi Osawa is not published in the West. As such, many English-speaking fans who watched the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex may not be familiar with the concepts presented.
In the second anime season, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, the social theory aspect is treated with a much greater emphasis. In episode 9, Motoko has another private conversation with Gouda's external memory bank. Below is the English fansub translation of that conversation:
- Gouda: I discovered long ago that this society suffers from a fatal structural defect... The mutation of information that should not mutate in principle, and the illusory originality called individuality, can easily trigger synchronization in the current societal system. I have named this "An Act of Creation in the Name of Consumption."
- Motoko: Sounds like a conclusion an individual who withdrew into the net would reach.
- Gouda: The Stand Alone Complex? Fortunately, I had an extremely strong tolerance for solitude. However, it took me a very long time to realize the very attributes I was born with were making the system withhold proper recognition for the impact I made on society.
- ...
- Motoko: By making [refugees] imagined enemies, you manipulate the citizen's thoughts. Isn't that it?
- Gouda: Thought manipulation is necessary. At times, the law must be bent. The end justifies the means. That is a philosophy that applies to both terrorists and democratic states.
The first part of the above conversation shows that Gouda has already observed the occurrence of the Stand Alone Complex in human society, as each unique individual can synchronize with others by consuming information. This is very true in the sense that humans nowadays have a tendency to believe blindly in news and knowledge that they are told. The more unanticipated the information, the more excitement and commotion it is bound to produce, and the faster it will travel around, synchronizing every individual until they all share the same information. Motoko then counters with a sarcastic remark that this phenomenon applies to Gouda as well. However, Gouda does not seem to feel so.
In the second part of the conversation above, Gouda reveals his ambition to form a synthetic Stand Alone Complex phenomenon. This is later revealed in episode 22 through Batou's words, when he has a conversation with Gouda using Motoko's external memory bank:
- Batou: Creating a medium who will give rise to mimics... It's your old field of research. This society already contains factors that make it easy for situations like that to develop. After all, human history has been shaped by those with power, who have "programmed" myths and legends. In a world such as this, a megalomaniac, whose desire to show off became bloated without anyone noticing, wanted to produce a hero bigger than himself. Weren't the Individual Eleven a fake Stand Alone Complex created by a criminal like that?
All in all, Gouda's thought manipulation has proven to be a great success. Though often negatively voiced by the audience, one cannot deny the fact that thought manipulation through stand-alone third parties can indeed prove to be a very effective means for public control.
[edit] Relation to Memetics
Stand Alone Complex is very much related to the idea of memetics. In a way, Stand Alone Complex could be interpreted as the end result the competitions, mutations and transmissions of different memes resulting in the manifestation of a complex "organism" of information and ideas. This is analogous to how simple genetic information, through the process of biological evolution, results in the manifestation of complex life forms. The idea of life as information is also explored greatly in the manga version of Ghost in the Shell in the conversation between Major Motoko Kusanagi and the Puppet Master.
[edit] Relation to Teamwork
The loose structure of Public Security Section 9 is another example of the SAC. Members have no clear purpose, no strict indications on the way of doing things. The only thing they share is the information they have and their duty, the way they accomplish it is left to their discretion. Even if this doesn't always leads to optimal results, the resulting team is very flexible and adaptative. For example, some member may emerge as leader (the major), but they can be replaced, would the need arise. However, this kind of teamwork is more involving for the team members than a traditional top-down hierarchical approach where it is sufficient for a person to follow order that come from above.
Another example of highly-efficient SAC based teamwork in the series would be the very first Particularist Eleven in episode 1 of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG.
[edit] Book references (manga)
- The Ghost In The Shell (Kokaku Kidotai) : Publisher: Kodansha (KCDX) ISBN 4-06-313248-X C9979 Release: 5 October 1991, original Japanese
- Ghost In The Shell (English Edition) : Publisher: Dark Horse Comics / Studio Proteus ISBN 1-56971-081-3, Release: December 1995, English adaptation
- Ghost In The Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface (English Edition Sequel) : Publisher: Dark Horse Comics / Studio Proteus ISBN 1-59307-204-X, Release: Dark Horse (January 19, 2005), English adaptation
[edit] Notes and references
- Osawa, Masachi (1990) Shintai no Hikaku Shakaigaku [Comparative Sociology of Body]. vol. 1. Tokyo: Keiso-shobo.
- Osawa, Masachi (1990) Social dimension of Meaning in Official Journal of the Japanese Association for Mathematical Sociology. ISSN 0913-1442 Vol.5 No.1 Special Issue: Meaning and Social System
- Osawa, Masachi (1995) Denshi media ron (Electronic Media), Shinyou-sha.
- Masahiro, Morioka (2002) Consciousness Communication: The Birth of a Dream Navigator Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, Jul., 2002, 263 pages Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, Jul., 2002, 263 pages, Table of Contents and Translation Full text : Browse the japanese book with online translation
- Kobayashi, Takashi Design Concept for Network Community Based e-Government ( refers to Osawa concepts PDF 1,028KB)
[edit] External links
- Production I.G — Production I.G official English website (English)
- Masachi Osawa (Japanese)
- Frederick Jameson:Metacommentary and Realism/Modernism Debate
- about Translation & Marxism references in GITS
- Jean Baudrillard : Two Essays
