What really makes us humans? Living in today’s society we can’t help but wonder what is the true meaning of humanity. I don’t think the world would ever know what actually makes a human, a human. There are a combination of things such as the diversity of our personality, our physical and emotional characteristics, our races and cultures to sum up some things is what makes us human.
In the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” written by Phillip Dick takes us to a world in which the author believes that androids and humans are the same in a way. But being able to not tell them apart from reality/humanity is the main concern throughout the novel. In the novel the only way to tell the androids and humans apart were by the features that we as humans ourselves classify which are essential to humanity. The major theme in “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” is empathy. Empathic people are those who express their feelings toward your problems with sympathy and understanding. Empathy means the ability to emphasize with something or someone which also means ‘being human’ in the novel.
“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” revolves around a bounty hunter whose name is Rick Deckard. Throughout the novel we see the development of Rick and the experiences he goes through to retire six androids and how that changes his perspective on life in general. As we see Rick’s life unfold, the underlying question throughout the novel is, what does it mean to be human?
There was a test in novel called the Voigt-Kampff which was designed to determine whether the subject (Machine vs. Human) was actually an android. The subject was asked a series of questions that would show if it had any emotion. If the reaction to a certain question changed their emotions in a certain amount of time, then the subject would pass (human). The emotions that are shown, if any, would be measured by examining how much the subject’s pupils would dilate also. It was to believe that in the novel that in order to distinguish a human vs. an android was by saying that if you have a lack of empathy than you are to be categorized as an android. The androids was thought to have no feelings towards anything, which is why when they were given the test, the question about the mistreatment of animals was to get an empathetic reaction from them. But once the release of the “Nexus 6” came about, it was to allow the androids to learn the concept of empathy which made it very difficult to tell who was human and who was not. Everyone started to question whether androids really had the ability to feel empathy or empathize regardless with a human emotion.
Besides the main character, Rick Deckard, another crucial character is introduced in the novel, John Isidore. John is classified as a “Chickenhead” because of his failure to pass a test which is a disadvantage compared to those who were not affected at all by the radioactivity. With Isidore, the author shines light of an issue regarding mental retardation also known as intellectual disability. Throughout the novel, Dick distinguishes Isidore as a lesser character compared to the others just because he was the only one who was negatively affected from the aftermath of World War Terminus. Although he is labeled as a chickenhead, Isidore is still the one who shows the most empathy than the other characters. During the time that this novel was written (1960’s), the disabled were not accepted by society and in the future, would still not be all the way accepted either. One of the major themes in this novel is empathy and the author shows that although John Isidore is indeed a chickenhead, no matter what, he will always show empathy than those who were unaffected by the disaster.
Which brings me to another novel, “Constructing Normalcy”, written by Lennard Davis. In this novel, Davis argues about what this society constitutes as normal. This also relates back to the thesis “What makes us humans” and John Isidore. Throughout this article, Davis gives us the history of the word normal and its influence regarding Sigmund Freud. The relation between “Constructing Normalcy” and John Isidore is the social model of disability. Davis argues that we should focus more on the way we view what seems to be out of place (referring to a disabled individual). He points out that what society views as normal, it’s actually ideal. Those who have perfect physical features/characteristics, to society, that is considered normal. But when it comes to a disabled person, society labels them as being “different” and this comes from judgement from people in general period. What makes something normal vs. what makes something different from the norm? Same thing as, does empathy makes us human? Or overall what makes us human period? Davis believes that society needs to change the way disability is viewed. The way to do this is change our perception of “normal” and “abnormal”. Society needs to be able to learn that everyone is human no matter what their physical features are, that doesn’t mean that someone is disabled. In the article, it talks about a bell curve which is when someone wants to be at least the average (not below) standard. Whether it’s in height, weight, or grade, according to Davis, this is all important to society because of the standard that is portrayed. Disabled people shouldn’t be looked down upon because they are still human and the stereotype against them has to go away.
“Examined Life – Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor” is a video which takes us into the life of disability activist Sunaura Taylor and philosopher Judith Butler. The video gives us insight on what’s it like to be ‘normal’ and of others as disabled (not normal). Also gives a glimpse of what it’s like to be a disabled person a daily basis. Sunaura Taylor, who has a body impairment, when asked if disability was the social organization of impairment, Taylor’s response was, “the disabling effects, basically, of society.” Taylor also talks about an incident when she was once in a coffee shop and needed help but it was looked down upon only because she was a “disabled” person. Sunaura recalls how as a child, when she tried to move without her wheelchair, she was told that she looked like a monkey. This led to her being deemed ‘less human, more animal’, hence being compared to a monkey. Taylor also states that “all human beings are interdependent in many ways.” The idea of the walk is to break down the ideas of ableism (social prejudice against people with disabilities), independence and self-reliance that we seem to have constructed around our selves. It also questions the idea of individualism which goes back to the coffee shop incident. It explores the able/normal and the disabled/abnormal body. The walk between Butler and Taylor shows that change can go a long way with a simple act as walking and talking together which can create hope.
In the article “Constructing Normalcy”, Davis also describes what is considered “undesirable” traits. People with disabilities were discriminated against for having been born with deficiencies that did not qualify them to “fit in the nation”. Davis also claims that people are viewed differently because of the standards that society considers is normal and what is not normal. In today’s society, there’s a norm set for what it means to be someone average and below average. A person who is disabled would be classified as below average because to society, that person doesn’t fit the requirements of normalcy.
Does having a disability make you not a human? Having a disability doesn’t make you less of a human. They should be treated as equal as the “normal” person is being treated, respect for their human worth. No matter what culture, sex, or degree of disability, no one should be treated as though they are an animal. The love that we show to other makes us human. During our group discussions in English 281, we once talked about animals who demonstrate empathy, does that make them human. It doesn’t make them human because for animals, empathy is a drive and can be in charge of but for humans in general, we can have a choice of the way we feel.
In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, what makes a human, “human” is the natural (emotion) to understand another person’s feelings, and the power to identify with and understand another individual’s feelings, or difficulties. The emotions that the human characters are showing in the novel are fake. For example, the people in the story are able to program their emotional states with the Penfield Mood Organ device. The book states that users of the mood organ can dial up many different highly specific emotions like, Penfield Mood Organ cartoon bubble image “desire to watch TV, no matters what’s on it “a creative and fresh attitude toward his job” (Dick 7), “the desire to watch TV, no matter what’s on it” (Dick 6), and most humorously, “pleased acknowledgement of husband’s superior knowledge in all matters” (Dick 7). Although the mood organ allows these characters to experience these certain emotions every day, that doesn’t make those feelings real. Which brings us readers to wonder how the “humans” in the novel are any different than the androids. All we continue to ask ourselves, what is the true definition of being “human” in the story and in reality.
Empathy is definitely not the way to tell if someone if human or not because in today’s society there we so many people who treat others and animals cruel. If we were to say that empathy was the way to tell someone was human, would those who are okay with treating people with disrespect on a regular basis be classified as human? Even if they have all the physical features of a human and the human mind, just not the emotional part, would they still be classified as human? I personally wouldn’t say that empathy was the way to tell if a human was really a human. In the story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Dicks did a good job with using empathy in his context but in reality, there is more than just showing empathy that makes us human a human. In order to stop disability discrimination, we as a whole (community) must come together. We as a society must be able to heal the differences that we have and agree to disagree. It’s easy to fight with one another and divide amongst ourselves. Why is it so hard for us to come back together and put the negativity to the side? People with impairment (disabled) are humans also and they shouldn’t be treated as if they aren’t.
After reading all three sources (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Constructing Normalcy, and Examined Life – Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor) we can determine what really makes us human. Empathy isn’t fully what makes us human. I don’t think we will ever know one word that can describe what really makes us human. Everyone is different in their own way and saying that empathy is what makes us all human is not the right route to go. As said before, what about those who aren’t empathetic? What would they be classified as? It’s much more to being human; so many things. Disability is discussed in all three stories and in each one, it demonstrates how people with disabilities are mistreated. As discussed before, having a disability does not make a person less of a human. No matter how much people would want a change to happen with dealing with discrimination, just like racism, nothing can change these outcomes because people already have their mind on these society norms and standards sadly. Only thing we can do for ourselves is change our perceptions on things like disability.
Works Cited
Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. New York: Random House, 1996
Davis, Lennard J. Constructing Normalcy. Binghampton, 1995
Butler, Judith. An Examined Life – Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor Sunaura Taylor. Interview.