What makes us human? It is not just our human genetic make-up, but personalities, characteristics, and emotions that come with being human. In particular, empathy can be described as shaping the human condition. Empathy is the capability of an individual to “understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings” (Empathy). In other words, it is the human ability to connect with others in a sense of parallel emotions; therefore, having the ability to personally identify with the feelings of another. It is commonly believed that the ability to empathize is the paramount difference that separates the human species from androids/cyborgs. Cyborgs, “a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction,” are unable to possess and express empathy like humans are (Haraway 291). Although they have the ability to talk, walk, communicate, and carry out every day functions like humans, they lack the ability to express empathy. This is one key factor that can be said to differentiate the human species from the cyborg species.
In Philip K. Dick’s, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the novel emphasizes the topic of what separates humans from androids; with a particular focus on empathy. It describes a technologically advanced world where androids are very much prevalent. Throughout the text, the reader is left to wonder who is an android and who is human. It shows that technology has consumed the world not only with the presence of androids, but also through technology that humans possess as well. For instance, Rick and his wife, possess a “Penfield mood organ” in which they are able to adjust their mood each day (Dick 1). Rick continuously sets his mood organ to a “businesslike professional attitude,” which is needed for his bounty hunter job of retiring androids (Dick 4). This bounty hunter job allows the reader to see the different sides of both the existence of androids and the life of humans. The novel makes the reader question, what really makes one human, by describing and highlighting features of similarity in both humans and androids. However, empathy was always unequivocally a differentiating factor between the two.
Empathy is the key characteristic of the human species that separates them from a machine-like being. Although it may seem at times that the androids have emotion or feelings, they do not possess empathy, making those ‘feelings’ irrelevant. For instance, Pris is classified as an android in Philip K. Dick’s novel. Although she may seem to be human-like, she does not possess true feelings or empathy, as her actions over time reveal. For example, when Pris came into contact with a spider, she questioned, “all those legs. Why does it need so many legs…,” and then, while smiling, snipped off four of the spider’s legs with scissors (Dick 206). Pris had no reservations or remorse when cutting off the spider’s legs, proving that she possessed no true feelings or empathy for the spider. This showed how even though the androids may act like humans, they are not humans in the slightest bit.
Philip K. Dick’s novel also opened up the revelation that technology is advancing at an alarming pace, making the reader wonder if the novel is a warning to the future of the world. The technological advancement, while beneficial, can also be dangerous. In society today, the concept of the ‘norm’ has overwhelmed the nation. As Lennard J. Davis states, “we rank our intelligence, cholesterol level, our weight, height, sex drive, bodily dimensions along some conceptual line from subnormal to above average” (3). In other words, the world has created a perfect ideal of what the human species should look like, be like, act like, and more; “There is probably no area of contemporary life in which some idea of a norm, mean, or average has not been calculated” (Davis 3). Societal instinct is to judge others based on these so-called norms that have been created over time. If one does not fit these norms, they are automatically classified as abnormal and/or possessing a disability. But who is to say one specific thing is the norm and another thing is not? Just like there is a norm community, there is a disabled community as well. The only thing differentiating the norm from the abnormal is the way in which these individuals and communities function. However, since norms have been so prominently specified throughout the world, the advancement and power of technology that propels this ideology can be very dangerous. Such power of technology may begin to place the norms at higher value and standard due to technology having the ability to ‘fix’ disabled individuals. So, when is it time to start saying no to technology?
In today’s society, the number of disabled/abnormal individuals are growing at a vast rate. A disability is defined as an individual “who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity” (ADA). In today’s society, individuals who do not meet a set of particular norms are deemed disabled. Thus, technology is used to “fix” these individuals since “disability was once regarded very differently from the way it is now” (Davis 3). Instead of seeing disability as a gift or another unique characteristic of an individual, it is now seen as a disadvantage in today’s communities. It is seen as something that limits individuals, or inhibits individuals from being all they can be.
In Philip K. Dick’s novel, there is a character named John Isidore who is considered “a special, a chickenhead” because he deviates from what is considered the norm for a human being in that society (18). One of the norm standards in this society, of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, was determined by a minimum mental facilities test, of which John failed. This was due to the fact that this society wanted to suppress John’s powers of bringing animals back to life by the use of radiation (Dick 24). Consequently, John Isidore was deemed “in popular parlance a chickenhead” (Dick 19). This meant that he was not equal to the other individuals in the sense of societal norms. Therefore, just like John Isidore, many individuals are looked down upon due to their differences that separate them from the norm, such as disabilities; or in John’s case, unique abilities. However, a particular abnormality or disability actually makes an individual extraordinary. Yet, since John Isidore did not meet the specific standards of what a human being should be like, he was punished and fixed by society. This occurs in society today, and with technology rapidly advancing, it will be seen even more. This raises the question of who is to say that a disabled individual is lesser than an individual who meets the societal norms? The answer is no one. But with such technology on the rise, more individuals feel empowered to say what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, if individuals fail to meet specific standards, technology will soon be used to fix the world’s ‘abnormalities and disabilities’ completely.
Consequently, if technology keeps advancing the way it is now, sooner or later the human species will try to create a better version of themselves. This may be seen through “Penfield mood organs,” like in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, or by creating a brand new species classified as cyborgs (Dick 1). Technology has made the world think that everything needs to be fixed since technology provides the ability to do so. However, just because something can be fixed, it does not mean it should be fixed. Each abnormality or disability in the world is what makes the human race a diverse, interesting, unique, and creative species. Without disabilities and abnormalities, the human race would lose its ability to strengthen empathy, and eventually empathy would diminish. If the world was perfect and nothing bad ever happened, because it was programmed accordingly, there would no longer be sorrow or happiness throughout the world; there would ultimately be no presence of varying emotion. This would eventually wipe out empathy because there would be nothing to empathize with. The ability to feel and empathize would become obsolete, perhaps classifying the human race as a new cyborg race.
However, although there are many consequences, there are some benefits of being a cyborg race. As a cyborg, there is no gender bias in society; “The cyborg is a creature in a post-gender world; it has no truck with bisexuality…” (Haraway 292). In other words, a cyborg is a creature of machine, a program with only a body shell to live through. It is a species unaware of gender bias, limitations, or judgment because it has no true sexuality. A cyborg is only truly its machine or program; how and in what way it walks the earth is simply a means to exist. Therefore, since there is no gender in a cyborg society, many of the societal issues the world experiences would not exist. However, this advantage of a cyborg race is not superior to the value of empathy, and the true and unique human race. If societal issues were not a problem anymore, there would be nothing to empathize with. Without the ability to empathize, there would be no true feelings or emotions. The cyborg race would then take over, wiping out what makes the human race, human.
This then questions the connection of empathy and unity. At which point does the human bond break? As Allie Grasgreen states, “Empathy is so strongly believed to be a promoter of civility” (Empathizing 101). In other words, empathy is key to unity. The human race is genetically programmed to feel, express, and connect. It is in the human nature to feel and empathize. Thus, empathy is paramount in practicing the use of feeling, expressing, and connecting with others. Therefore, without empathy, there would be no unity or humanity, since unity relies on those aspects of human life. There would be no way for individuals to connect with one another or interact on a human level. This absence of connection would mean it would be impossible to have unity within the human race. Therefore, empathy is a vital aspect of the human species and the very function of the human race.
Overall, in the world today, society has structured itself around technology. Everything in the world relies on this advancing power; and consequently, this power influences the norms of the world. This power then has a traumatic effect on the disabled/abnormal communities. In the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, a technologically advanced world was described. It emphasized what makes one human and what makes another android. The main differing factor was empathy. Empathy enables an individual to understand the feelings of another. It allows the world to connect in times of sorrow and happiness. Without this, the human world would be unable to connect with one another, which would make feelings, emotions, and personal connections irrelevant. Society would lose its one true power of unity, which is empathy. Therefore, the world would not care or empathize with those who have abnormalities or disabilities. Thus, with the advancement of technology, the world would then be influenced to completely fix these individuals. However, this fix may further promote the creation of a cyborg population. Living in a cyborg world may mean living without gender bias, but only at the expense of the complete elimination of empathy. Without empathy, the world would be a dull, senseless place, void of unity. The world as we know it would be lost.
Works Cited
Davis, Lennard J. “Constructing Normalcy: The Bell Curve, the Novel, and the Invention of the Disabled Body in the Nineteenth Century.” The Disability Studies Reader, 2nd ed., Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2006, pp. 3–16.
Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The Random House Publishing Group, 1996.
“Empathy.” Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/empathy.
Gasgreen, Allie. “Empathizing 101.” Inside Higher ED. 24 Nov. 2010. Web 11 Oct. 2016.
Haraway, Donna. “A CYBORG MANIFESTO: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century.” The Cybercultures Reader, pp. 291–324.
“What Is the Definition of Disability under the ADA?” ADA National Network, https://adata.org/faq/what-definition-disability-under- ada.
