In Do Androids Dream
of Electric Sheep?, specials and androids are both considered to be below
regular human beings. Androids are considered inferior because of their lack of
empathy, something that regular humans possess. Rick Deckard is classified as a
regular human, yet he seems to lack a good deal empathy. Not only does he kill
androids without remorse (and at one point, he declares even to be excited to
begin the hunt for the Nexus-6 androids), but he also doesn’t seem to show much
compassion or love for living animals. They are a way to demonstrate one’s
wealth and status. He didn’t seem to care much for his wife’s real sheep
because, as he describes, he feels the same when taking care of the electric
sheep as he did taking care of the real one. His only regret was for having
taken poor care of such a valuable item as the sheep. Rick, who looks down upon
androids as compassionless and subhuman, seems to have as little compassion as
an android. In fact, when he was accused of being an android with false
memories, I believed it. If compassion is what makes androids inferior to
humans, then, by these standards, it would seems as if Rick was also subhuman. Plus,
androids like Polokov and Pris have just as much vigor and compassion for their
own lives as any human. So, if there are regular humans who lack empathy and
androids who have a passion to survive, then compassion cannot necessarily be
the defining factor between androids and humans. Plus, if specials like John
Isidore show more compassion and empathy towards others than regulars like Rick
Deckard, then lacking empathy cannot be a sign of inferiority.
No comments:
Post a Comment