androids – Cyborgs and Virtual Worlds

Connections

Teenage girl watches men’s soccer on television (pxhere.com).

In the second quarter of 2018, there were over 130 million Netflix subscribers across the globe (statista.com). From January first to October third of 2018, over 960 million tickets were sold in movie theaters in the United States (boxofficemojo.com). These numbers continue to rise every year. Now more than ever, people are watching films and television. Why? Everyone’s answer to that question may be different, but at the end of the day it boils down to one or two universal truths. We either watch because we care, or because “movies allow us to escape” (Why Do We Watch Movies?, Brett McCracken).

In Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the Earth has been all but abandoned. An unlucky few, and those that were deemed unworthy, still remain. Hollywood and its equivalents no longer exist. Television and films, other than a propaganda fueled talk show by the name of Buster Friendly, are extinct. So in this dystopian future, when people are desperate to find something to care about, or desperate to escape their apocalyptic surroundings, where do they turn? The black empathy box and Mercerism.

This device, the black empathy box, is a machine that immerses you in another space, in another life. You are transported into another being, that of Wilbur Mercer, who, by my interpretation at least, is a Christ-like figure. Mercer is eternally climbing an infinite hill, while unseen villains hurl rocks in his direction. Should one of these rocks connect, all users who happen to be using the black empathy box at that given time, will feel its impact. Upon returning back to their normal lives, outside of the empathy box, the stone’s impact is still felt. There may be bruises, cuts and scrapes. Much like the matrix, from The Matrix, the empathy box makes things very real.

You may be asking yourself, why on Earth would anyone use this machine? Allow me to tell you. Not only are users connected with Wilbur Mercer, they are also all connected with each other. Everyone feels each other’s emotions, thoughts, and pain. Helping others is a core belief of Mercerism, and this can be accomplished through the use of the empathy box. A sad, suffering person can immerse themselves in this world, and instantly be met with thousands of different people experiencing happiness, and in turn these happy people will absorb some of the sadness from the other user. The same experience can be had with all emotions: anger and serenity, doubt and confidence, loathing and love. This is how the black empathy box earned its name. All of its users are able to care for and help one another by experiencing someone else’s life first hand.

Again, escaping your real world, and because you empathize with characters’ situations in film and television, are the main reasons we watch them. Down in the dumps? Watch a comedy to cheer yourself up, or maybe watch something sad in order to relate to someone else and help yourself understand and overcome your sadness. Angry and disappointed with the latest news story or political climate? Escape to the land of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, or the vast, infinite space of Star Wars. Just got home from work? Slap on your favorite television series and see what the character you’ve been watching develop and sharing lives with for the past four years is up to.

Film and television, and all forms of storytelling for that matter, are truly amazing. We as audience members are so invested in, care so much for, and empathize with, people we’ve never met before. People that aren’t even real. Game of Thrones is a great example of this. Everyone that watches it has a favorite character, or a handful, let’s be honest, and the show doesn’t pull any punches. No characters are safe, especially once it gets around season finale territory. People all over the world cry and scream and ache when characters die in the show. The opposite also occurs. When nasty, evil characters get what’s coming to them, people around the globe rejoice and cheer. This is because we empathize with the characters in the show and we don’t want anything bad to happen to them, and vice versa, maybe deep down we want something bad to happen to the people that have wronged them.

Much like the black empathy box does for its users in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, film and television allow us to connect with other people and share their experiences and emotions. In an article by Léa Surugue entitled, “Reading books and watching films makes you kinder in real life”, she claims that “Identifying with fictional characters in books and films makes us more empathetic in real life”. The ability to empathize is one of the main characteristics of what makes us human. Understanding what other people go through and feeling for them and wanting to help is what brings us together.

In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, empathy is exactly how Rick Deckard, the protagonist, attempts to separate androids from humans. He does so by administering a verbal test and gauging the recipient’s answers. Androids, who are thought to be incapable of feeling empathy, are supposed to fail this test, while humans should pass it. That being said, Tim Recuber, in his article entitled “What Becomes of Empathy?”, shares a quote by philosopher Jesse Prinz, “empathy is partial; we feel greater empathy for those who are similar to ourselves”. The test isn’t perfect, and much like our empathy, according to Prinz at least, has many limitations.

Also according to Prinz, people are less likely to empathize with those that are different from them. However, to go back to Léa Surugue’s article, “fiction can even make you feel empathy for people who live very different lives than you”. She goes on to explain how readers were more empathetic towards women in Algeria after reading a fictional tale, rather than after reading a nonfiction essay. “fictional characters enable readers to imagine what it might be like to be in other people’s situations, even if they are from a different sex, ethnic origin or nationality.” This idea is further reinforced in McCracken’s article when he says, “Movies take us to places we’ve never been and inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves. They offer us a window onto the wider world, broadening our perspective and opening our eyes to new wonders.”

I am of the camp that believes film and television, along with other forms of storytelling like reading books or playing video games, can teach empathy. An article exists by the name of “Understanding the Common Lack of Empathy in Millennials”, and there are plenty of others like it. I personally don’t agree with what these articles claim, but I don’t really like generalizations in general, and yes, I do see the irony. Regardless of whether or not I believe it is happening, I will offer a solution, which I’m sure you can guess by now. Films and television. They are one of the closest ways we can currently get to metaphorically putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes.

In the future, to prevent a generation devoid of empathy entirely, we must never let the art of storytelling die. And in order to fix current generations that have “always been taught to put themselves first,” (Understanding the Common Lack of Empathy in Millennials) I would suggest watching and creating quality content. From the moment people are born, well into their twenties, people are very impressionable. In Rachel Nuwer’s article, “Teenage Brains Are Like Soft, Impressionable Play-Doh”, she claims that “young, impressionable brains are vulnerable, dynamic.”

Speaking from personal experience, I can greatly vouch for this. When I was nine or ten, YouTube had just started becoming a thing. I found a few creators I liked watching, and I watched them religiously for the next seven years. These people I had never met, who were all anywhere from five to fifteen years older than me, had impacted me greatly. I got to see them grow up and see what they went through, even they were older than me. It was like having a bunch of older brothers. These people’s jobs were essentially to share their lives with us on a weekly or even daily basis. I got very close and cared a great deal for these people that I had never met. Their lingo, vernacular, sense of humor, beliefs, all became a part of me, on top of everything my parents, my friends, and everyone else in my life did.

These adolescent years are extremely vital. Obviously everyone can change but this is when you really develop the first person you are going to be. Whether or not you will empathize with others will likely be decided here. I think it’s very important for people at this age to have access to characters or other real people they can empathize with.

Bibliography

“Number of Netflix Subscribers, Users 2018.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/250934/quarterly-number-of-netflix-streaming-subscribers-worldwide/.

“Yearly Box Office.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/?view2=domestic&view=releasedate&p=.htm.

Recuber, Tim. “What Becomes of Empathy?” Cyborgology, 26 July 2016, thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/07/20/what-becomes-of-empathy/.

Surugue, Léa. “Reading Books and Watching Films Makes You Kinder in Real Life.” International Business Times UK, Deep Silver, 19 July 2016, www.ibtimes.co.uk/reading-books-watching-films-makes-you-kinder-real-life-1571434.

McCracken, Brett. “Why Do We Watch Movies?” RELEVANT Magazine, 7 June 2017, www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/why-do-we-watch-movies.

Nuwer, Rachel. “Teenage Brains Are Like Soft, Impressionable Play-Doh.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 18 Oct. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/teenage-brains-are-like-soft-impressionable-play-doh-78650963/.

“Understanding the Common Lack of Empathy in Millennials.” Open Forest, 23 Nov. 2016, www.openforest.net/understanding-common-lack-empathy-millennials/

A Little Empathy, A Lot of Change

Empathy is what makes us human, and it has an effect on self-esteem and social anxiety disorder

The ideal human being does not exist, but having self-esteem, social anxiety disorder, or both, may lead one to believe that they are worth less than another human, based on the impossible standards imposed by society. How does self-esteem and social anxiety disorder affect one’s ability to feel human, and have worth? Since the beginning of time, humans have had face-to-face, friendly, and sexual interactions with other human beings, so why are self-esteem and society anxiety disorder prevalent in our society? We can blame the idea of the ideal human being in our society, and the varying levels of empathy in each of our lives. By reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, one can better understand the affect of these standards on a society. Dick creates the image of an artificial, post-apocalyptic world, which hosts a society with the standards of being physically and mentally abled. If a human being is not affected by the nuclear fallout, and abled, they have the chance to migrate to the new planet, Mars; because of these standards, different characters suffer from low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder symptoms, including androids. The ultimate question remains; is empathy what makes us human, based on the affects it has on our individual self-worth and our interactions? By looking at the science and meaning behind self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, we can use the characters Rick, Iran, and Rachael, and the main concept of the book, empathy, to answer this question.

What Is Self-Esteem?

To truly understand what self-esteem is, I visited the website verywellmind. This website over-flows with information in different areas of psychology. Within this website, self-esteem is characterized as developmental psychology. This website also covers topics of disorders, self-improvement, and advice. verywellmind is one of the few verywell sites, others being verywellhealth, verywellfit, and verywellfamily. On this website, I have gathered information from the article “What Exactly Is Self-Esteem” by Kendra Cherry, which explains the signs of low self-esteem. Cherry states the definition of self-esteem:

“In Psychology, the term self-esteem is used to describe a person’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value. In other words, how much you appreciate and like yourself.”

She also goes on to say that self-esteem is “often seen as” a “stable and enduring” personality trait, which can “involve a variety of beliefs about yourself, such as the appraisal of your own appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.” (verywellmind) Being a human requires a level of self-esteem that enables the appreciation of human imperfection, not fitting any ideal body type. In this article, the signs of low self-esteem are provided:

Negative outlook
Lack of confidence
Inability to express your needs
Focus on your weakness
Feelings of shame, depression, or anxiety
Belief that others are better than you
Trouble accepting positive feedback
Fear of failure

Before looking into the symptoms of low self-esteem in each character, it is important to look deeper into social-anxiety disorder.

What is Social-anxiety disorder?

To define a much more complex topic, I chose to visit the National Institute of Mental Health’s website to provide information about social-anxiety disorder, and it’s affect on a human being. The NIMH defines social anxiety disorder as a “common type of anxiety disorder.”

“Social anxiety disorder (also called social phobia) is a mental health condition. It is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and your other day-to-day activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends.”

Being a human also requires little to no symptoms of social-anxiety disorder, because of the affects it has on the life of those who have it. In this article, the signs of social-anxiety disorder are provided:

Blush, sweat, tremble, feel a rapid heart rate, or feel their “mind going blank”
Feel nauseous or sick to their stomach
Show a rigid body posture, make little eye contact, or speak with an overly soft voice
Find it scary and difficult to be with other people, especially those they don’t already know, and have a hard time talking to them even though they wish they could
Be very self-conscious in front of other people and feel embarrassed and awkward
Be very afraid that other people will judge them
Stay away from places where there are other people

Low Self-Esteem and Social Anxiety Disorder Depicted

We can look at the signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder in Rick and Iran, and Rachael, and demonstrate how that has an affect on each character and their feeling of being human.

In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Rick Deckard is a bounty-hunter who stayed on earth after the nuclear fallout. Throughout the book, he displays senses of unhappiness and depression, a product of his low self-esteem. Rick demonstrates the feelings of depression in a conversation with his wife, Iran, telling her that he got the goat because he’s never been so depressed, that he has reached the point of empathizing with androids (Dick 160-161). He blames it on depression, and explains that:

“when you get that depressed you don’t care. Apathy, because you’ve lost a sense of worth. It doesn’t matter whether you feel better because if you have no worth -” (Dick 161).

Along with his symptoms of low self-esteem, Rick demonstrates symptoms of social anxiety disorder. After buying his black, Nubian goat, Rick “found himself shaking” (Dick 156) and “his hands numb”(Dick 156). I believe that Rick felt this way, because he was so excited, but the goat is so fragile that he is nervous about any interaction with it, for it is a great investment.

Iran demonstrates the low self-esteem feelings of depression. One of her most relevant expressions of her depression is when she says ,”My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression.”(Dick 4). More concerning, she has a negative outlook on life when she states on a phone call to Rick,

“I’m so tired and I just have no hope left, of anything. Of our marriage and you possibly getting killed by one of those andys.” (Dick 87).

Another example of a negative outlook presented by Iran is when Rick bought the two of them a goat. At first Iran responded negatively, saying,

“You shouldn’t have gotten it without me,” Iran gasped. “I have a right to participate in the decision, the most important acquisition we’ll ever -” (Dick 157).

After Rick presents the goat as a surprise to her, Rick and Iran are temporarily cured of depression, being that their status has risen because of the purchase of the animal (Dick 158). The experience of having the goat, something to care for and be empathetic to seems surreal to them (Dick 159).

Rachael Rosen is a female that Rick encounters in the book. Although she is an android, she shows symptoms of low self-esteem. After sleeping with Rick, she thought that he would leave Iran for her, which does not happen. She figures that if he slept with her, he does not love Iran very much, but his new animal, his black, Nubian goat. As an act of jealousy of Ricks love for the goat, and his marriage with Iran, Rachael kills the goat and Iran sees it take place. Although Iran is clueless, Rick believes that “she had what seemed to her a reason.” (Dick 209); revenge.

Rick and Iran demonstrate symptoms of low self-esteem mentally, while Rachael demonstrates her low self-esteem verbally and physically with Rick, and what he loves the most. The absence of empathy, but the presence of emotion in Rachael’s response to Rick made her low self-esteem symptoms stand out from Iran’s low self-esteem symptoms, and Ricks social anxiety symptoms.

How does self-esteem and social anxiety disorder relate to empathy?

In order to discover the relation of self-esteem and social anxiety disorder with empathy, we must look at study that directly correlates them. In April of 2018, a study was published to NCBI, titled, “Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Empathy Profile”. This study focuses on burnout, “a psychological and emotional affection associated with work which generates high distress and absenteeism in individuals” (NCBI), in health professionals. Health professionals were divided into four clusters, and measured by low, medium, and high self-esteem, “cognitive/affective empathy and perceived social support” (NCBI). Cluster 1 “characterized by 100% medium self-esteem and means slightly above those for the total sample in the empathy and social support variables” (NCBI), Cluster 2 characterized by high self-esteem or 100% self-esteem, “with scores on the cognitive empathy and social support variables above the mean for the total sample, and similar scores on affective empathy”(NCBI), and Clusters 3 and 4, containing professionals characterized by low self-esteem, produced scores different than the other two clusters, Cluster 4 scoring the lowest.

In the conclusion of this study, Cluster 1 scored the highest in empathy, Cluster 2 scored the highest in social support, and Cluster 3 “scored above the mean in affective empathy”(NCBI). Whereas empathy makes a difference in the study, self-esteem “is shown to be one of the explanatory variables making the main differences among” the clusters (NCBI).

A Post-Apocalyptic Solution

Although burnout, self-esteem, and social anxiety disorder differ in meaning and symptoms, in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, dialing into the Penfield mood organ can temporarily mask the symptoms of each. The mood organ created by Dick, is used to set a specific, programmed mood on demand. Although this seems like a great solution to feeling symptoms of low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, Iran presents us with an interesting idea. Dialing into the mood organ is unhealthy because the user is generally “sensing the absence of life”(Dick 5). One could compare the mood organ to modern medicine. Taking a dose of a medication only takes a symptom away temporarily, similar to that of the Penfield mood organ.

An Earthly Solution

Unlike the apocalyptic world created by Dick, there is no Penfield mood organ, although our medication does the same temporary job. After researching mental health, the question “Can people recover from mental illness?” and “Is there a cure?” are common, but the same answers remain. Answers such as, suggesting medication, diet changes, exercise and sleep. There is no, one cure for mental disorders or any other symptoms affecting mental health. There are various types of treatment for mental health disorders and symptoms, although some seem less frightening and invasive, than others, including psychotherapy, support groups, self help plans, and peer support. It is important to note that these treatments are built for those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder by a licensed physician, but they remain effective for humans with symptoms of each.

I suffer with majority of the symptoms of low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder. Although I have not been diagnosed, I find peer support and a self help plan the most helpful. My self help plan includes three steps to a better, and more effective day. 1) A routine of self-love, 2) Youtube inspiration and 3) Mirror practice routine. My routine of self-love includes waking up at 5 AM every morning, and having an hour of me-time each day. Me-time includes stretching, having a glass of water, and Pinterest browsing for different lifestyle inspiration, such as minimalism, and eco-friendly living. After me-time, I watch a few ASMR, or relaxation videos to clear my mind of any stress or worry, and then I meditate. Lastly, immediately after meditating, I pick any mirror in my home, and I stand in front of it, staring at myself for roughly five-to-ten minutes. I practice any conversations I may have that day, whether for a leadership event, or presentation for a class. This makes me feel more comfortable with my words, and the “vibe” I will give-off when speaking.

Why Does Empathy Make Us Human?

Looking back at the effects of empathy on self-esteem and social anxiety disorder, and the examples presented by each character in the book, it can be concluded that the main reason for their low self-esteem and social anxiety is the lack of empathy on earth, after the nuclear fallout.

Rick faces a lack of empathy because of his job; almost every character looks down upon his job, for his killing of androids for money. Iran faces a lack of empathy from Rick because she shows a face of depression, for almost the entire book. Rick cannot empathize with her, until he feels the depression that leads him to buy his goat. Rachael, on the other hand, is not empathized with because she is an android, and she has manipulated other bounty hunters into not retiring any more androids. (Dick 185) Rick soon regrets not killing Rachael after she kills his goat. In a conversation with Rick, Inspector Garland states that androids lack a “specific talent” that humans possess. He believes that “it’s called empathy.”(Dick 114).

In our world, empathy is something that varies from household-to-household, which creates instability within our society. Although it was depicted in the book by Dick, husbands are fighters and war-machines, wives are depressed and worriers, and mistresses are jealous and revengeful. I have taken into consideration two other articles “Empathizing 101” by Allie Grasgreen and “What Becomes of Empathy” by Tim Recuber. Recuber in supporting my solution to lessening low self-esteem and social anxiety. Recuber provides great points for a solution to unstable levels of empathy, by saying that he believes that “empathy is a virtue”(Recuber), and that “we need to keep working on ways to transform our empathy into action now, and in the months and years to come.”(Recuber). Along with this proposal for action, Grasgreen supports this by saying “empathy is so strongly believed to be a promoter of civility and understanding.” (Grasgreen). I believe that if we all learn to be more empathetic of those who do not fit within the ideal standards of society, low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder with not be so prevalent in our society. A little empathy, can bring a lot of change in society.

Works Cited:

“Mental Health Treatments” Mental Health America, http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/types-mental-health-treatments

“Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness” NIH, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/social-anxiety-disorder-more-than-just-shyness/index.shtml

Jurado, Maria del Mar Molero, et al.“Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support and Empathy Profile.” frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, Apr. 2018. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00424.

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Del Ray, an Imprint of Random House, a Division of Penguin Random House, 2017.

Recuber, Tim. “What Becomes of Empathy?” Cyborgology , 26 July 2016, thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2016/07/20/what-becomes-of-empathy/.

Grasgreen, Allie. “Empathizing 101” Inside Higher Ed, 24 November, 2010, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/24/empathizing-101

Cherry, Kendra. “What Exactly Is Self-Esteem?” verywellmind, 20 September, 2018, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868

“People Man Woman Holding” pixabay, pixabay, 31 July. 2018, https://pixabay.com/en/people-man-woman-holding-hands-2561053/

Youngston, Nick. “Self Esteem” PicPedia.Org, PicPedia.Org, http://www.picpedia.org/highway-signs/s/self-esteem.html

My Husband’s Devotion

Rick Deckard stumbles upon what he suspects is a live toad in his trip to Oregon, but when he brings it home it is found to be a fake. Iran Deckard calls up an electric animal accessories shop, and asks for a pound of flies, so that she may keep it “alive”. She then claims that “my husband is devoted to it” (Dick 111). She also needs it to work “perfectly” (Dick 111). This is interesting to me because yet again, author Philip K. Dick tell this anecdote from this universe. We have seen a similar anecdote from another wife in reference to an animal keeping her husband happy. Back in chapter 7, John Isidore picks up the cat from Mr. and Mrs. Pilsen. In the conversation following the cat’s death, Mrs. Pilsen expresses how important the cat is to her husband saying, “don’t suggest that to Ed or he’ll go mad” (Dick 37). She then asks if an exact electrical replica could be made so that her husband does not notice the difference.

Why do you think Philip K. Dick chooses to tell this story again? Why is it the final event of the novel? What do these stories say about the relationships between the remaining humans?

Dick, Philip. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York City, Doubleday, 1968.

“”Everything is true,” he said. “Everything anybody has ever thought””

This line is said by Rick at the end of chapter 20. Once I read this line I thought that this would imply that Mercer could control parts of the world. In a way Mercer is the second channel for the TV. His empathy box basically keeps humans empathetic and Buster Friendly doesn’t understand why this is important. All the humans would probably listen to him unopposed if Mercer wasn’t there. Rick decides to go and climb the hill and even “becomes Mercer.” After all of this he sees a toad. He thinks that the toad is real until he watches his wife open it. She also had told him that Mercer had to move on because he couldn’t move back time and bring back life. This has me believe that the toad was placed there by Mercer to show his understanding and also give Rick something that he could care about that isn’t a biological animal. Of course since Rick knows he was a little disappointed, but he will probably still care for it a lot since it was a gift and he found it out in the wild. Just like a real animal.

My discussion questions: Do you think that Mercer has more power than the androids realize? Do you think that he has more power than the humans realize?

The Power of Love and Hate

In chapter 20, Iran Deckard is talking about their new pet goat with her husband Rick and she tells him they have found the goat dead. “I have to tell you something. I’m sorry. The goat is dead.” (Dick 226). In this chapter, it gives a description of the person who killed the goat, “A small young looking girl with dark hair and large black eyes, very thin.” (Dick 226). I perceived this description as Rachael Rosen who is the person who just killed the goat. The author does not give a direct reason why Rachael kills the goat. I believe she hated Rick so much because he had an affair with her and still left the hotel trying to kill the three remaining androids. According to the text in chapter 17, I believe the author was trying to foreshadow what would happen next in the next chapters. I believe what Rachael did in the story says a lot about her as a character/Andy. And in this chapter, Rachael does not hurt “Rick” physically when she finds out he hurts her friends for profit. Rachael brings up Rick‘s goat to show the readers that if she can’t hurt him personally like a “crazy jealous mistress”. Then the next best thing is to hurt his precious Black Nubian goat.

Discussion Question #1: What is your perception of why Rachael killed the goat?

Citation:

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York: Penguin Random House, 1968. ebook.

Do Martians Dream of Sawdust Deserts?

In chapter 18 of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Buster Friendly’s big announcement is finally revealed- Mercer is in an artificial landscape (Dick, 190). The entirety of Mercerism is based off of several 15 minute long videos of a man named Al Jerry, and products of the “now defunct Hollywood movie industry” (Dick, 120). It is further revealed that the basis for the ideology- the suffering of Mercer- is completely false, relying on ketchup, and rubber rocks to create the illusion of a desert (Dick, 121).

Do you think that the discovery of the falsehood of Mercerism really matters to this society? If they have all shared such a visceral experience of joint empathy, would the revelation of a simulated reality nullify Mercerism, or an adjacent belief surrounding empathy?

Blissful Ignorance

In chapter nine, Deckhart attempts to apprehend Luba Luft for the first time but she calls the “police” on him and he is brought into a police station that doesn’t know he exists. It is revealed that this station is fully populated by androids and is fairly self-sustaining. They have their own bounty hunters that hunt androids with their own test of distinguishing androids. Phil Resch is one of the ones living there, and he’s very quick to throw Garland under the bus as an android. He’s extremely eager to kill androids, but is shocked once he finds out he is an android. Resch believes “that the best place for an android would be with a big police organization such as W.P.O.” (Dick, 109). Resch has a point, because he is fairly good at taking out other androids.

If there is an entirely self-sustained police force that has their own test to determine androids, how would they rival the force Deckhart is in? Is it possible that Deckhart and his force is full of androids that would fail the “reflex-arc response” that is used at Mission Street Hall of Justice? Could Deckhart be like Resch? How effectively can one truly measure humanity if differing tests exist like this?

An Atmosphere of Love

In the twelfth chapter of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the idea that andy’s (or androids) cannot take care of animals is presented. The discussion between Phil Resch and Rick Deckard introduces this idea. Resch starts by asking him ” Did you ever hear of an andy having a pet of any sort?” (Dick 120), and Deckard answers by saying that has heard of it in “two cases” (Dick 121) and that it is “rare” for them to care for the animals they have, and keep them alive. The touching point of this discussion between Resch and Deckard is the mentioning of an “atmosphere of love” (Dick 121), and the statement that “animals require an environment of warmth to flourish.” (Dick 121). In the real world, some people also cannot take care of animals, leading to abuse and neglect. These issues lead to the absence of an “atmosphere of love” (Dick 121), and in my opinion, no creature should feel this absence. I “sprinkle” my cat, Ninja, with warmth and love, giving her a comfortable and loving environment, as should any pet owner.

Discussion Question #1: What are some ways to show animals, specifically pets, love and an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance? If you do not have a pet, what are some ways that you see others treat their animals, good or bad?

Discussion Question #2: How do you feel about andy’s treating their animals with a lack of love? Should they be aloud to have pets, why or why not? How does this relate to the lack of empathy andy’s have?

Who am I?

During Deckard’s investigation of Ms. Luft, she suggests that Deckard is the android, not her, which throws him off. Shortly after, Ms. Luft calls the San Fran. PD to arrest Deckard because she believes him to be a sexual deviant and not a real bounty hunter. At the station, one Deckard had never been to before, he is granted one vid-phone call, so he calls his wife at his home phone number. However, when Deckard dials his house, “It was not Iran. He had never seen the woman before in his life. He hung up, walked slowly back to the police officer.” (Dick 203-4). It is known that androids have implanted memories. Could Deckard’s sad and depressed wife be an implanted memory to keep Deckard at his horrible job? Periodically throughout the next couple chapters, the recurring issue of whether or not Deckard is an android is debated. It is questioned so much that Deckard administers the Voigt-Kampff test upon himself, but he concludes he isn’t an android. Note that Deckard administered the test on himself and it was a shortened and very brief version of the test.

Do you think the clues suggest that Deckard is an android or not? Are they a way to hide some over-arching secret that we have yet to discover, or are they meaningless?

Citation:

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York: Penguin Random House, 1968. ebook.

True Human Emotion

Human emotions are created by chemicals in the brain, these chemicals release different amounts to produce certain emotions. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, within the first few pages we are introduced to this concept of the human emotions being regulated by what they call a “Mood Organ”. These devices allow them to enter in a particular number or code and produce that kind of emotion. On the first page in a conversation between characters it is said “If you set the surge high enough, you’ll be glad you’re awake,” (Dick 3). While this concept seems cool and like it would make waking up was easier, I feel as though this is not natural. They are setting their bodies like clocks to produce a certain thing at a certain time so they don’t have to deal with being tired? I feel as though this dehumanizes their emotions as they are already preset to be felt. How would you feel having the mood organ present in everyday life with all emotions already predetermined for you?

Citation:

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York: Penguin Random House, 1968. Print.