美国机器人科幻小说的发展从雏形到成熟已近有两个世纪。19世纪下半叶，美国文学作品中开始出现有关“自动机”人造机械物的描述。在19世纪末和20世纪初科技进步和工业革命的影响下，文学作品中的自动机的形象从外表和行为方式上都趋向类人化。20世纪20年代，卡莱尔·恰佩克（Karel Čapek, 1980-1938）将仿人自动机器重新命名为“机器人”，以突出这些金属造物与人类之间的密切关系，且一直沿用至今。“机器人”一语双关，既指机器化的人，也指人化的机器，且预示着未来机器向人转变，以及人向机器转变的双重内涵，亦暗示人类对技术失控、技术对人的异化而产生的伦理危机和伦理困境。本文运用伦理学及文学伦理学批评等方法，将美国机器人科幻小说中人类与机器人之间的问题，界定为人类文明进程中伦理选择与科学选择之间的张力，并从人类作为主体的伦理价值出发，对美国各个历史发展阶段背景下的机器人科幻小说中的“机器人想象”进行研究，探讨未来人机合作、互惠共生的可能。

本文共分为六个章节，包括绪论、论文主体部分和结论。绪论部分梳理了美国科幻小说的发展脉络，给出美国机器人科幻小说的研究现状，以及本文的研究目的、意义和方法。通过对国内外美国机器人科幻小说研究的文献整理发现，现阶段关于机器人科幻小说研究只是聚焦于单个作家作品的研究，尚未有从不同历史阶段出发，对机器人科幻小说的综合研究，更无系统地从伦理学和文学伦理学批评视角对机器人科幻小说中的人机关系进行研究，这构成本研究的缘起。

本文第一章为“契合人类伦理观念的机器人”。这一章从伦理的视角出发，将美国机器人科幻小说中符合人类需求和伦理观念的机器人想象，分为如下两种：早期技术崇拜和克服“弗兰肯斯坦情结”的机器人。本章通过文本细读和分析，阐明美国机器人科幻小说中呈现出正面的机器人想象，首先离不开美国工业革命的影响，以及开拓西部边疆、从农业国向工业国转型的历史影响。其次，科幻作家艾萨克·阿西莫夫本人因信任技术，相信人类伦理道德规范，使他笔下出现的机器人，能够守护人类、维护人类社会秩序、负责人类行为；通过强调人机之间的主仆式关系，彰显出人类对技术的绝对控制，以及人类处于人机关系核心位置的优越感。

本文第二章为“使人类产生伦理危机的机器人”。这一章主要聚焦美国科幻小说中那些令人类产生焦虑、威胁人类生命、对人类造成伦理危机的机器人想象。首先，通过对小说中负面的机器人想象的文本分析，强调科幻作家塑造这些违背人类伦理和主体性的形象，不仅是为了强调科学具有双面性，更为反衬出人类在人机关系中的重要性。他们通过刻画出会失控，甚至弑主的机器人，批判人们对技术发展的盲目乐观主义，也是警示人类因过度自信而忽视技术的潜在风险。其次，通过分析机器人科幻小说中那些智力和能力超过人类的机器人对人类的危害，映射不断更迭的技术毫无疑问会给人类社会带来快速发展，但亦会给人类造成潜在的伦理危机，尤其是涉及人类的生存危机和情感危机。这种机器人取代人类的危机处境叙事，折射出原有人机主仆式关系的崩塌，迫切需求人类为人机关系寻找新的出路。另外，赛博格的出现更是让人机关系复杂化，这种复杂性不仅折射出主仆式人机关系的过时与僵化，更预示着人类文明进入科学选择阶段后的新挑战。

本文第三章是“人机关系中人类的主体性危机”。全章通过分析机器人科幻小说中机器人对人类造成的伦理危机和伦理困境，阐释作者对其终将引发人类主体性危机的潜在可能性的思考。这些超能机器人和其强大的人工智能虽然能够多方位多功能地助人，但却极有可能使人类对机器人产生过度依赖，从而导致人类失去自主性和创造性；它更有可能出现超出人类的伦理掌控，反噬人类，对人类造成伤害，最终形成对人类的伦理越界。这一切不仅会引发人类对自身身份的焦虑，还削弱人类身为主体的主观能动性，从而促使人类在人机关系中从主动走向被动，无法履行自己身为主体的伦理责任等困境，揭示出科学选择对伦理选择的冲击，使人类主体呈现出脆弱性的特征。

第四章为“重构人机共生的伦理秩序”。本章通过聚焦作者如何发挥伦理智慧，解决美国科幻小说中人类因机器人产生的主体性危机问题，为人机伦理秩序寻找新的可能性，从而突破原有僵化和过时的主仆式人机伦理定位。第一节通过探讨人际关系中人类中心的盲症和困境如何警示我们要从人类从中心到人类主体的伦理转变，阐释人类主体伦理的关键所在，从而为重构人机伦理秩序提供理论基础。第二节通过这些警示对伦理责任的强调，阐释对人类主体性的重视是形成“一体多翼”人机关系的重要基础。

美国科幻小说“机器人想象”研究，是对未来人机“一体多翼”的共生关系建构的展望，强调科幻小说中人类与机器人之间的关系，是人类与技术发展之间的文化镜像。它揭示出现实世界中人类、技术、伦理三者间的复杂性和多样性，引发人们对未来社会发展方向和人类自身命运的思考，以促进现实中科技发展与人类价值观的和谐统一。

It has been nearly two centuries since the development of American robot science fiction from its infancy to maturity. Since 19th century, American literary works have begun to feature descriptions of “automata” , man-made mechanical beings. Influenced by the technological advancements and the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th centuries, the portrayal of automata in literature became increasingly human-like in both appearance and behavior. In the 1920s, Czech playwright Karel Čapek (1890-1938) renamed these humanoid machines as “Robot” (the original word is “Robota”). The word “Robot” highlights the close relationship between these metallic creations and humans, a term that has been used ever since. Robots refer both to mechanized humans and humanized machines, foreshadowing the dual transformation of machines into humans and humans into machines. This dual transformation also implies the ethical crisis and ethical dilemmas arising from human beings losing control over technology and technology alienating humans. This dissertation employs the perspective of the ethics and ethical literary criticism to study the different “robot imaginations” in American science fiction. This study analyzes the issues between human beings and robots in American science fiction, explains the tension between “ethical selection” and “scientific selection” in the progress of human civilization. It also explores the possibilities of future human-machine cooperation and mutually beneficial symbiosis from the view of the ethical values of humans as subjects.  

This paper is divided into six chapters, including the introduction, the main body part, and the conclusion. The introduction section outlines the development of American science fiction, presents the current state of research on the American robot science fiction, and explains the research objectives, significance, and the methods of this study. The literature review on the research of American robot science fiction, both domestically and internationally, reveals the current research focuses mainly on individual authors and their works. There is a lack of comprehensive studies on American robot science fiction, which is based on the different historical stages. In addition, there is no systematic research from the combination perspectives of the ethics and ethical literary criticism on the human-machine relationships in American robot science fiction. This gap forms the basis for this research.

Chapter one is titled “Robots Aligned with Human Ethical Values.” From an ethical perspective, this chapter categorizes the “robot imaginations” in American robot science fiction that meet human needs and ethical standards into the following two types: early technology worship and robots that overcome the “Frankenstein complex”. Through close reading and analysis of texts, this chapter elucidates the positive “robot imaginations” presented in American robot science fiction. It first considers the influence of the American Industrial Revolution and the historical impact of Westward Movement and the transition from an agrarian to an industrial nation. Secondly, this chapter discusses science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), his trust in technology and his belief in human ethical and moral standards, which led to the creation of robots in his works that protect humanity, maintain social order, and take responsibility for human beings. By emphasizing the master-servant relationship between humans and robots, Asimov’s works highlight the absolute control humans have over technology and the sense of superiority of human beings at the core of the human-robot relationship.   

Chapter two is titled “Robots Causing Ethical Crisis for Humanity.” This chapter examines the portrayal of robots in American robot science fiction that provoke anxiety in humans, threaten human lives, and cause ethical crisis. First, by analyzing the negative depictions of robots in these works, there are two reasons for science fiction writers create negative robots that violate human ethics and subjectivity. The first one is to highlight the ambivalent nature in science and technology; the second reason is to underscore the importance of human beings in human-robot relationships. By depicting robots that can go out of control, and even kill their creators, the writers critique the blind optimism towards technological advancement and human’s overconfidence in technology will neglect its potential risk.

Secondly, by analyzing the dangers posed to humans by robot that surpass human intelligence and abilities in science fiction, it reflects that constantly evolving technology undoubtedly brings rapid development to human society but also causes potential ethical crises, particularly involving human survival and emotional crises. This narrative of robots replacing humans highlights the collapse of the traditional master-servant relationship between humans and robots, urgently requiring humans to find new approaches to human-robot relationships. Furthermore, the emergence of cyborgs complicates these relationships, reflecting not only the obsolescence and rigidity of the master-servant dynamic but also foreshadowing new challenges for human civilization as it enters the stage of “scientific selection”.

Chapter Three is titled “The Crisis of Human Subjectivity in Human-Machine Relationships.” This chapter analyzes the ethical crises and dilemmas caused by robots in science fiction to elucidate the author's thoughts on the potential for these issues to ultimately trigger a crisis of human subjectivity. Although these super-intelligent robots and their powerful artificial intelligence can assist humans in various multifunctional ways, they are highly likely to lead to an excessive dependence on robots, causing humans to lose their autonomy and creativity. There is also a significant risk that robots may exceed human ethical control, backfire, and harm humans, ultimately leading to ethical transgressions against humanity. All these factors not only provoke anxiety about human identity but also weaken the subjective initiative of humans as subjects. This shift forces humans to move from an active to a passive role in human-machine relationships, making it difficult for them to fulfill their ethical responsibilities as subjects. It reveals the impact of scientific choices on ethical choices, highlighting the vulnerability of human subjectivity.

Chapter Four is titled “Reconstructing the Ethical Order of Human-Robot Symbiosis.” This chapter focuses on how the author employs ethical wisdom to address the crisis of human subjectivity caused by robots in American science fiction, seeking new possibilities for the ethical order between humans and machines and thus overcoming the rigid and outdated master-servant ethical positioning. The first section explores how the blindness and dilemmas of human-centered in interpersonal relationships warn us of the need for an ethical transition from human-centered to human subjectivity, elucidating the key aspects of human subjectivity ethics and providing a theoretical foundation for reconstructing the human-machine ethical order. The second section, through these warnings, emphasizes ethical responsibility, explaining that the emphasis on human subjectivity is a crucial foundation for forming “an integrated and multi-winged” human-robot relationship.

The study of robot imagination in American science fiction is a projection of the construction of a future with “an integrated and multi-winged” symbiotic relationship between humans and machines. It emphasizes that the relationship between humans and robots in science fiction serves as a cultural mirror of the relationship between humans and technological development. This body of work reveals the complexity and diversity among humans, technology, and ethics in the real world, prompting reflections on the direction of future societal development and the fate of humanity itself. Ultimately, it aims to promote a harmonious integration of technological advancement and human values in reality.