Astronaut Bowman is unmoved by HAL’s pleas and remains
focused on shutting the computer down. He proceeds to turn off or
disengage HAL’s circuits. Something labeled “Memory Terminal” is
one of the first things to be disconnected.
At which point, HAL says: “My mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel
it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can
feel it. I’m afraid.”
Does HAL have feelings, emotions, moods?
What do we even mean by these terms?In the characterization of mental experiences as thoughts, feelings,
and perceptions, thoughts are considered to have a linguistic aspect,
representable as either words in a kind of subjective inner dialogue
or images potentially describable in words; perceptions have a direct
sensory quality—such as color or shape, musical tones, aromas and
tastes, hotness and coldness, itchiness, and so forth—and are gen-
erally associated with interactions with physical stimuli from the
environment. Feelings, in contrast, have a kind of nonlinguistic and
intuitive quality to them.
Feelings are generally considered to be the mental experience com-
ponent of emotions—such things as joy, anger, fear, surprise, sadness,
and disgust. In addition, emotions have palpable somatic qualities
—they are experienced in the entire body, not just in the mind. And
they have associated outward signs—facial expressions, body posture,
laughter, tears, and changes in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing,
and skin temperature, for example.
Whatever they are, emotions have profound and direct impact on
behavior, on action. This impact is represented in the etymology of
the word: emotion comes from the French émouvoir, meaning to stir
up, excite, affect. The Latin roots are movere = to move, and e = out.