MachineryOfDesire

The Machinery of Desire can be seen as a mechanical process of four parts.

• An environmental sensor (sensation)
• An actuator to alter the environment in a manner which can impact on that sensor (movement)
• A record of a hypothetical state of a the environment (goal)
• A theory of the manner of operation of the environment relating to the sensor and movement (theory)

The origin of the goal is mysterious and mixed into arguments concerning Compatibilism, FreeWill and Determinism. However, given the complexity placed into this one part, the machinery itself, realisation can easily be seen as a mechanical process. In the mechanism of realisation, we take the theory, the axiom of the state of the environment (sensation), and construct theorems where we compound possible movements, to satisfy a goal. If a solution is sound it is performed.

It could easily be argued that desire in this sense is not what people often mean by desire, which I acknowledge, much of that is wrapped up into the choosing and modification of the goal, the deus ex of the system. For example, a heating system has a desire by this definition: its sensation is through thermostats and its movements through heaters. Its theory it is incapable of altering or testing (in all but the most sophisticated heating systems), it is battered into it in patterns of metal, semiconductor, and insulator. But the same might be said, by some, of people.

But I would like to keep the word, since it seems as good as any. This is, of course, an arbitrary division of things. In such matters you cannot say this is composed of that or the other, just that it's one way of looknig at it. In that it transforms an action into an object it can be seen as a MaleGendered? approach according to a FeministCritique? but, as I'm making no claims for universality, nor want to enforce the approach, I think this isn't much of a problem. Dan