The Philosophy of Anime

My husband and I enjoy Anime, which is a style of Japanese cartoon.  Anime is more of an adult cartoon (in my mind), just  because of the complex and often dark storylines.  I could be totally wrong though... I was a fairly sheltered child twenty-some odd years ago.  Who can say what kids are used to these days?  Maybe I'm just a Victorian prude.

Anyway, what I wanted to talk about today was the philosophy that is woven into the Anime shows we watch.  Two of my favorites are Ghost in the Shell and recently, Full Metal Alchemist.

Ghost in the Shell constantly addresses the concept of consciousness.  The story takes place in a modern world with highly intelligent automatons (programs) and the ability to transfer human consciousnesses (as programs) into artificial bodies.  Do the automatons form a consciousness in time?  Are the human consciousnesses transferred completely, or is there a spark that is lost when the mind is transformed from biological to mechanical data?  This question of dualism of mind and body (i.e. a consciousness separate from physical being) hearkens back to Renee Descarte, who titled this "Ghost in the Machine."  I often think about this when considering the ethics of human cloning.  What determines consciousness, and do we as humans have the power or right to grant or deny that to a clone?

Full Metal Alchemist brings up thoughts of scientism.  The main characters are always talking about the scientific objectivity of alchemy.  In some ways, this is really kind of funny, because alchemy is an ancient and debunked "science" if it ever was one in the first place.  In this show, the characters are able to mentally restructure atoms, affecting the form and function of existing items..  It addresses the concept of ethics and human limitation in the context of equivalent exchange.  Again, the thread of humanity weaves its way through the story as the two main characters tried to bring back their dead mother by transmuting the major elements that make up an average adult human.  Unfortunately for them, there is nothing of equivalent value to a human soul.