Cacique-Bojra, Dehumanizing the Human.

Dehumanizing the Human.

The essay, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner written by Michael Heilemann

argues that one of the central themes of the book is “that of dehumanization.” (p.11) Heilemann

describes dehumanization as characters lacking empathy and only acquiring it through a third party

such as the empathy boxes and/or the Penfield Mood Organ. What Heilemann does not appear to

realize is that there is not one sole factor in the composition of a human. While empathy can be one

of those factors, there are still other complex factors that make us human. There is no one word

answer or a definite set of words that is universally agreed to mean human.  

The central point of the novel is exactly the opposite of what Heilemann argues. The book questions

humanity and what makes humanity. When Rick encounters the Toad and becomes excited for the

new life that he is responsible for, he thinks he has found something that has also risen from the

ashes, a living being who shares his journey. Thus he is deeply sadden when Iran tells him that it is

electric. Resigned, Rick replies “The electric things have their lives, too” (pg. 96) ch.22 displaying a

characteristic that an android would be unable to come to means with. The resignation of Rick that

electric beings, are in a way similar to humans is a human thought. It is a human thought because a

mechanical thought process machine would not be able to twist their thoughts to come up with a

mushed conclusion that humans and androids are the same but uniquely different at the same time.

Another example of humanization was Lubba Luft description of humans as “a superior life

form” (p.53) who she strove to be through her mannerisms. She thought humans had a sort of

connection with each other that was impossible to duplicate in the androids. These thoughts can be

categorized as segregation between the races, a unique human characteristic not displayed in any of

the other beings that we share the world with. Lubba’s belief that humans were a superior life form,

gave rise to she herself being a human. Lubba is just another human who fell into the claws of a

social construct that dictates that humans are better than androids.

Philip K. Dick wrote the book not to divide and create disparity in humanity but to question what we

 take for granted, what it is to be human. In the paragraph, Heilemann mentions that most of the

characters, both human and androids alike are “programmable insensitive shell(s)” but what if that is

what humans are. Humans are so self-absorbed with the concept of themselves that they compare

everything relative to them without realizing that variations can also be part of the central figure.

Works Cited

Philip K. Dick. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Ballantine, 1996. Print.

Michael Heilemann. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner.