Observation
After going through the summary of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, one of the main points that stands out clearly is that people in the novel are quick to judge others simply because they are different from them. For example, Rick has a strong belief that since androids are not similar to human beings, they are thus incapable of having empathy. However, he is shocked to find that androids have empathy, which may lack in human beings.
Rick loathes his electric sheep for the simple reason, he feels it is incapable of loving him so he does not take care of it; therefore, he sets out to do his experiment to see whether androids are capable of being empathetic or not. What impresses me a lot is that animals like herbivores and omnivores have an empathetic impulse. Many people like me believe that animals are incapable of having feelings similar to those of human beings. However, the novel proves it wrong as Rick realizes that omnivores and herbivores are the only animals that possess empathetic impulse.
It can be said that empathy is a great feeling that enables human beings to be in a position to interact well with others, which in return facilitates their survival. However, just as Rick finds out, some human beings do not have empathy. For example, a lack of empathy emerges when Phil Resch, who is discovered by Rick, shows signs of having great satisfaction in killing without any authentic reason for that.
Rick is thus shocked to learn that in some cases, androids have empathetic feelings towards each other even though they are non-living as compared to human beings who in some cases have no empathy whatsoever. Lack of empathy in human beings is an awful thing since it makes people live in fear of what the other might do; this aspect explains why numerous murder cases are being constantly reported.
Regrettably, these murders occur because of heartless people who lack empathy. The society is thus a rotten one where people have to lock houses, have weapons in the house to defend themselves, and possess many other defensive tools just because people are not empathetic.
The other point that stands out for me is the power of mind control depicted in the summary. For instance, in the novel, people are under the control of the government so that they can come up with binary oppositions. Therefore, the government advises people to relocate to Mars since there is an American colony there that has been founded. One good example is that of Buster, where he controls people’s minds through mass media so that he can create a sub-reality.
Just like in the novel, in the contemporary world, people are always under the influence of mind control, especially from the government officials and mass media. The mass media has affected the society we live into such an extent that people take everything that the Bible says as truth; this aspect has destroyed a lot of people and countries. Government officials want people to follow their policies, and so they come up with some ways to make sure that the public will not raise any questions and follow them implicitly being not aware that they are under control.
The issue of individualism as compared to collectivism also stands out conspicuously in the summary. Rick seems to be hell-bent in achieving individualism, in his wish to possess a real animal. Rosen is also seeking individualism whereby he tries to create an advanced android that will not rely on human life whatsoever since such an accomplishment would ensure the survival of the company’s finances in a competitive capitalist economy that rules major world economies. Rick also puts aside his empathy feelings, and he wants to fulfill his selfish needs of getting a real animal so that he can make his social worth known.
This desire explains why he does not have the least care for electric animals, which makes him kill them so that he can get money. Rosen’s great desire to ensure that his company’s well-being does not go under pushes him to do anything to achieve it, even cheating or killing the bounty hunters who are eliminating the androids, which show that apathetic people hell-bent to get money by any means without taking into consideration who or what they hurt.
After reading the novel’s summary, it is clear that the author did a tremendous job in bringing out what happens in the current contemporary world where the majority of people are not empathetic towards one another. Consequently, they concentrate on their own material values money being the most important in the list of such needs. Today, we live in a rotten society where people have no qualms with hurting others in order to get what they want. In my opinion, despite the fact that the androids in the novel are not real, they are more considerate and empathetic as compared to human beings.