For
the sake of forthrightness, I’d like to say that I’ve read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick in its
entirety prior to taking this course. Therefore, my analysis will inevitably
draw on events occurring beyond the assigned reading. That being said, the first
six chapters are a good exposition for the book. Already, I can see development
of some of the major themes of the novel. My favorite theme of Androids (and perhaps any science
fiction novel about robots) is the difference between humans and their creations.
Right off the bat, Dick assaults the
line between humans and machines by automating emotions. In chapter one, Rick
and Iran Deckard own a Penfield mood organ. They can control their emotions
with the push of a button. They call it “dialing,” as if their feelings are as
complex as a telephone. This kind of technology suggests that the humans in
this world are not entirely organic themselves. Rick must have a device
implanted in his brain that can alter neurotransmitter levels. For happy
feelings, this device must promote dopamine and serotonin reuptake. For
depressed feelings, it must inhibit their reuptake.
This technology must be similar to
the machinery responsible for emotions in androids in this world. The rest of
the android body has been engineered to resemble the human body such that a
simple x-ray would not be able to pick up on its electric nature. Bounty
hunters must rely on empathy tests and close examination of bone marrow in order
to tell humans apart from androids. If the android brain is as similar to that
of a human as the rest of its body, and if it uses the same technology as the
Deckards’ mood organ to simulate emotions, then what is the true difference
between humans and androids in this world?
Even the empathy test is not always
accurate. The Voigt-Kampff Empathy Test can declare humans with mental
disorders affecting their reactions to social stimuli (schizophrenia is
mentioned, but there is a wide array of disorders with similar affects)
androids simply because their autonomic nervous system does not react to the
stimulus questions. Presumably, humans with mental disorders such as aphasia
that affect their comprehension of speech would fail the Voigt-Kampff as well.
It is even plausible that someone who grew up isolated from society and
therefore did not have the chance to internalize American cultural values would
fail the test as well. Indeed, before determining that Rachel Rosen was an
android, Rick believed that the test had failed for that very reason.
In many other subtle ways, the line
between human and android is blurred. John R. Isidore, a “chickenhead,” would
be considered less intelligent than the new Nexus-6 model. Rick is as
dissatisfied with his living wife as he is with his electric sheep. Androids
can believe themselves human because of false memories provided by their maker.
Humans can believe themselves androids. It is nearly impossible to tell the
difference between an animal and an electric animal. And, if you don’t know the
difference, is it so important? In a world as empty as that of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
electric people and animals can fill the void.
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