The protagonist Bob (version 2) has been revived as a sentient being using advanced futuristic programming. The book has brought forth unexpected thoughts of what makes something alive. I had not put as much thought into it until I read this book.
“I had three issues that bothered me. Was I conscious? Could I actually consider myself to be alive? And was I still Bob? Philosophers had been going on and on about this type of thing for centuries, but now, for me, it was personal. A human, regardless of their opinion on the subject, could depend on being a human. The minister’s offhand reference to me as ‘it’ and ‘replicant’ had stung at a level I was just now starting to appreciate.”
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Just after Bob had been revived as a replicant he was philosophizing on what made something alive, weather it was the ability to have thoughts or the desire to survive. I found this very interesting and made me wonder what criteria I use to determine weather or not something is alive.