Philosophy of Mind and Body in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris

Abstract

Andrei Tarkovsky's film Solaris (1972) is studied through the lens of philosophy of mind. The question of memory and personhood, as developed by John Locke and then expanded by Derek Parfit, is applied to the status of Hari – the copy of the protagonist's deceased wife. The key question addressed by this paper is on what basis Hari can (or should?) be considered human. Hari's personhood is further analyzed in the context of Cartesian dualism, the response to Descartes by reductionism and the rebuttal of reductionism by the functionalist theories of Hilary Putnam. Descartes' thoughts on animal suffering and the bête-machine are pitted against Hari's experience in Solaris. The key question is whether Hari can be reduced to her alien structure or should be considered in terms of her behavior. The moral implications of these questions are extended to human sociality, human emotional response and the role of the body in the human condition.

Solaris, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - Psychological and philosophical aspects

“…No amount of scientific stuttering could convince us that Bondarchuk is just a bunch of "unstable neutrinos" or "specimen." (Tumanov 2016) Our brains will not let us. To reduce Hari's humanity, the theoriesthe scientific and philosophical foundations of Sartorius' position -are necessary.…”

“…Putnam. (Tumanov 2016) Solaris appears as a suitable vehicle to explore philosophical challenges. Derek Parfit imagined such a science fiction scenario as the Teletransporter Thought Experiment, the philosophical personality requirements that perfectly resemble Tarkovsky's film because of the replication of the character, Hari in Solaris.…”

“…Can only Hari be considered an alien amorphous structure, or should its behavior be considered? Her emotional development and suffering, her epistemological journey toward self-knowledge, and especially her intense relationship with Kelvin, make the film an autonomous and deeply philosophical work of art: (Tumanov 2016) "The major deviation Tarkovsky undertakes in his film consists of a principal shift in the overall intention of the narrative prompted by the firm belief that love and human emotion have a primary meaning in the universe..." (Deltcheva and Vlasov 1997, 533) The station is as a heterotopic space from which Tarkovsky can project the life, death and humanity in this distant framework. The station will determine the narrative.…”

“…(Descartes 1984, 99) Unlike Cartesian dualism, which claims that human beings have a separate and qualitative soul (or mind) different from the body, reductionism is based on the hypothesis that the soul/mind can be reduced to the body, that is, the brain produces the mind, so the soul cannot " think without body ". (Tumanov 2016) Functionalists -including Hilary Putnam -are trying to save the elements of Cartesian dualism in the context of modern materialism, (Putnam 1975, 436) attempting to maintain the materialistic basis of reductionism without accepting the latter's claim to a correlation between physical and mental, challenging the pain problem with the idea that mental states can be reduced to the states of the brain From this point of view, Sartorius is a reductionist, considering only Hari's neutrinos structure. Putnam's position, however, known as multiple realizability -the notion that no matter how pain is done, regardless of the physical structures or processes in which the person suffers, the experience of pain shows the existence of a mental constitution.…”

Confrontation Of Scientific Reason And Nature In The Film "Solaris" (A. Tarkovsky

“…As Tumanov (2010) rightly notes, characterizing Tarkovsky's position, "love and human emotions are of paramount importance in the Universe" (para. 8).…”