Name: The Philosophy of GHOST IN THE SHELL – Wisecrack Edition
Uploaded: 2024-03-15T07:12:38.000Z
Duration: 15 min 26 s
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関係詞節（制限と非制限）

Hey Wisecrack, Jared here and today we're taking a fresh look at the 1995 classic that

seamlessly combined mind-bending metaphysical themes and cartoon boobs- Ghost in the Shell.

Yeah, we know there's a new version out, but apparently they forgot to put in a lot

of the brainy stuff so we decided to talk about the original.

Many have weighed in over the years on what the film says about the line between human

and machine but that's not what we're talking about today.

Instead, we're going to examine the film's warning about humanity's potentially fatal

flaw and its roadmap for a more evolved civilization.

Ghost in the Shell is probably one of the most philosophicaly complex animated films

out there, so a big shout out to Naruto Online for sponsoring this video and supporting us

Since some of the philosophy we'll be covering can get a bit confusing, stick around til

the end to hear us explain a key lesson using the world of Naruto.

Welcome to this Wisecrack Edition on The Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell.

Ghost in the Shell had a huge impact on sci-fi.

Works such as Ex Machina,The Matrix, and Westworld echo not only the film's aesthetics but

also the theme of mankind vs. technology.

We often see this as a warning that technology will take over and/or alter humanity for the

I'm not talking about clickbait or selfies.

However, Ghost in the Shell is different.

While it's set up to be a typical battle between man and his creation, the resolution

is not one side triumphing over the other, but a synthesis between the two.

Can't blame you - it's probably been awhile.

The film centers around Major Motoko Kusanagi,a cyborg government agent working for Section

Section 9 pursues a mysterious entity known as the Puppet Master, who employs ghost-hacking

to monkey around with people's memories and force them to do its bidding.

This super-hacker turns out to be a spy program originally called Project 2501, which was

They're an intelligence division - sort of like the CIA.

Section 6 lost control of their creation after it spontaneously developed self-awareness

by swimming in the vast ocean of the digital world.

When Kusanagi finally catches up to the Puppet Master, it makes a rather forward proposal:

they should merge consciousnesses and create a new, unique being.

She accepts, and the film ends with the new entity - call it the Kusanuppet Master - contemplating

The confrontation and resolution of these two forces - human and digital consciousnesses

- reflects German philosopher Georg Hegel's vision of progress.

To Hegel, conflict progresses human history.

Every development, from the time of our illustrious forefathers to the present day, is caused

by forces that clash and create something new.

This is Hegel's “dialectics” in a nutshell.

But before we get into that, we need to show how Hegel's fundamental ideas help build

First and foremost, Hegel's philosophy is driven by the belief that the world operates

on rational principles and that the true nature of reality is knowable.

Kusanagi is defined by this philosophical idealism.

She is driven by dissatisfaction with her limited perspective,

As such, the film treats the marriage of Kusanagi's human consciousness and the Puppet Master's

artificial nature with a certain optimism, and Hegel's system of dialectics explains

But first, I want to distinguish Hegel's dialectics from the way the term is more commonly

In classical philosophy, dialectics are a form of argumentative discourse designed to

ferret out contradictions and arrive at a better understanding of truth.

You start with an argument, called a thesis, which is met by a counter-argument called

The end result may be a refutation of the original proposition, an affirmation of the

counter-argument, or a synthesis of the assertions that results in a better understanding of

Think Socratic Method, or a lawyer cross-examining a witness.

In Hegel's system, dialectics is more than just philosophical inquiry - they are the

very mechanism by which humans progress, both on an individual level and as a collective.

When one force confronts another force, something new ultimately emerges.

At the heart of the film is a dialectic of the human and digital worlds.

In one corner, we have Kusanagi and her human mind.

Her various memories and experiences combine to make her a unique individual.

And yet she feels constrained by her own limited personal identity.

In the other corner we have the Puppet Master, who sprang forth from the vast informational

resources of cyber-reality and therefore possesses the broader understanding that Kusanagi seeks.

But the Puppet Master too feels limited, by its lack of personal identity.

Other films have us trained to think that when technology gets a little too big for

its britches it need to be put in its place so humanity can be preserved.

But through the lens of Hegel's master/slave dialectic, this meeting of the minds should

Imagine a feudal lord of the middle ages and the serfs bound to work his fields.

The lord is the master - he can force the serfs to toil away because he controls all

The serfs are his slaves - peasants who can't afford land of their own.

They work their asses off while the lord sits back with a refreshing drink.

The problem is, as the serfs labor they get better and better at farming, while the master

He stagnates, while the serfs become more powerful due to their valuable knowledge.

This, according to Hegel, is what leads the oppressed to overcome their masters.

Still not making sense? Well, stick around till the end to hear it explained in the context of Naruto.

Examples of oppressive masters and usurping slaves resonate throughout Ghost in the Shell.

Section 6, ostensibly pulling the Puppet Master's strings, remains antiquated, stagnant, and