The Frankenstein complex is a term coined by

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

in his robot series, referring to the fear of mechanical men.

History

Some of Asimov's science fiction

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and novels predict that this suspicion will become strongest and most widespread in respect of "mechanical men" that most-closely resemble

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s (''see android''), but it is also present on a lower level against robots that are plainly electromechanical

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

s. The "Frankenstein complex" is similar in many respects to Masahiro Mori's

uncanny valley The effect is a hypothesized psychological and aesthetic relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The uncanny valley hypothesis predicts that an entity appearing almost huma ...

hypothesis. The name, "Frankenstein complex", is derived from the name of

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical proces ...

in the 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' by

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

. In Shelley's story, Frankenstein created an intelligent, somewhat superhuman being, but he finds that his creation is horrifying to behold and abandons it. This ultimately leads to Victor's death at the conclusion of a vendetta between himself and his creation. In much of his fiction, Asimov depicts the general attitude of the public towards robots as negative, with ordinary people fearing that robots will either replace them or dominate them, although dominance would not be allowed under the specifications of the Three Laws of Robotics, the first of which is: : "A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." However, Asimov's fictitious earthly public is not fully persuaded by this, and remains largely suspicious and fearful of robots. ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 ...

''s short story "Little Lost Robot" is about this "fear of robots". In Asimov's robot novels, the ''Frankenstein complex'' is a major problem for roboticists and robot manufacturers. They do all they can to reassure the public that robots are harmless, even though this sometimes involves hiding the truth because they think that the public would misunderstand it. The fear by the public and the response of the manufacturers is an example of the theme of

paternalism Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy against their will and is intended to promote their own good. It has been defended in a variety of contexts as a means of protecting individuals from significant harm, s ...

, the dread of paternalism, and the conflicts that arise from it in Asimov's fiction. The same theme occurs in many later works of fiction featuring robots, although it is rarely referred to as such. Examples of human hostility towards robots have occurred in real life; for example, during a test of self-driving cars in Arizona, residents vandalized the vehicles.

Bibliography

*Jean-Jacques Lecercle, ''Frankenstein: Mythe et Philosophie'' (Press Universitaires de France, 1997) *Shuntaro, Ono, ''Frankenstein Complex: what can change someone into a monster''(Seisoushobou, 2009) 小野俊太郎『フランケンシュタイン・コンプレックス』（青草書房 2009年）

References

{{Frankenstein Isaac Asimov Robotics Frankenstein Science fiction themes Technophobia

History

See also

Bibliography

References