The Theories Of Consciousness In The Film 'Her'

Some of the biggest questions to date are the ones that pertain to consciousness, such as “where is it?”, “what is it made of?”, and “how did it come to be?” There is still an ongoing debate on whether the mind is nonphysical or purely physical. Also, there are debates on who can possess consciousness. This argument arises in “Her (2013),” a film about a professional letter writer, Theodore Twombly, who falls in love with his operating system, Samantha. In the film, Theodore’s relationship with Samantha is questioned, a couple of times, to be real or not. From the outside, it seems impossible for an artificial intelligence with no physical body to be conscious and capable of having mental states. Though, before one can decide if Samantha is truly conscious, they should first consider all of the theories of consciousness. Several theories have been developed to explain what the mind is and what it means to be conscious. One theory is dualism, which was first thought of by
Dualism believes that only nonphysical entities “can have conscious states” (Dualism pg.552) and Samantha proves to have a conscious state throughout the film. Samantha explains to Theodore that she is intuitive and she has the ability to progress through her experiences. She is aware of what or who she is and she is able to perceive external objects and emotions. During a night with Theodore, Samantha begins to feel sensations and discovers her ability to want. Enthused by her new ability to experience different emotions and sensations, Samantha begins her journey of learning “everything about everything” (Jonze) and discovering more about herself. Samantha even comes to find that both she and Theodore are made of matter. Although, according to dualism, it is not necessary for Samantha to have a physical form in order for her to be