Technology is an ever-growing and imperative part of today’s society and culture. Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, is a thought-provoking novel that highlights the ideology behind using and misusing the technology that is created by humans. The novel’s protagonist Rick Deckard, is a bounty hunter who kills androids. Given that these androids are killed based upon the fact that they are machines lacking empathy, one would also have to give thought as to whether humans today can be considered as simply human or whether there is some matter of cyborg within all of us given how reliant we are upon technology. Our dependency on the latest technological innovations ranging from the cell phone to modern medicine opens a broader level of thinking to the possibility that humans would be unable to survive if the technology we overuse today were unavailable to us at any given point. Have humans evolved into a generation so consumed by modern machinery that we ourselves have crossed a boundary in which the ability to empathize is no longer enough to serve as the only distinction between humans and the androids that Rick kills? Essentially, I believe that this is enough. Regardless of how far humans progress with the latest technology, as long as humans alone remain in control of their identity, which largely involves the ability to empathize with others and feel emotions, I believe that that is what makes us human; the ability to feel emotions and empathize with others.
The development of technology has increased at an alarming rate throughout the 21st century. In the post-apocalyptic time period of Dick’s novel, technology has developed so much so that Rick and his wife Iran are able to “dial in their emotions” using their Penfield device (Dick, 3). In some ways this idea of being able to control one’s emotions at will provokes the topic of programming. Seeing as there is nothing naturally occurring from an android, it is ironic that Rick and Iran also program themselves to feel the emotions they do, leaving no room for natural thought and feeling. Our current society and culture also promote the same level of submission from humans to technology. For instance, Donna Harraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto places emphasis partly on the relationship boundary between organism and machine. This emphasis is substantiated by her belief that very little material is still deemed “natural” in today’s society given how dependent humans find themselves upon technological innovations (Harraway, 300). Granted such innovations have helped improve the modern world, there are a plethora of “natural” materials that have lost its authenticity due to our technology dependent culture. For example, Harraway states that even the natural process of reproduction can now be halted and prevented through technological means such as the use of protection (Harraway, 301). However, while many may find a human’s reliance upon new innovations as bothersome, the evolution of time and environment calls for such reform in regards to the safety and practicality of human life and preservation. The distinction between humans and androids lie with the reality that no matter how dependent we may find ourselves upon technology, what makes us human is our identity: the ability to empathize.
This ability to empathize was the key differentiation between android and human in Dick’s novel as well. Referring to Chapter 18, where Isidore found the spider which was thought to be extinct, the androids suggested cutting off its legs. Even as Isidore pleaded with them to not harm the creature they continued to do so (Dick, 206). This lack of empathy was also shown as Rachael killed Rick and Iran’s goat. Although Rachael was manipulating Rick the whole time by seducing him in order to prevent him from killing more androids, as soon as she saw the plan had failed, Rachael did what humans in Dick’s novel regarded as the ultimate act of evil: killing animals. “Rick I have to tell you something… the goat is dead…[s]omeone came here, got the goat out of its cage, and dragged it to the edge of the roof… [and pushed it off],” (Dick, 226). As Iran informed Rick that their goat was dead, Rick slowly began to realize that Iran’s description of the woman who killed their goat was Rachael. The disability to feel no remorse or emotion regarding the actions they commit separate humans from androids. This is what separates us from the technology that we use every day. Although humans are reliant upon it, natural emotion and feeling and personality all come from within, contrary to what occurs in Dick’s novel. This remains as the common attribute to an individual’s personality, thus giving them identity. Ultimately, Rick ended up hating what he did for a living due to the fact that he began empathizing with androids. This empathy was never prevalent amongst any of the androids because they were not programmed to empathize.
Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy recently published an article discussing the human ability to empathize called Empathy written by Strueber. As Strueber continues to analyze the depth of empathy found within humans, she refers to Batson’s various experiments on the matter. “Batson assumes… that empathy/sympathy can be manipulated either by manipulating the perceived similarity between subjects and targets or by manipulating the perspective taking attitude of the subjects… according to these assumptions [empathy] can be increased by enhancing the perceived similarity between subject and target or by asking the subject to imagine how the observed person would feel in his or her situation rather than asking the subject to attend carefully to the information provided,” (Stotland, 1969). Batson’s studies prove that empathy is a defining trait of humanism. No matter how engrossed an individual may find themselves with the technology available to them, the concept of conforming to a matter of cyborg will not be possible given that our identity and individuality lies within our power to feel and experience the pain, happiness, sadness, etc. of others.
Personally, I find our increased use of technology to act as a catalyst in further developing emotions and empathy for others. For instance, social media remains as an outlet in which voices and opinions are heard. In this digital age, our use of technology to access social media is a direct reflection of our individual self-identifying traits as humans. The use of high speed internet is why people around the world can connect with each other to make positive changes. Mission trips to third world countries suffering from civil war and poverty, charitable funds and organization, community outreach programs, and various other programs are created by humans through the use of technology. Thus, although we may be overshadowed by the technology surrounding us, what makes us human is the ability to control the technology we create to make a positive change that further confirms our own individual identity. This identity is found through the human ability to empathize and make an impact through the natural emotions we feel.
The new technological era that came with the dawn of the 21st century is an ever-growing fast paced culture that will only continue to grow and further develop. One will not be able to tell whether in the future new technology will be created that will program empathy and other emotions into new inventions. However, until this time, it is safe to assume that no matter how far humans consume themselves with the latest technological devices available, our ability to feel naturally occurring emotions and empathize with others provides us with identity and purpose thus, distinguishing us as humans.
Work Cited
- Stueber, Karsten, “Empathy”,The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL http://plaoto.stanford.edu/archives/fall2016/entries/empathy/
- Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?p.: Del Ray, 1968. Print.
- Harraway, Donna M. “A Cyborg Manifesto.” (n.d.): n. pag. The Cybercultures Reader. Routledge, 2000. Web.