Category: Blog

Android emotions

In Chapter 17 after Rick and Rachael went to bed together, Rachael shared her thoughts with Rick the next morning. She said, “We androids can’t control our physical, sensual passions. You probably knew that; in my opinion you took advantage of me,” (Dick, 197). However, as the chapter will explain Rachael did not seem angry at all. On the contrary, she appeared to be cheerful and it closely resembled the happiness that would emanate from another human. Also, I found Rachael’s statement of how she commented on how sad Rick looked as he thought about how he will stop being a bounty hunter after the Battys.

Both when she shared her opinion of how she was taken advantage of and how she picked up on Rick’s emotions, it closely resembled how a human would react to both situations. My question is that can Rachael’s ability to understand Rick’s expressions and emotions so well be a sign that androids to a certain degree, may empathize with others? Or can Rachel’s understanding simply be labeled as mere intuition or something of that sort and nothing more? 

A shift in Control

We see in chapter 11 that androids have taken over an office building and have started a fake police operation. Even with Rick and Resch knowing Garland is an android, they don’t execute him immediately. Garland is able to get the drop on Rick and but ultimately gets shot in the head. Resch can’t get over that “For three years I’ve been working under the direction of androids” (Dick 137). Really Resch is just overthinking the idea because Rick tells him that “According to Garland, a bunch of them came to earth together and that it’s only been three months” (Dick 137). Later in chapter 13 when Pris is telling Isidore that more androids are coming to earth, it’s telling me that the androids will be able to outsmart the humans by blending in with them. We see that it’s starting to become more difficult for the bounty hunters to do their jobs.

With the androids showing more human like characteristics, do you think we will see Rick move further away from his duties, and if so what will be his next chapter? Also what is the possibility that the androids will come together and plan some sort of extreme plan against the humans?

Android or Human?

In chapter 12 of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Rick Deckard and Fellow bounty hunter Phil Resch are in pursuit of Miss Luft, an android. The two hunters make there way to the Museum where they have been told they would find her in the Munch exhibit. During there search at the museum, Phil asks Rick if he has “ever heard of an andy having a pet of any sort?” Rick informs Phil that he indeed has but it is very rare and generally failed over time because the andy is unable to keep the animal alive for a long period of time. Phil counters Rick claiming he has kept his pet squirrel Buffy alive and well. Phil claims that he “grooms and combs” the squirrel everyday which in a sense makes him empathetic. We know from previous chapters that Phil is just and andy with false memories which could account to his empathy to an animal.

My question for the class is, can Phil actually be a human but with some andy qualities? Or is he an andy with human qualities? And furthermore, we know that the test administered to the andy’s has it flaws so do you think that aided to the determination of Phil being and andy?

Meeting Phil Resch

In Chapter 10 of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, our main protagonist Rick Deckard meets fellow bounty hunter Phil Resch at the Mission Street Hall of Justice. Deckard is being suspected of being a false bounty hunter. Resch enters the scene, and immediately gives his fellow bounty hunter the benefit of the doubt, saying after hearing of Polokov’s retirement, “Potokov struck me as cold. Extremely celebral and calculating; detached.” (Dick 117) On the list of targets Deckard has included Resch’s boss, Garland. Once the results of the bone marrow test came in reveling that Potokov was indeed an android, Garland shuts the woman from the lab down, before she can give a detailed analysis. Deckard and Resch continue on to compare the different android tests.

Once entering the scene, Resch is presented with a great deal of information: there is a man claiming to be a bounty hunter, nobody from the agency knows him or his boss, and this man just killed a seemingly innocent person, using a seemingly unknown test as evidence to claim that the victim was actually an android. On top of this, the man has a list of targets, including his boss. Despite the scenario, Resch remains calm and gives the man, Deckard, the benefit of the doubt, unlike his boss. We know from Chapter 11 that Garland is on the list for good reason (he is an android) and that Deckard suspects Resch of being an android. In this complicated scenario, would android or human qualities have helped Resch justify the situation? Did Resch show empathy for Deckard, or did he show no empathy, and simply use factual reasoning to side with Deckard?

The Scream of an Android

In Chapter 12 of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep, both Resch and Deckard escape the faux police department and search for Luba Luft. While on the hunt, Resch becomes fixated on a familiar oil painting. The painting is described in great detail and Dick makes it a point to take his time and describe every feeling the painting evokes. The “creature” is “contained by its own howl” and “screamed in isolation” (Dick 130). Shortly after examining the painting, Resch says, “I think that this is how and andy must feel” (Dick 130).

Based on previous knowledge and how the novel describes Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, why do you think Dick purposefully took his time to describe every detail about the painting? Is it supposed to represent the feelings of an android like Resch says? Or do you think the metaphor is for Deckard as he was previously thrust into an almost alternate reality while originally trying to retire Luft?

Edvard Munch's The Scream
Edvard Munch’s The Scream

Humanity & Self Awareness

In chapter 11,  it is revealed that Resch is an android as well as Garland himself, but Resch’s case is different. “We all came here on the same ship from Mars. Not Resch: he stayed behind another week, receiving the synthetic memory system,” (Dick 121). It is revealed to us  by Garland that Resch is unaware that he is in fact an android due to this synthetic memory system that makes him believe this. The big question is what Resch will do when he finds out, since he is most likely not going to believe this. When Resch returns, Garland aims his laser beam at him and Resch kills him, proclaiming that it is his job to predict what androids can do. When questioned about their conversation, Rick doesn’t tell Resch that Garland told him that Resch was also an android, only that Garland admitted to being one and that there were many others. With this knowledge, Resch and Rick come up with a to get out of the building. In shock that he hadn’t suspected Garland to be an one, Resch questions himself a little, wanting to take the test to see if his memory has somehow been tampered with, though Rick subtly insists that he will not like his results. Resch chooses not to believe him, only insisting that he has a squirrel, an animal he cares for and loves, like any other human would.

Why do you think Rick chose not to tell Resch? Does Resch owning an animal really make him human in the ways of Mercerism or is it just the false memories effects on him?

Retire All Androids?

In chapter 12 of Phillip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep, Rick struggles with his personal view of androids. After retiring Luba Luft, Rick is suddenly upset over her death and debates if he should continue being a bounty hunter. When Phil reminds Rick that bounty hunters are necessary, Rick questions the need for killing androids. He argues that Luba was not a threat to humanity, that “she was a wonderful singer” and “the planet could have used her” (Dick 136). He wonders to himself ,”how can talent like that be a liability to our society” (Dick 137).

The question I have about this section is that is it necessary to retire all androids? Are they all a threat to society or can some of them live peacefully on Earth as long as they do not harm humans?

Machines vs. Religion?

Isidore is on his way back to the false animal vet to deliver a mechanical cat. On the way, he thinks about the way Mercerism helps spread empathy throughout the world; He believes that Buster Friendly could be jealous of that (Dick 75). Only Buster had a problem with Mercerism,everyone else was fine with it, even the U.N. secretary has said on numerous occasions, “Mankind needs more empathy” (Dick 75). He arrived at the vet and handed the cat over to his boss Mr. Sloat. It appears from Isidore and Sloat’s conversation that Buster Friendly and Mercerism are fighting for control over their “psychic souls” (Dick 76). They discussed that both sides are immortal, and that Buster must be some kind of superior life form.

From what I can tell Mercerism is a type of religion, which is based around empathy. If Buster Friendly is always talking badly about it, could that mean the TV show is hosted by Andriods since they are also immortal?

Is Emotion a Luxury?

In chapter 1 of Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, he describes Iran and Rick’s use of  the Penfield mood organ. Upon waking up, Rick notices that Iran still is not up or awake. He claims to her “You set your Penfield to weak…I’ll reset it and you’ll be awake” (Dick 3). Her response is unpleasant in nature as she doesn’t want to wake up. This is because she has her dial schedule set to have a “six hour self-accusatory depression” (Dick 4). Iran has this scheduled because she was feeling to good. Her mood was too good and didn’t feel healthy to feel all these good emotions so she put it on her schedule to feel despair twice a month (Dick 5). Iran also talks of how grateful she was that they could afford the mood organ, even for a short second.

I find it peculiar that Iran would want to feel these emotions when she has the ability to feel joy all the time. She mentioned that how she feels even with the mood organ “used to be considered a sign of mental illnesses” and it doesn’t seem normal (Dick 5). Why would Iran choose to set her mood organ to feel an emotion mirroring that of a mental illness? Also, is the Penfield mood organ something that everyone owns or is it a luxury that only a few people own and use daily?

The Right To Choose

A deeply questionable moment occurs in the first chapter of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick.

The protagonist, Rick Deckard, is having an argument with his wife, who doesn’t want to use the Penfield machine, which controls empathy/human emotions. He has also learned that twice a month she dials her machine to a Despair setting. He sees this as dangerous, telling her that “Despair like that… is self-perpetuating” (Dick, 5). She, on the other hand doesn’t feel right about not despairing when despair might ordinarily be called for, like when she hears all of the empty apartments in their building. The argument ends with Deckard declaring that “I’ll dial for both of us” and sets her setting to “pleased acknowledgement of husband’s superior wisdom in all matters” (Dick, 7). He then proceeds to go about his day, more or less as normal.

What I would like to field to the group is this: Is what has just transpired, a husband essentially choosing the way his wife is going to feel, morally dubious? Does the fact that his wife conceded the argument make this act acceptable, or is this a case of emotional manipulation, or possibly even emotional abuse?