On Computers

Aristotle's writing On Plants detailed not only why Aristotle believed plants to have a soul but also enumerated the purposes and various characteristics that make up plants. Through this writing, in many respects, it's easy to draw comparisons between plants and computers. For one, like plants, there are many, many different types of computers. Secondly, Aristotle declares that life is not immediately evident in plants. Similarly, life in computers isn't necessarily immediately evident but computers are extremely complex and "smart" machines. The origin of life and a soul is a glaring difference between the two, however.

Aristotle was known for not only being a philosopher but also for his application of science. In this writing, he steps through, in a very scientific method, the various traits of plants and what causes motion and life within said plants. He theorizes about everything from why fruit is developed like it is to why certain dirt is helpful to certain plants. He enumerates (almost) every type of plant that fits into the various niches. A similar practice can actually be done with computers as well. We have computers which are specifically designed for a home user. We have computers that are designed for graphic designers. We have computers for students. Cell phones are computers. My coffee maker has a computer. These computers, like plants, are all very different from one another yet they're all lumped together into one category. They all have various different purposes and are all vastly designed differently but they are all connected together in an artificial family tree.

The discussion of life is another way in which plants and computers are similar. Aristotle quickly classifies plants as alive and yet the modern human race is extremely hesitant to call computers alive. Computers perform extremely complex operations, perhaps even more complex than the operations that plants perform. While computers may not necessarily physically grow, they are indeed capable of generating more data. Perhaps the glaring difference between plant life and computer "life", however, is the computer's glaring inability to reproduce. Computers are able to reproduce and duplicate data but are unable to transpose their physical makeup like plants.

The discussion of the soul is perhaps one of the most interesting arguments that Aristotle presents. The idea whether or not computers (or plants) have a soul is a very large question of definitions. If something has a soul because it has life, then a deeper investigation on the computer's life must be held since, by that definition, a computer might indeed have a soul.