Words for man as a machine

[thorbiorn]

Doing another thread, http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=11944.0 I found another, Swami Vivekananda, who besides Gurdjieff insists on man being a machine, until he has Worked on himself. I wondered how old the idea of man as a machine is? It turns out there are many different words that can be used to express this idea, and a French physician and philosopher used the description already 150 years before Vivekananda and Gurdjieff.
“Man a Machine”

The human body is a machine which winds its own springs.
[…]
Let us then conclude boldly that man is a machine, and that in the whole universe there is but a single substance differently modified.

Julien Offray de La Mettrie, 1709—1751 French physician, atheist, mechanist and materialist; […]

If the above description of Julien Offray de La Mettrie was insufficient try _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien_Offray_de_La_Mettrie
Next from man as a machine to man as an automaton:

Automaton

au•tom•a•ton […]
n. pl. au•tom•a•tons or au•tom•a•ta (-t )
1. A self-operating machine or mechanism, especially a robot.
2. One that behaves or responds in a mechanical way.
________________________________________
[Latin, self-operating machine, from Greek, from neuter of automatos, self-acting; see automatic.]
________________________________________
au•tom a•tous adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

In the dictionary there was a mention of:

Robot

Etymology
The word robot was introduced to the public by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), which premiered in 1921.[14] The word was also spelled "robotnik".The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called robots, but they are closer to the modern ideas of androids and clones, creatures who can be mistaken for humans. They can plainly think for themselves, though they seem happy to serve. At issue is whether the robots are being exploited and the consequences of their treatment.
[…]
The word robota means literally work, labor or serf labor, and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech and many Slavic languages.[15] Serfdom was outlawed in 1848 in Bohemia, so at the time Čapek wrote R.U.R., usage of the term robota had broadened to include various types of work, but the obsolete sense of "serfdom" would still have been known.[16][17]
History
Many ancient mythologies include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god Hephaestus[18] (Vulcan to the Romans), the clay golems of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and Galatea, the mythical statue of Pygmalion that came to life.
In the 4th century BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon". Hero of Alexandria (10–70 AD) created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water.[19] Su Song built a clock tower in China in 1088 featuring mechanical figurines that chimed the hours.[20]
Al-Jazari (1136–1206), a Muslim inventor during the Artuqid dynasty, designed and constructed a number of automated machines, including kitchen appliances, musical automata powered by water, and the first programmable humanoid robots in 1206.

One wonders how the ancients got to the concept of artificial people. Was it an allusion to the state of man. Or was it a remembrance of the past?
Above was mentioned:

Androids

an•droid ( n droid )
adj. Possessing human features.
n. An automaton that is created from biological materials and resembles a human. Also called humanoid.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
[...]
android
Noun a robot resembling a human being [Late Greek androeidēs manlike]
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006

Next more about a synonym for android:

Humanoid

hu•man•oid
adj.
Having human characteristics or form.
n.
1. A being having human form: "humanoids from some far-flung planet" Robert Brustein.
2. See android.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

humanoid
Adjective
like a human being in appearance
Noun
(in science fiction) a robot or creature resembling a human being
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006
________________________________________
humanoid
1. a creature resembling man, as one of man’s early ancestors.
2. Science Fiction. any manlike creature from another planet. — humanoid, adj.
See also: Mankind
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

There is another word that gives the idea of man as a machine:

Cyborg

cy•borg (s bôrg )
n. A human who has certain physiological processes aided or controlled by mechanical or electronic devices.
________________________________________
[cyb(ernetic) + org(anism).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The Theasaurus for Cyborg has:

Noun. 1.
cyborg - a human being whose body has been taken over in whole or in part by electromechanical devices; "a cyborg is a cybernetic organism"
bionic man, bionic woman
machine - an efficient person; "the boxer was a magnificent fighting machine"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Bionic man/woman are synomyms for cyborg apparentl: _http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bionic+woman]

And what about?:
Zombie

A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful sorcerer. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.
There are several possible etymologies of the word zombie. One possible origin is jumbie, the West Indian term for "ghost".[1] Another is nzambi, the Kongo word meaning "spirit of a dead person."[1] According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word entered English circa 1871; it's derived from the Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, which in turn is of Bantu origin.[2] A zonbi is a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will.[3] It is akin to the Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost.
[…]
Popular culture
Main article: Zombies in popular culture
Modern zombies, as portrayed in books, films, games, and haunted attractions, are quite different from both voodoo zombies and those of folklore. Modern zombies are typically depicted in popular culture as mindless, unfeeling monsters with a hunger for human brains and flesh, a prototype established in the seminal 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. Typically, these creatures can sustain damage far beyond that of a normal, living human (generally these can only be killed by a wound to the head, such as a headshot) and can pass whatever syndrome that causes their condition onto others.
Usually, zombies are not depicted as thralls to masters, as in the film White Zombie or the spirit-cult myths. Rather, modern zombies are depicted in mobs and waves, seeking either flesh to eat or people to kill or infect, and are typically rendered to exhibit signs of physical decomposition such as rotting flesh, discolored eyes, and open wounds, and moving with a slow, shambling gait. They are generally incapable of communication and show no signs of personality or rationality, though George Romero's zombies appear capable of learning and very basic levels of speech as seen in the films Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead.

Philosophical zombie
A philosophical zombie (_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie ) is a concept used in the philosophy of mind, a field of research which examines the association between conscious thought and the physical world. A philosophical zombie is a hypothetical person who lacks full consciousness but has the biology or behavior of a normal human being; it is used as a null hypothesis in debates regarding the identity of the mind and the brain. The term was coined by philosopher David Chalmers. [7]

Here are some dictionary meanings for 'zombie':

zom•bie also zom•bi (z m b )
n. pl. zom•bies also zom•bis
1. A snake god of voodoo cults in West Africa, Haiti, and the southern United States.
2.
a. A supernatural power or spell that according to voodoo belief can enter into and reanimate a corpse.
b. A corpse revived in this way.
3. One who looks or behaves like an automaton.
4. A tall mixed drink made of various rums, liqueur, and fruit juice.
________________________________________
[Caribbean French and English Creole, from Kimbundu -zumbi, ghost, departed spirit.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

However learners/juveniles are given less choices:

zombie
n zombie [ˈzombi]
a slow-moving person of very little intelligence.
Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary © 1986-2008 K Dictionaries Ltd and partners. All rights reserved.

zombie
One entry found.

Main Entry:
zom•bie
Variant(s):
also zom•bi \ˈzäm-bē\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, of Bantu origin; akin to Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost
Date:
circa 1871
1 usually zombie a: the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body b: a will-less and speechless human in the West Indies capable only of automatic movement who is held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated
2
a: a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead ; especially : automaton
b: a person markedly strange in appearance or behavior
3: a mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice
— zom•bie•like \-bē-ˌlīk\ adjective

And how the Cassiopaeans used the word Zombie:

Q: (H) What percentage of the US population actually thinks at all?

A: 12% if you define it rigidly.

Q: (group amazement at this figure)

A: What do you expect with HAARP turning brains to tapioca

Q: (J) So it's a Zombie nation then?

A: You took the words right out of 6th density.

Robot, automaton, bionic man/woman, cyborg, humanoid, android and zombie; terms and nuances are not missing for ‘man a machine’. Interesting was how the dictionary meaning of 'zombie' has changed and is changing.

 

[combsbt]

From _http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use40

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

I'm pretty sure your usage would be considered 'fair use'.

 

[PepperFritz]

Temporary note until Friday moring to the moderators: Q: Is the way I have entered the dictionary items covered by "fair use"?

Yes, no problem. :)

 

[thorbiorn]

Thanks to combsbt for the legal excerpt and to PepperFritz too.
I just deleted the my note; maybe that was not strictly necessary, but I did promise it was temporary.
Thanks. :)