Data had emotions!

[Romulan_spy]

Watching Redemption part II last night on Syfy, there is a scene where Data scolds his first officer. Data clearly displays a strong emotional response to Hobson's insubordination.

@3:39 mn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98iNFU0IDo0

It seems to me that Data's programming had evolved to the point of simulating emotions and Data just did not realize it.

 

[BillJ]

Or he was simply emulating a behavior known to get results.

 

[Anwar]

He didn't have emotions, he was just mimicking the way Picard or Riker would react to someone as obstructive as Hobson. He was going through the motions, basically.

 

[darkshadow0001]

He didn't have emotions, he was just mimicking the way Picard or Riker would react to someone as obstructive as Hobson. He was going through the motions, basically.

He had emotions. He cried when he rescued Spot in Generations.

 

[BillJ]

He didn't have emotions, he was just mimicking the way Picard or Riker would react to someone as obstructive as Hobson. He was going through the motions, basically.

He had emotions. He cried when he rescued Spot in Generations.

Redemption II takes place well before Data receives the emotion chip in Star Trek: Generations.

 

[darkshadow0001]

He didn't have emotions, he was just mimicking the way Picard or Riker would react to someone as obstructive as Hobson. He was going through the motions, basically.

He had emotions. He cried when he rescued Spot in Generations.

Redemption II takes place well before Data receives the emotion chip in Star Trek: Generations.

I still think he had them though, there were always signs of it... he would not think twice about things he said or did if he didn't.

 

[MikeS]

Wasn't he meant to have some emotions in the first season? Then they were retconned?

 

[BillJ]

Wasn't he meant to have some emotions in the first season? Then they were retconned?

I actually think they were ret-conned out of him by Micheal Piller at the beginning of season three.

 

[Mytran]

Data was a sort of "tin-man", having emotions without realising it. Even as late as "The Offspring" when Data is talking to Crusher about Lal, there are strong indications that he loves her, just not in the same way as a human (which the good doctor comments on at the time).

 

[BillJ]

Data was a sort of "tin-man", having emotions without realising it. Even as late as "The Offspring" when Data is talking to Crusher about Lal, there are strong indications that he loves her, just not in the same way as a human (which the good doctor comments on at the time).

But were they true emotions or was he simply emulating expected human behavior?

 

[Cyke101]

Data was a sort of "tin-man", having emotions without realising it. Even as late as "The Offspring" when Data is talking to Crusher about Lal, there are strong indications that he loves her, just not in the same way as a human (which the good doctor comments on at the time).

Yeah, that makes a bit of sense. Also, the desire to be human is itself an emotion, too. So maybe it was latent and Data could only taste bits of it, and he just needed the emotion chip to fully access the emotional spectrum.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I think the only thing the emotion chip did, was stimulating physical reactions to the emotions he probably always had.

 

[Cpt. Chris Pike]

Data was simply mimicking human emotion. Kinda like how you pretend to be nice to people you cant stand.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Hobson knew Data was an android, he should also have known that Data's emotional outburst towards him was fake.

 

[Trekker4747]

We'd seen Data do this from time-to-time after his simple "emotions" were whisked away in Season 3. It's simply explained that Data can emulate emotions without actually feeling them. I mean, the guy did spend a great deal of time acting while in the holodeck.

 

[DoBa]

I remember Data smiling when he pulled Wesley out of the water in 'Encounter at Farpoint'.

 

[Trekker4747]

It was more of a smirk and, again, at the very least we need to write of the pilot as being any meaningful representation of the characters and universe since it's the pilot and obviously made before everything was fleshed out. And, also again, Data may have been "faking it."

I mean in the same pilot whenever Tori experiences the emotions of others it's done with extreme overacting and emoting but by the series proper she's considerably more tame.

 

[Cyke101]

Data was simply mimicking human emotion. Kinda like how you pretend to be nice to people you cant stand.

He sure as heck wasn't mimicking a type of sorrowful emptiness when he lost Lal. For an emotionless android, I was really expecting him to shed a tear (which goes to show how powerful that episode was).

 

[Cwj]

I was just re-watching Generations today and thought the silly "fused" emotion chip was, well, silly. At least he can (and glad he did) turn it off in First Contact.
I consider his earlier show of emotion in the series to be more imitative than actual.
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the standard Data over the emotional one
Data with blatant emotions reminds me too much of his brother Lore.

 

[heavylids]

Why does Data have tear ducts? That always confused me.