Tag: Group 3

Three Androids and a Human

At the beginning of Chapter 14, Pris talks to her other android friend Roy and Irmgard and informs them about her relationship with John. While they inform her about how Luft is now retired. Roy Blames the retired androids that it is their fault for living public lives like humans.  John a  human has no bias against androids and ask Roy, Irmgard, and Pris to live with him in his apartment.

Would it be safer for the 3 androids to live together with John or would that be putting them in more danger? Is John putting himself in a dangerous place by attempting to house 3 androids?

Is Rick having a change of heart?

In chapter 15 of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Rick Deckard at this point of the story has retired three androids, before he goes home to his wife Iran he stops by and purchases a goat. When Rick arrives home he says to his wife, “Something went wrong today; something about retiring them. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to go on without getting an animal” (Dick 171). There is a possibility that Rick is doing this because he feels guilty for what he has done; is he finally feeling empathy for androids? Is he seeing himself as murderer? Or is he doing this for the sake of Mercerism and balancing that belief system with his job as a bounty hunter?

 

Empathy: A Weakness or Strength?

In chapter 16 and 17 of, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick, Rick’s empathy and compassion for the androids overcome him when he decides to “go to bed” with Rachael Rosen (Dick 191). However, this becomes a bigger mistake when he finds out that Racheal is teamed up with the other androids that he has to retire. Rachael states, “no bounty hunter ever has gone on after being with me,” implying that Rick will not be able to complete his task of killing the androids because he went to bed with her (Dick 198). In response, Rick is furious and wants to kill Rachael, yet never does. He simply lets her go and eventually completes his task of retiring the other androids.

Therefore, how do you think Rick’s empathy for the android species played a role in him going to bed with Rachael? When do you think this empathy for the android species began? Overall, do you think this empathy was his downfall, or did it give him strength? 

Is empathy a moral compass?

Going thought the text we have seen that Rick has been struggling with his duties as a bounty hunter. He realizes he feels empathy now for andys, specially the female ones. After being in bed with Rachael Rosen, she confesses how all along she has been working with the other androids to stop the bounty hunters from killing them. “The association”, Rachael said, “wanted to reach the bounty hunters here and in the Soviet Union” (Dick 199). Even though Rick got upset about knowing that he had been tricked all along, he let Rachael go, instead of killing her.

Was Rick doing the right thing by letting her go? Is empathy a moral compass that will always make us do the right thing, or  will it sometimes makes us do wrong unintentionally? Rachael is indirectly involved in the killing of other humans done by the andys she had been helping. She has been playing bounty hunters so the Rosen Association can continue making androids that humans can no longer identify and stop.

Android emotions

In Chapter 17 after Rick and Rachael went to bed together, Rachael shared her thoughts with Rick the next morning. She said, “We androids can’t control our physical, sensual passions. You probably knew that; in my opinion you took advantage of me,” (Dick, 197). However, as the chapter will explain Rachael did not seem angry at all. On the contrary, she appeared to be cheerful and it closely resembled the happiness that would emanate from another human. Also, I found Rachael’s statement of how she commented on how sad Rick looked as he thought about how he will stop being a bounty hunter after the Battys.

Both when she shared her opinion of how she was taken advantage of and how she picked up on Rick’s emotions, it closely resembled how a human would react to both situations. My question is that can Rachael’s ability to understand Rick’s expressions and emotions so well be a sign that androids to a certain degree, may empathize with others? Or can Rachel’s understanding simply be labeled as mere intuition or something of that sort and nothing more?