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The Anthropology of Artificial Beings in Fiction

by Alexandra de Moffarts

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Datalore” (1988), the android Data proves to have an evil twin, Lore, who tries to bring humanity under his power. Data, on the other hand, is represented as an intelligent, candid, idealized man, acting only altruistically, always striving to improve his humanity. At the end of the episode, someone asks the significant question: do Lore’s manipulation skills and lust for power make him more human than Data, or less so?

Alexandra de Moffarts

Alexandra de Moffarts is a teaching member of the Saint John the Theologian Institute in Brussels. She studied Orthodox theology at the Saint Sergius Institute in Paris and holds a PhD in linguistics from Düsseldorf University. Her studies in theology, linguistics, and literature have kindled her interest in the interface between theology and fiction, especially fantasy and science fiction.

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