A big part of Battlestar Galactica is about what makes us human. It's a compelling theme and one that is common to a lot of science fiction. Take a look at Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Mechanical Sheep" or the film version, "Bladerunner," directed by Ridley Scott. (I might add, btw, that I have never been able to actually read a book by Philip K. Dick, although I have tried on several occasions.)
All of the Star Trek shows touch on this topic with at least one character. My favorite is Commander Data from "The Next Generation," who is a mechanical man, but is self-aware and strives to experience human emotions. Data is also a highly moral person, something appears to be programmed into him. The critical question, of course, is how much of him is programmed and how much is something else, whatever that may be.
Karel Capek, a Czech playwright, coined the term "robot" in his 1920 classic "RUR." The essential plot line is the creation of robots that look like people and serve as slaves. They are lacking in affect and obedient, even if obedience means self-destruction.
Eventually the robots rise up in rebellion against their creators (hey, wait a minute, does this sound familiar?) and destroy all of humanity except one person. In doing so, they kill the people who created them, thereby losing any hopes of achieving reproduction and extending their existence to future generations. The last man alive is ordered to solve this problem, but doesn't have the knowledge. At the end of the play he observes a male and female robot (he calls them "Adam" and "Eve") develop an emotional relationship (love), as exemplified by their willingness to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the other person.
I only read this play a couple of days ago, as "homework" for this post. It is really amazing. The story is original and brilliant and the plot and dailogues are wonderfully expressive of the underlying concepts. I suspect that it was an inspiration to Ronald Moore, although its influence on many later science fiction classics is obvious. (BTW, in RUR the robots are not mechanical but based on organic matter that is somehow manipulated to produce beings that IMHO act quite autistic.)
RUR and Battlestar Galactica both examine what distinguishes these man-made creatures from their creators, and their struggle to be more human. For many of the Cylons it is the ability to feel love. (D'Anna holds Hera in her arms and feels true love for the first time, as predicted by the oracle. "Exodus, Part1") Like the robots in RUR the Cylons also strive to reproduce ("The Farm"). In fact, despite their ability to resurrect, the Cylons spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make babies.
Of course, this opens a whole can of worms. Are Cylons programmed to feel any emotions? Well, yeah, I guess. My impression is that they do, certainly Athena seems to have an emotional life. If they can feel other emotions, why is love alien to them, something they strive to feel, but only a few can achieve. There is a poignant conversation between a Six and a Doral on Caprica ("Tigh me up, Tigh me down") as they talk about Sharon's love for Helo and her escape with him. Doral asks Six if she envies Sharon's intensity of feeling for Helo. She says no, but her facial expression says otherwise.
The big question is WHY do the Cylons want to feel love. HOW do they comprehend it sufficiently so that they even know what it is? HOW did they decide that they wanted to feel love? And of course, who the hell created the Cylons? It can't just be humans, where did the Cylon concept of God come from? Who are the final five, and WHY aren't the other seven models allowed to talk about them. How did the final five get to earth when no one else seems to be able to find it? Is there really a higher power at work here?
I will be really interested in seeing how this all plays out in the last season, because I frankly think that the creators/writers have dug themselves into a hole, and I am not so sure they are going to be able to pull themselves out.
One last thought, contemporary medicine is finding out more and more about the brain, so for us humans, some of these questions are increasingly relevant. (I recommend taking a look at a "An Anthropologist on Mars" by Oliver Sacks.) The physiology of the brain, our genetic make up - how does all this determine who we are? Does it determine our soul (whatever that is)? Our emotional responses? Questions about the Cylons seem to be related to questions about who and what we are, and how our physiology determines this, rather than our soul (whatever that is).
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