AI Subjectivity Without Embodiment A Humean Critique and the Reconsideration of the Human and Political

Pdf
Published: Ιουν 7, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/dia.45795
Keywords:
Bundle Theory Hume Embodied Experience Political Ethics of AI AI Subjectivity
Huimin Wu
Ph.D. Candidate, Nankai University, China
Yuewen Hu
Ph.D. Candidate, Nankai University, China
Abstract

This paper employs Hume’s bundle theory of perception, the primacy of embodied impressions, and the centrality of passions to examine the ontological status of artificial intelligence. It argues that AI merely simulates the functional form of Humean perceptual association, yet lacks the embodied experience and passions that constitute genuine human subjectivity. This ontological boundary redefines ethical and political accountability in algorithmic systems: responsibility inheres in human actors rather than machines. By Humean empiricism, this paper rethinks the human and the political in the age of AI, rejecting the myth of AI Subjectivity while affirming the irreplaceability of embodied human agency.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Bender, E. M., Gebru, T., McMillan-Major, A., & Shmargaret Shmitchell. (2021). On the dangers of stochastic parrots: Can language models be too big? In Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (pp. 610–623).
Bernáth, L. (2021). Can autonomous agents without phenomenal consciousness be morally responsible? Philosophy & Technology, 34(4), 1363–1382.
Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, dangers, strategies. Oxford University Press.
Broni, G., Velentzas, J., & Kartalis, N. (2025). Business and marketing ethical dilemmas: On moral strategic decisions. Dia-noesis: A Journal of Philosophy, 18, 441–462. https://doi.org/10.12681/dia.43447
Chatzidimitriou, E., & Triantari, S. (2025). Emotional intelligence in the works of Plato. Dia-noesis: A Journal of Philosophy, 18, 463–480.
https://doi.org/10.12681/dia.43448
Chen, J. Y. (2018). Philosophy, science, and common sense. CITIC Press.
Clark, A. (2016). Surfing uncertainty: Prediction, action, and the embodied mind. Oxford University Press.
Coeckelbergh, M. (2021). Humean AI ethics: From passion to algorithm. Ethics and Information Technology, 23(4), 589–600.
Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. G. P. Putnam.
Dennett, D. C. (1991). Consciousness explained. Little, Brown and Co.
Dressel, J., & Farid, H. (2018). The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predicting recidivism. Science Advances, 4(1), eaao5580.
Dwork, C., Hardt, M., Pitassi, T., Reingold, O., & Zemel, R. (2012). Fairness through awareness. In Proceedings of the 3rd Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (pp. 214–226).
Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist interventions: Rethinking the mind. Oxford University Press.
Han, D. H. (2016). A general history of western philosophy (Vol. 3). Renmin University of China Press.
Hume, D. (1739). A treatise of human nature. John Noon.
Lake, B. M., Salakhutdinov, R., & Tenenbaum, J. B. (2017). Human-level concept learning through probabilistic program induction. Science, 358(6364), 481–485.
Li, H. W. (Trans.). (2014). Embodied cognition (L. Shapiro, original work published 2011). Huaxia Publishing House.
Liu, C. (2022). Fifteen lectures on philosophy of artificial intelligence. Peking University Press.
Liu, Z. (2015). German idealism and the problem of subjectivity. Peking University Press.
Nass, C., & Moon, Y. (2000). Machines and mindlessness: Social responses to computers. Journal of Social Issues, 56(1), 81–103.
Piorkowska, M., & Wrobel, M. (2017). Basic emotions. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Springer.
Putnam, H. (1967). Psychological predicates. In W. H. Capitan & D. D. Merrill (Eds.), Art, mind, and religion (pp. 37–48). University of Pittsburgh Press.
Searle, J. R. (2018). What computers can’t do: A critique of artificial reason. Daedalus, 147(1), 14–23.
Shapiro, L. (2014). Embodied cognition (H. Li, Trans.). Huaxia Publishing House. (Original work published 2011)
Shapiro, L. (2019). Embodied cognition and artificial intelligence. Synthese, 196(9), 3517–3534.
Strawson, G. (2011). The evident connexion: Hume on personal identity. Oxford University Press.
Strawson, G. (2014). The secret connexion: Causation, realism, and David Hume (Rev. ed.). Oxford University Press.
Sun, Z. X. (Ed.). (1996). Selected works of Martin Heidegger. Shanghai Joint Publishing Company.
Susser, D., Roessler, B., & Nissenbaum, H. (2019). Technology, autonomy, and manipulation. Internet Policy Review, 8(2), 1–22.
Theodosiadis, M. (2025). Ancient Greek democracy and American republicanism: Prometheus in political theory. Edinburgh University Press.
Vavouras, E. (2024). Hobbes’ hedonism in front of classical hedonism and the free market’s way out. Dia-noesis: A Journal of Philosophy, 13, 85–114. https://doi.org/10.12681/dia.37784
Weber-Guslar, E. (2021). How to feel about emotionalized artificial intelligence? Ethics and Information Technology, 23(4), 601–610.
Wu, G. S. (2009). Lectures on philosophy of technology. The Commercial Press.
Xu, Y. J. (2013). Mind, language and machine. People's Publishing House.
Zhao, T. Y. (2020). Artificial intelligence's philosophical issues. Philosophical Researches, (5), 32–41.
Zhao, T. Y. (2022). The myth or elegy of artificial intelligence. The Commercial Press.