Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep Essay

In Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the separation between humans and androids was unclear. Humans were physically identical to androids, but humans supposedly had empathy that androids lacked. Even though empathy theoretically distinguished humans from androids, Rachael Rosen and Roy Baty expressed feelings, and Phil Resch’s willingness to kill and humanity’s treatment of John Isidore demonstrated a lack of compassion; therefore, the novel suggested that humanity lacked empathy and that androids were “human.” The use of empathy to distinguish humans from androids illustrated that empathy was humanity’s only unique trait. Humans believed that empathy “existed only within the human community,” and that was why humans used the “Voigt-Kampff Empathy Test” to determine if someone was a human (Dick 29). The compassionate nature of humans was the only characteristic that made someone “human,” and if humans did not express empathy, they were no different than androids. The brutal treatment of Isidore and Resch’s lack of feelings demonstrated that humans had a lack of empathy. Since humans did not “treat [him] very well,” Isidore related to the deprived treatment that androids received and decided to conceal androids (Dick 150). Humanity
When Deckard exterminated Irmgard Baty, Roy Baty erupted out “a cry of anguish” (Dick 205). Although Roy Baty was an android and should have been incapable of expressing empathy, his agony revealed that androids could express passionate feeling. When Rosen discussed the killing of Pris Stratton with Deckard, she felt “empathy” or something similar “Toward this Pris android” [sic] (Dick 175). Rosen seemed scared and dreaded having to kill Stratton because they shared a certain unexplainable bond. This bond showed that Rosen had feelings toward another android and that androids were