The Design Of Machines And The Narrative Of The Life Of...

Over time, Man has developed various institutions, such as slavery and the design of machines, to work for him. Despite the intentions Man had, such institutions have led to the destruction of humanity on earth. Referencing the texts R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel ÄÅ'apek and The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, this essay postulates that the design of machines and the use of slavery have led to the overall destruction of humanity. Though it is important to identify that critics may argue that such institutions have benefitted humanity by making it stronger and more powerful, it is more valid to argue that the institutions developed by man have led to Man’s destruction. It is tenable to state†¦show more content†¦In the play R.U.R., Domin’s robots see to all of man’s needs, Alquist points out to Helena that Man’s reliance on machines is the reason for the great decrease in natality; no woman would desire to bear children with a man who did nothing and was merely superfluous to society. As stated by Fibrous, â€Å"From a technical standpoint, the whole of childhood is pure nonsense. Simply wasted time.† The robots had taken away the need to waste the time producing children, because children were not beneficial to society. Even after the children grew to become adults, it is plausible to say that adults are less beneficial to society than the robots are. According to Fabry, one robot is capable of doing the work of two and a half human laborers, and robots were faster and more convenient to make. It could be argued that the ability to reproduce in order to develop society is a characteristic of being human, and the use of machines arguably destroys the humanity of Man, making man more dependent on things that make work easier. Similar to machines, it could be argued that the use of slaves is also destructive to humanity, because it takes the stress of labor off of the whites and places that stress onto the blacks and mullatos, forcing the whites to rely on the production of the slaves. Any person who was not white was treated as if they were an animal or machine; the whites did not care whether they were sick or hungry, they needed to work. The slaves were put