Human beings are essentially machines

Title: What is Man & Other Essays

Author: Mark Twain

Librivox Audiobook app

Read by John Greenman (10 hr 37 min)


What is Man & Other Essays is a collection of philosophical reflections and social commentaries that reveal his skeptical and probing mind. 

The central essay, What is Man, is written in the form of a dialogue between a Young Man and an Old Man. 

The Old Man argues that human beings are essentially machines, driven not by free will but by training, habit, and self-interest. 

He insists that every action is motivated by the desire to satisfy personal needs, whether material or emotional, and that altruism itself is only a refined form of self-gratification. 

The Young Man challenges these views, but the Old Man’s reasoning is relentless, presenting a deterministic view of human nature that questions traditional ideas of morality and freedom.

Other essays in the volume expand Twain’s critique of society, religion, and politics. 

He often exposes hypocrisy and pretension, using wit and irony to highlight contradictions in human behavior. 

In pieces such as The Moral Sense, Twain examines how morality is shaped by culture and circumstance rather than universal principles. 

He suggests that what people call conscience is often just social conditioning. 

In The United States of Lyncherdom, he condemns mob violence and the failure of communities to uphold justice, showing his deep concern for ethical responsibility.

Twain also reflects on education, science, and progress, frequently warning against blind faith in authority or tradition. 

His essays reveal a consistent theme: the need for honesty in confronting human motives and the structures of power. 

While his tone can be playful, the underlying message is serious, urging readers to question accepted truths and to recognize the mechanical and self-serving aspects of human conduct.

Overall, the book presents Twain not only as a humorist but as a moral philosopher who challenges readers to reconsider the foundations of belief, morality, and human nature. 

It is a work that combines sharp satire with profound inquiry, leaving a lasting impression of his view that man is both limited by his nature and capable of reflection about those limits.

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