The humanist experience in the transhumanist dystopia of do Androinds dream of electric sheep?

 

Sofía del Pilar Martínez

 

Abstract

This paper interprets the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick as a dichotomy between humanism and transhumanism, examining it through the humanist experience of Rick, the main character, and his adaptation to the transhumanist dystopia. The concepts of empathy, humanism, transhumanism, and existentialism were considered, in order to support the analysis of the novel. This study demonstrates that the main features used in the transhumanist dystopia to differentiate humans from androids are empathy and, therefore, the religious model of Mercerism based on it. Rick, whose main job is to get rid of escaped androids as a bounty hunter, faces a dilemma when the boundaries of his empathy for androids get blurred. It is argued that sexual attraction is what causes this change of mindset in Rick, putting his morals at risk; eventually, leading him to a state of existentialism, which is defined as the state of questioning his own existence after frustrated attempts of understanding the world and the human condition, the search for authenticity, and the realization of God’s death.

 

Keywords

Humanism, transhumanism, empathy, existentialism, Mercerism.

 

References