ABSTRACT
Goal-seeking or purposive behavior was also one of the functions thought to be denied to automata. This chapter aims to argue that there is, related to purposiveness, one area of essential difference between humans and automata that has not thus far been replicated or simulated, even ‘in principle.’ The problem of the distinction between human beings and sophisticated machines of the robot sort has often been discussed in the context of whether robots can be made to exhibit characteristic behavior of humans or to accomplish all the ‘mental’ tasks that humans can. The metaphorical or analogical extension of such terminology neglects the complex human context in which its meaningfulness has arisen. The fact that most ordinary goals and values are acquired from our social environment does not mean, either, that those that come from society are not deliberate, not autonomous human purposes.
