Tag: ethics

To Dream of Being Human

There was an interesting scene in chapter 5 that could discredit the Voigt-Kampff test. The Voigt-Kamff test was administered by police to detect whether someone was a human or an android by providing a series of situations or images to stimulate an empathetic response. Rick Deckard administered the Voigt-Kampff test to Rachael Rosen who was specifically selected by Eldon Rosen to be tested. The test had concluded that she lacked the necessary empathy that all humans should have. Rachael said, “You would have retired me” (Dick 52). Eldon explained to Rick that Rachael had grown up away from Earth aboard Salander 3 and did not have the same exposure to empathy that someone on Earth may have had. Eldon set this up to prove that not every human passes the Voigt-Kamff test. Though Eldon does later admits that Rachael is really an android.

 

Is it ethical to continue using Voigt-Kamff test? What are some potential benefits and/or consequences of using the Voigt-Kamff test?

The Hardest Choices Require The Strongest Wills

A machine of sorts, called the black empathy box, immerses its users in a new setting where they are all physically and mentally unified into one being, “You felt it, too, he thought. Yes, the voices answered.” (Dick 22-23). Through a “special”, named Isidore, we experience this. Of course Isidore also experiences everyone, just as everyone experiences Isidore. “He experienced them, the others” (Dick 22). In this new place Isidore, now living through a mythical man named Wilbur Mercer, must climb a seemingly endless hill. However, that impossible task alone, is not enough. There are also antagonists wishing to make his infinite journey that much worse. They pelt him with rocks, and one connects with his arm. This pain is felt by all connected to the black empathy box, and not only is it felt there, but it is there waiting for them when they return to the real world.

My question is, could something like this black empathy box teach empathy? If so, is it ethical? In the pursuit of empathy, is it morally okay to put everyone through pain?