An Experimental Creation By Mary Shelley s Frankenstein...

â€Å"Cogito ergo sum†, translated to English states, â€Å"I think therefore I am† (Hatfield 10). The quotation comes from Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and Mathematician, who argues that the mind and body are two separate entities distinct from one another. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress challenge the issue of mind and body dualism. The two novels illustrate this debate using Frankenstein’s Creature, an experimental creation using organic human parts who possesses human intelligence, and Mike, a super-computer who gained consciousness by creating enough â€Å"associational paths†. Although the Creature and Mike do not fit the standard definition of â€Å"human†, the two characters possess key human traits, such as intelligence and self-awareness. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, the Creature and Mike both express hum an characteristics despite their artificial creations. However, the Creature’s organic brain and grotesque body limit his perspective and social experience, which ultimately makes him more human through a flawed existence. Unlike Mike, Frankenstein’s Creature possesses an organic mind and a more human-like limitation on how much information can be processed at a certain time. The Creature proves to be capable of intelligence by learning through education and experience. After Dr. Frankenstein creates the Creature, the Creature does not possess any knowledge of the world and