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.
Rick was doing the right thing by letting her go because so far in the book the androids have done nothing wrong, or at least Rachel hasn’t. All she has been doing is, trying to protect other android which is reasonable. “Mercer said it was wrong but I should do it anyhow. Really weird. Sometimes its better to do something wrong than right.” (Dick 242) This quote shows that because of the concepts of mercerism Rick doesn’t have to feel empathy towards the Andy’s because, in his head wrong has to be done in order to make things right.
Maybe Rick did do the right thing by letting Rachael go but killing her out of anger wouldn’t have accomplished anything. Rick got more information then he could expect after doing something so immoral. Also with letting her go however, the Andy’s can now be alerted that someone especially a bounty hunter is aware of the plan. Doing the right thing based off of empathy sometimes will make us do the wrong thing because we are supposed to be good. Depending on the situation, those choices can either be very difficult or simple decisions.
I think it’s tough to say whether Rick did the right thing in letting Rachael go, because different perspectives on the matter would give different answers. Personally, I think Rick did the logical thing in letting her go because she is technically the property of the Rosen Association. Also, given that she is capable of emotion, letting her go was a kind and considerate act regarding her feelings and will to live.
I wouldn’t say empathy is a moral compass, seeing as it is so closely related to emotions, which don’t depend on what’s “good” or “bad.” Empathy may cause someone to make bad decisions or not stop a friend in doing so, which would qualify as morally wrong. So I think empathy can both help us do the right thing and cause us to do the wrong thing, so it is not a reliable moral compass.