Response to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Write a response in essay form (~300 words) to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Again, see the document What is a Response Essay? for guidelines.
If memories are central to our identity and humanity, how can know that our memories and experiences are "real" rather than altered or implanted? So what if they are? What are some of the distinctions between human/android that are delineated and then challenged in the book?
Also, take a moment to read other student comments posted last week in response to Family Viewing. They were really conceptually rich and might serve as a bounce-off point for your response to Do Androids Dream.
posted by Irene Chien @ 8:53 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
I felt that Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep had some very surreal and disturbing ideas. There were many unanswered questions that the author left open to interpretation. For example, there was the topic of empathy which I found somewhat confusing. Although androids were technically not able to experience emotions, there were many instances in the book where they seemed to possess human feelings. For example, Rachel Rosen said that she loved Deckard and Pris Stratton actually cried when talking about her her friends, the Batys. Also, both Luba Luft and Irmgard Baty were described as having a warmth about them, which was supposed to be uncharacteristic of androids. Later, the idea that humans actually possessed the ability to feel empathy was challenged when Buster Friendly proved that Mercerism was a hoax. We, as readers, never learn what happens to Mercerism. We don’t know if the people on earth stop believing in Mercer or if their beliefs remain unaffected. I also found the ending a bit confusing when Deckard somehow transformed into Mercer. We don’t know how this transformation will affect his job as a bounty hunter or his life in general. There is such a sense of despair and dejectedness about Deckard but we never know what becomes of him.
Throughout the entire book, there always prevailed a feeling of abnormality; in the humans as well as in the androids. Although humans were supposedly capable of empathy, it was so strange to see that they had an empathy box that gave them artificial emotions. Even with the box, most of the human characters still seemed far from being normal and happy people. Iran was listless, Deckard was discontent, and Resch possessed no remorse about killing human-like androids. There is a constant feeling hopelessness and pointlessness throughout the story. Philip K. Dick paints a picture of an unpleasant and confusing world that would be frightening to live in.
10/9/05
Memories and their interpretations provide only a glimpse of the past. They are perceived differently, and biased or altered by the interpreter. AS we continue to pass these memories from generation to generation, a certain truth may remain, but we often end up with a distorted perception of reality. After several generations, memories tend to fade, and permanent records such as documents and landmarks can be easily wiped out by disaster or war. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, World War Terminus had destroyed most of the world and decimated the world’s living population. The surviving population has forgotten prewar society and events as illustrated in Rick Deckard’s testing of Rachel Rosen. When Rick tells her about prewar fisherman’s wharf and the method for cooking lobster, Rachel can only respond with “did they really do that” (50).
Because of their lack of knowledge and memory, an authoritative power can easily manipulate the population. Already, we have characters such as Wilbur Mercer and Buster Friendly “fighting for control of our psychic selves; the empathy box on one hand, Buster’s guffaws and off-the cuff jibes on the other” (75). If power fell into the wrong hands, then it could spell hard times or doom for the remaining lives.
With androids becoming almost undistinguishable between humans, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep raises the issue of distinguishing living and objects and ownership. Where do we draw the line between living and objects? We’re told that androids lack empathy, which makes them not human. However, they can feel and feel for their own welfare. Isn’t the purpose of a life is to live and survive? The androids know of hardship, killed their owners, and escaped to Earth in hopes of a better life.
In the case of Phil Resch, we’re faced with the question of whether what we know is real or not. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, we discover Mercer created an artificial reality for the remaining population. As for us, I don’t know if we what we perceive is real or not. The only way to find out is to search for the truth. However, the truth will then be slightly altered by whoever seeks the truth.
Past memories shape the way an individual is presently. Each individual has a set of memories and experiences that are unique to them, and them only. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, I feel that the very idea of implanted memories is very disturbing. It’s becoming increasingly harder and harder to distinguish between genuine, “real” experiences and feelings from the altered and implanted. The empathy box already provides artificial emotions to everyday humans, meaning that when you meet individuals in this time era, you could never know if they were genuine or artificially altered, as in the case with Iran Deckard’s artificial depression. If these technologies already control feelings, what is to stop them from expanding to controlling memories for all of society? It seems that for something as unique and characteristic as feelings, the fact that an OBJECT can delegate what you feel is very powerful. Imagine it if an object delineates what your memories are. It would completely change someone’s personality, the way they carry themselves each day, their actions, etc. I think what is fascinating about human and android memories explored in the book is that this implanting memories idea expands to the possibility that androids can actually be programmed to believe they are humans with real memories. As I continued reading, throughout the entire book, I had a persisting fear of the wonders of technology. If androids can blend in with humans and soon become undistinguishable, once this technology truly spreads with memories, humanity would be completely changed. Humanity, in its essence, is defined by individual sets of memories and experiences that come along with unique, individual reactions and feelings towards it. When you take away the memories, you lose the individual. Once memories can all be altered, all of humanity will truly be lost, and the rise of the machines would be unleashed.
There is really no way to know whether or not our memories are in fact “real”. A fine example for this is in Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” where Rachael herself did not even know until Rick pointed out the fact that she was an android. She seriously believed she was human; she had almost all the qualities of a human, both physically and behaviorally, only lacking empathy. This lack of empathy is constantly challenged throughout the book from both sides, the humans and androids. Rick is constantly in a struggle of his own humanity, he kills the androids even though they are so human-like, and even though they have their own personalities and do have souls. The only distinction between humans and andys is just the lack empathy towards others. Even though this difference is not obvious, Rick kills them mindlessly, showing no remorse to the fact that what he is killing is so human. Rick, although human, show all qualities of an android, he lacks empathy. On the other hand an android, namely Rachael is obviously more empathetic than Rick, in that she did not kill. Hence Rachael seems to fill the role of a human better than Rick even though she is an android. Hence is there really a difference between the androids and the human, they both seek the same thing, which is to become more humane. As we can see in this book, the distinction seems to get smaller and smaller until there is really no distinction between the androids and humans left. Whether or not memory is implanted or not, androids do act humane, and although they are not complete, they strive to be. So why are androids killed if they are just as equal to humans? It seems that they are extinguished just because of the fact that they are artificial. Since androids are so similar if not exactly like human, why is it that they don’t deserve to live? They have free will, and almost all emotion, they are alive, and so they do deserve to live.
We never do know if our memories are true or false. Even for normal humans, androids aside, our memories may not be as factual as we think. As discussed earlier in the course, our memories can actually derive from experiences such as home movies or photographs, rather than the original event. They record the point of view of someone such as your parents or relatives and not yourself. Yet, growing up seeing those photographs and watching those home movies, one recalls them as if they are their own personal memory. Regardless, they are our memories and what we believe to be our legitimate past.
In the case of androids implanted with false memories, they would honestly believe those memories were of experiences they had. It would be nearly impossible to convince someone their memory is false, since to them it is the truth. If an android had a childhood memory implanted through a mechanical method and believed it was true, what would the difference be between that and a false memory a human had through a home video? To deny the artificial of the android would be as difficult as trying to pry a childhood memory from a human and probably not be possible.
In the book, the idea of implanting false memories is used to blur the line between human and android. Garland and the others tell Rick that Phil has a false memory, and that is why he does not know he is an android. That information persuades Rick extensively and convolutes the strict distinctions in the book of who is and is not an android.
In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, the story is about a bounty hunter, Rick Deckard, who is supposed to hunt down androids because they are illegal on earth. Well the problem is they all seem really real. They look like humans and some are smarter than humans. Than what makes them not human. If the only way to tell their difference is by administering a test on them why are they not given the credit for being human? Most people can’t tell and they look so alike to humans. How does Deckard justify killing them without even thinking. Even after he sleeps with Rachel, he still goes off killing the androids. Maybe there is a social status thing here also. The animals are considered social status and having a real animal makes one higher on the social status level. Deckard says he kills them for his job and he gets paid well doing it. He gets one thousand dollars for every one he kills and he goes off to buy a goat when he gets the money for the three androids. Maybe that is one of the themes Dick was trying to show. Some people don’t care how they get to the top but they will as long as they have to and do anything necessary to get their. Showing that there are really ruthless people like that. The whole memory and what is real just reminds me of Family Viewing. Van saw all this images of him when he was young having a good time but doesn’t remember if he experienced them are just remembers them because he saw the video. So he went out to get his grandma. The androids all have instilled memory and believe to some extent they are human, and for Deckard just to kill them off without thinking is a little disturbing.
Memories are a part of who we are, but they do not define us as human beings. The actions that people perform in the present (and in the future) are more important than what they did in the past. It is impossible to determine whether or not memories have been “programmed” into us or if we truly remember past occurrences. Even if our memories are our own, as time goes by the details of the past get lost. Therefore I prefer to think that focusing on someone’s present acts is a fairer and more accurate way of deciding who he/she is.
Within this fictional world in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I find it disturbing that androids are so human-like that a test must be used to uncover their true identities. As we discussed in class these androids are not even tested on their knowledge but by their involuntary movements and empathy for other living creatures. It is so weird that Resch questioned his own identity. I mean, there is an actual point in Resch’s existence when he is unsure of what he is: man or android. This leads me to question what makes someone or something human. Resch tested to be human, yet he is so intent on killing andys, these very human like creatures. He can pass the Voigt-Kampff test, but should that be the only analysis of his humanity? John Isidore is considered to be sub-human. He is a chicken head with a heart of gold; why should he be thought of as any less human than Resch just because he failed a test? Rachael Rosen failed the Voigt-Kampff test, but she offered to help Deckard. Is a helpful and human-like android more or less human than Resch? I think more care can be put into deciding who is more dangerous, someone who can not pass a Voigt-Kampff or intelligence test or someone who enjoys destroying human-like androids?
In reality, I don’t think we can know that our memories are altered or implanted, and as long as we know them relatively to be our own, it doesn’t really matter. The past is in the past, never to be revisited – as long as that remains fact, then what took place doesn’t matter because all that exists for us know is how we think we experienced the past. Because of the book, I have now come to believe that the line between human and android can be blurred, especially after coming to experience Rick’s character.
After the war, the forms of life on earth are ranked in the following order: the ostensibly rare animal, the less precious human, and the good for nothing android. Deckard’s whole goal of life is centered around getting a “real goat” to replace his electric sheep, which he can attain by getting the healthy bounty for capturing the Nexus (if he had written the book in the 90’s, he probably would have called them Lexus, and then been sued by Toyota).
But oddly enough, there seems to be no evidence that humans are better than androids. Mr. Chickenface Isodore cleverly points out that the androids in his building are “superior”, or more intelligent. Also, in order to fail the human (or Voight-Kampf) test, the android must lack empathy, but when the humans hunt the human-like androids (which should feel like killing a human), their not empathetic either, so why does empathy really matter? And some humans rely on the mood organ to relieve them from a sad or meaningless android state, where androids do not. And androids fleeing to earth in order to obtain a better life seems very human to me (like the opera singer Luba Loft).
In the end, trying to find a distinction raises a fundamental question: If androids can perform, look, and function as humans, and the only way to discern their difference is by a test in which most humans feel they fail, is it fair to kill them just for only technically being a non-natural entity? Because like our memory, the facts don’t matter – it’s all about what we know and how we feel about it, and that makes Rick’s and Rachael’s relationship all the more important. She functions on the same level as Rick, so why should he feel he’s not an android?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep shows us a bleak future in which the earth is in radioactive fallout and everyone who’s anyone has emigrated to Mars or other colonies. On Mars, everyone has a personal slave in the form of an android, but for some reason they’re frown upon on earth. I guess this would be to encourage people to move to one of the colonies, but why not help out the specials or other people who just refuse to move? At least have some for company; a few characters have noticed how lonely it is on earth. It’s not that androids are illegal on earth (Rachel Rosen), so why aren't they allowed?
Anyway, these new Nexus-6 androids are so close to humans that a test of subconscious reactions is needed to distinguish them between humans. Some even have false memories implanted so that they themselves don’t even know that they’re androids. This is a disturbing thought, because that could mean that any of us are androids. This is exactly what happens to Phil Resch. Rick readily accepted it because Phil just seemed too depraved to be human.
That’s what supposed to separate humans from androids in this world: an ability to empathize with other living beings. But that’s only due to the popularity of Mercerism and those empathy boxes. Most of the questions on the Voigt-Kampff are based on the pre-war era, back when most people did things that would seem un-human to the humans of this world. I just find it ironic that the one thing that is supposed to make humans better happened only a few years ago. Were it not for this fraud Mercer, humans and androids would be practically indistinguishable (except for that other test). Even the empathy test, however, isn’t good enough because androids can learn to care about things. Rachel seems to genuinely love Rick (she did kill his goat out of jealousy). Pris seemed concerned for the Batys and to a lesser extent seemed to develop some sort of feeling for Isidore. I also noticed Rick never completely finishes a Voigt-Kampff on any of the androids, so although it seems obvious that some would fail, it’s left unanswered.
Our memories and experiences are “real” because we make them real. Reality is relative to each individual human being. If someone was capable of planting a false memory in my brain (like they do to some of the characters in Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?), then they possess power unknown to me and my conception of reality. However, my memories and experiences have and will continue to be altered by my dreams, photographs, and others’ recollections of the same events. What actually happened in my life gets distorted overtime and my new belief in these experiences becomes what “really” happened until someone proves me wrong. In the novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, Rachael Rosen believes her life to be “real” until Rick Deckard and her alleged uncle reveal that she is an android and not human as she’d thought. Phil Resch was also given a false memory so that he could operate and work with androids unknowingly. Until Rick comes along and brings up contradictions to what Phil believes to be “real”, Phil does not question the accuracy of his memories. He accepts that he is a bounty hunter working for the San Francisco Police Department, when in fact he is working for an android association posing as the local police. In the book, it does not matter if you are human or android; you are susceptible to false memories. So what must you do to figure out if your memories are in fact what really happened? The Voigt-Kampff test cannot reveal the truth about ones memories, only those who know the truth can do so. You must accept what you believe to be true memories until someone approaches you and proves to you otherwise. We have nothing better to rely on than ourselves when it comes to our lives, so our memories will have to suffice until there is a way to know what really happened in the past. In my reality, a device or a test that could reveal such things doesn’t seem feasible.
I, personally, have had the experience of finding out that my memory of an experience is actually different from what I remember. It’s happened more than once actually, that when I watch a home video I realize that the way I remember it is different from what I’m seeing in the video. Even the colors that I remember or that I see in my memory are different from the colors of the clothes or the background in the videos sometimes. I think that one of the only ways to find out if our memories are authentic is by asking a person who knew us when we were younger and who we can trust that he or she isn’t altering or exaggerating their version of the memory. Another way to verify if our memory is real would be if there is a home video about that experience so that we can watch what actually happened through the eyes of the camera.
I think it would be very depressing to find out that my memories are implanted. I don’t think I would be as upset to find out that what I remember is altered from the truth, because I at least I would be certain that these events actually did happen. However, to find out that most of my memories are false WOULD be very devastating because I do think that I would lose a major sense of my identity. I feel that memories and experiences are what shape a person into who they are, so to find out that my memories are not real, would basically mean that my identity or the way I am is based off of nothing.
One of the main distinctions between humans and androids made in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, as discussed in class, is that androids don’t authentically feel for another being’s situation or feelings. An android only feels sympathy or grief because he or she was programmed to feel and was programmed to know WHAT to feel at specific situations. However, although not all humans are empathic, they can feel for others. They are able to feel glad for another’s success or mourn for another’s loss. Although not all of the humans are emphatic, it is human beings’ ability to choose when to feel or whether or not to feel that distinguishes them from androids the most.
It seems that after every science fiction novel I read, I find it very difficult to believe anything is the way it appears. Even now, looking back on my childhood memories, I can only faintly recall certain moments in time. Other memories I can piece together with photographs or home videos, but for the most part, my younger years consist of short clips and flashes of obscure places and friends long gone.
It is impossible to know for sure if the memories humans have are actually real as opposed to altered or implanted. Even if they aren’t authentic, it doesn’t really make that big of a difference. Since humans cannot travel back in time to first-handedly watch the moment unfold in its particular instant to be absolutely certain the moment occurred, whether it existed or not is no longer the issue. Having memories exist, in either their entirety or in pieces, brings some kind of completeness. Since memories are considered to be the “central to our identity and humanity”, knowing that one had a past marks a significant aspect of being alive. By having things to look back on, a human feels worthy and whole. The real existence of memories is not what matters – it’s how the memories make one feel when they recall them.
Empathy is the major distinction between humans and androids in the novel. The Voigt-Kampff test is administered to determine the level of empathy in a being by measuring the involuntary bodily reactions when the subject is asked to consider certain scenarios. Even though androids are supposed to possess no empathy, this being the difference between they and humans, there is one part in the story that confused me. When Rachel purposefully threw Rick’s goat off of the roof, it seemed that she was acting as the ruthless android she was made out to be. But then I asked myself, if she wanted to hurt him, why didn’t she go straight to Rick and hurt him directly? She, an android, put herself in his position, thought about what was closest to him – what he considered the most valuable – and went after it to hurt him. This plainly shows her empathetic thought process, even though she’s an android. Does this mean the Nexus-6 models are so advanced, they have learned to develop their own emotions and feelings through their life experiences?
You've brought up some really interesting ideas here that get to the heart of the contradictions in the novel between how, on the one hand, different characters are officially categorized as human or not human based on scientific tests. And how on the other hand, the story itself humanizes or dehumanizes different characters for us as readers through characterization, point-of-view, narration, etc.
It is pretty disturbing that although the lines between android and human in the world of the novel seem to be so blurred in the ways that many of you described, the law is still so absolute in chopping out a stark division between the two--androids can be exterminated without even the humanity that comes from being acknowledged as dead. Rather, their "death" is referred to as "retirement." Brett brought up this question of how language is used in the novel to designate some as "it" and others as "him/her." This linguistic drawing of boundaries between human/android has been quite culturally pervasive in the way people have talked about not just robots, but everything from slaves and Jews to fetuses, "illegal aliens," and victims of "ethnic cleansing." In other words, they are all forms of drawing an absolute distinction between us and them, where "us" is afforded the rights and privileges that come from being human and "them" is turned into an utterly degraded, non-human category.
In case you are interested, check out these two websites below from companies that exhibited at the RoboNexus conference that I attended over the weekend. They represent two robotics paradigms which are prominent both in this science-fiction novel from 1968 and in actual practice today.
Robot as object of affection for humans: Paro, the robotic baby harp seal
Robot as efficient instrument for releasing humans from the dangerous and dirty work (of war): Mobile Autonomous Guard Systems (MAGS) for Homeland Security and Defense
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