A
dominant theme of s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is
the question of what it means to be human. Human identity is blurred in this futuristic society
because robotics has become so advanced that it becomes nearly impossible to differentiate
between androids and humans.
Philip K. Dicks fictional society decides that
empathy is the defining characteristic of humanity. As the bounty hunter Rick Deckard learns
early in the novel, "Empathy, evidently, existed only within the human community, whereas
intelligence to some degree could be found throughout every phylum and order, including the
arachnida." To test an individuals empathy, a machine-administered assessment called the
Voigt-Kampff Empathy Test is given and, as the plot unfolds, several characters are forced to
take it to prove their humanity. However, Dick calls into question the utility of such an
arbitrary measurement by highlighting uncertainties surrounding the difference between man
and...
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