The following is an essay I submitted at Purdue University for ENGL 223: Literature and Technology.
Question: Consider the question of the human vs. the nonhuman in M. Shelley’s Frankenstein, P. Dick’s Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep?, and A. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Is the superior capacity for thinking sufficient to differentiate between the human and the nonhuman? What is the role of technology, broadly understood, in defining this difference? Is technology equally important in all three works?
Answer:
Humanity is a concept that is nearly impossible to pin down flat. Many novels, research papers, journal papers, essays and philosophers have tried to tackle that behemoth of a question but to no avail; some examples of said novels are Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep?, Frankenstein and 2001: A Space Odyssey. All of them gauge the subject from various points, and all of them add something interesting to the conversation; they also deal with the idea of “technology” i.e., anything that fulfills a human purpose.
Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep follows a bounty-hunter like character who is tasked to hunt and “retire” i.e., kill, 6 rogue androids. Android in this world are artificial beings that have flesh, blood, and bones, they are designed to do serve natural humans and work as a labor. They are a typical answer for science-fiction technology, and given their use case, they are meant to be seen as “tools”.
The fact that these android are able to bleed make them on par with humans on a physical level, which then begs the question about ”physicalism” which says that every emotion that humans feel is a result of some sort of hormonal secretion or reaction; if this is the case, and there is no disembodied ”spirit” or “soul”, then the line between an android and a human is blurred to nonexistent. This divide, or lack thereof, is further exasperated by the “mood organ”, a device that allows one to choose what emotion they want to feel at any given moment; this item would most definitely not be affecting a metaphysical soul, therefore proving the idea of physicalism. However, there is a mental aspect to this as well: the Voight-Kampff test.
The Voight-Kampff test is meant to differentiate human and android via seeing levels of empathy evoked from depictions of animals being killed; this proves to be a flawed test as humans can feel a level of indifference towards animals as seen in real world animal cruelty. This is also seen when the rogue android mutilates an electric spider (most animals are extinct and are extremely valuable.
We can see that android are intelligent and as emotionally nuanced as humans can be, thus, evoking the novels central question of what really makes humans, humans. The ability to operate technology makes us human, which, following the definition provided earlier, allows the capacity of thought to be a form of technology; this is not dissimilar to our next novel: Frankenstein.
Frankenstein, named after titular scientist who creates a form of artificial life, an android version one, if you will, of parts that he gets from a graveyard creates an 8-foot tall “monster”. Frankenstein, fearing his creation, runs away. Now, the monster is left to survive by himself, he wanders into the wilderness and eventually learns to read and write, proving that he is intelligent. He comes back to Frankenstein and demands he is made a wife, but he refuses, in turn, the monster retaliates through murder. Eventually culminating in a chase to the arctic where Victor dies on board a ship.
Frankenstein being artificially born can learn, feel, and comprehend emotions. He is ousted from society because of the way he looks even though if he were nurtured properly, he would not have become the “monster” he was branded at “birth”. Calling back to Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep and its idea of physicalism, there is really nothing beyond the monster’s appearance that differentiates him from an ordinary human. The monster himself can also be considered a “human” because it has sentience. Furthermore, from many perspective, it can be argued that the scientist, Frankenstein himself, is the monster of the story as in several respects, he bears less “humanity” than the monster he created; especially if humanity is defined as the ability to feel empathy towards others.
Next we go to 2001: A Space Odyssey which has strong themes of humanities evolutions. The primary plot aside from the ending, doesn’t bear much significance in the context of this question. 2001: A Space Odyssey starts with a period following an ancestral species to modern humans, who through the monolith, an alien artifact, develop the ability to think. This not only allows them to use the technology of thought but allows that piece of technology to manifest in other tools, furthering humanity to the point where we can achieve space travel. 2001: A Space Odyssey ends with a man achieving what is a “final form” of sorts, where he becomes an omnipotent formless being who saves the world from nuclear devastation with a single thought. This effectively transcends “humanity” if we consider physicalism to be an important part of the human condition. In that case, the ship’s (named Discovery) artificial intelligence, HAL, would not be a “human” despite its ability to feel guilt; therefore, if we limit the definition of “humanity” to anything that can feel and comprehend can be called human.
Understanding the role sentience plays in all the mentioned works, the ability to harness the technology of thought is intrinsic to being “human”, without thought it is impossible to feel empathy and from the Voight-Kampff test, we can say that empathy is what makes us human, regardless of the manner of birth. Technology, as stated, is used to fulfill a human purpose. It is also one of the very things that make us human, understanding that sentience makes us human, and this sentience is a technology. Therefore, without technology, there would be no difference. The role of technology in defining what humanity is and is not cannot be understated, hence, it is incredibly important in all three works given they all debate the nature of what makes us human, and what does so, is technology.
Saye Kamal 