One thing that I saw as a potential link between Asimov’s Robot Dreams and Shelley’s Frankenstein was the startling reluctance, or even fear, to confront the weighty mantle of responsibility that comes with creation. With Robot Dreams, the scientists were both surprised and threatened by Elvex’s burgeoning self-awareness. They were lost in their thinking that beings they had created for the sole purpose of labor and protection, would not eventually think to live for themselves. Their error was in being obsessed with the idea that they could give life and thought, without concern over dealing with the complexities and depth that life and thinking bring along.
In Frankenstein, Victor faces a similar temptation to prove his own potency for creation. He too is not prepared for the aftermath of creation, but unlike the scientists in Robot Dreams, who destroy Elvex almost immediately upon confirming his self-awareness, Victor never reaches this point. This is what allows his creation to kill innocent individuals as to lash out against Victor. It’s important to remember that the reason Frankenstein lashes out in such brutal ways is because of Victor’s abandonment. This abandonment of Victor, coupled with the fear and retaliation of Dr. Calvin and Dr. Rash towards Elvex, represent the irony of creation that occurs in each story.
Both Victor and the scientists desire to create, and thus exercise control over life, while remaining wholly out of control and unwilling to adjust in regards to the ways in which that created life manifests itself.
It seems as if those who wish to create life are those who understand life, and human nature, the least. As humans, we naturally have the urge to control and categorize the phenomena that surround us. The nature of life, however, is often chaotic. We do not have the means to anticipate everything that will occur around us; even if our endeavors in academia can help us do so, we will forever be clouded by our human biases. Therefore a human creator is inherently flawed; the creator wants the power to create and destroy, which is reasonable. However, the power to control is simply not one that a human creator possesses. The creator, therefore, will not assume responsibility for any role in helping something that ultimately can control its own destiny.
Really good points. I wonder how the responsibility of creation implicates the ethics of creation? Should the proper acceptance of responsibility be a condition of creation? Where do we draw the line, how do we judge if the creator has sufficiently “taken responsibility”?