Man as Machine

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the categorization of man as a machine as described in the book, "Man a Machine" and compares it to the modern day view. A discussion of the industrial revolution and the development of machinery and technology is included.

From the Paper:

""There are as many different minds, different characters, and different customs, as there are different temperaments" (La Mettrie et al. 90). This alone is enough to show that La Mettrie does not believe man is entirely a machine, even though he calls him one throughout this book. Man is more complicated than a machine, because he can reason, and he can make decisions, which a simple machine cannot do.
In the early Industrial revolution, during the 19th century, machines took over many jobs from men, including milling, weaving, spinning, and many other manufacturing jobs. Man saw these machines as marvels that created more products quickly and more effectively. They put many people out of work, but they also created new, low-paying jobs in factories. These machines literally changed the way people lived. While society had been mostly agricultural before the Industrial Revolution, now more people moved to the cities, where jobs were plentiful. Society changed, and had continued to change as man makes improved machine."

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