Summary

Do Androids dream of electric sheep? Do androids dream at all? Do they hope for something better? Humans have dreams and hopes, and humans have empathy. How and why have these traits come about? Research on this can be found, yet here, Dick has explored what happens when these traits are missing. How cold logic and curiosity can take over, and how when the pain in others does not register, or the pleasure for that matter, lead ultimately to worse and deadly choices. Can a person live without these qualities? Would they be condemned by their peers? What happens when we remove the spider's legs? Does it make a difference if the spider is artificial? I personally was intrigued when a discussion about judgment came up, or at least it did in my mind. A being exists which is pure acceptance, and lacking in judgment. Lacking judgment allows for a more clear perception of the worald, and a release from stress. What happens when this point is reached, and can it be reversed? Can a mind go from complete numbing acceptance to the strong opinion and emotional reactiveness which seems more common to human nature. If you, or anyone, lacked empathy, how would you go about testing for its existence in others? At some point, though we may recognize the pain of another, most people have committed some act at the painful expense of someone else. So, then, does empathy only give recognition of feeling? Are some more susceptible to their empathic sense than others? I would imagine so; in fact, I'm sure I've observed this. If your arrival to this work was due to watching the film Blade Runner do not expect too much similarity. Certainly, many of the characters and ideas, and even at times the plot, seem to go with the film, but ultimately it is quite a different experience. The landscape of Dick's future is hard and polluted. So much so that it can take lives, and souls. Try not to let the imagery of the film be the backdrop when you read, for it is not quite the same. And, in order to prolong the inevitable build-up of kipple, I suggest checking this book out from the library so that you can return it before it breaks down... Then again, I would consider one worth keeping in the personal collection.