Sorry if this has been covered, but are Transformers existentially dualist, or do they have a preferred or “natural” state (are they robot sive vehicle, or robot vel vehicle)? Or is it like having a lap; just a configurative state of the entity?

Your friend,
Ian

There’s some suggestion that, because the non-robot form (or “alt mode,” cf. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Alternate_mode) appears to be adaptable to locality, it suggests that robot form is primary. Ok, but, is that a phenomenal account of the Transformer, or a descriptive one of the observer?

To me, the whole notion of “alt mode” smacks of mere anthropocentrism. Transformers’ fictional human observers and their real human creators can only/best grasp sentience in humanoid form.

To those dropping "Robots in disguise" mics, consider that this is essentially a position of Earthly humans, for whom this is the most convenient cypher.

I mean, what would Thomas Nagel say?