The android and the human...
P.K.Dick is a science fiction author and philosopher from the 20th century, who looks at defining the human in a unique way. In his essay The Android and The Human (1972), Dick states that we “animate” reality, which is done through “introgection” or “bringing back into our own heads the living quality given to lifeless things” (p.9). In this sense Dick believes that the environment is becoming “quasi-alive” (p 10). If this is the case then it would be extremely difficult to distinguish an android from a human as the ‘alive’ and the ‘lifeless’ are almost being merged into one.
Cybernetics
Dick (1972) states that “Norbert Weiner saw a valid comparison between the behaviour of machines and humans”(p.9) but he points out that there is something that Weiner did not anticipate; that we could “study ourselves to gain insights into mechanical constructs” (p.9). This statement suggests a strong correlation between human and mechanical behaviour, in addition to the possibility of androids developing a cognitive learning ability of their own. To study ourselves to gain an insight into the android could only mean that we, as humans have distinctive mental similarities. This would coincide with Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, (1991) as she states that we are all “hybrids” (p. 149).
Reality?
Dick (1972) says that the distinction between the two derives from a “psychological” problem, (p.9) and as psychology consists of mental constructs, the subject of reality becomes questionable. He states that reality “could all be an illusion” (p.10). This corresponds to Boudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulations (1981) in the sense that the distinction between real and constructed results in a “hypperreality” (p. 23). If this is the case, then differentiating reality from the fake makes it even more difficult to determine what is human. To further this, Dick (1972) goes on to say that “many of our drives originate from the subconscious” that “controls us […] and makes us predictable” (p. 11). Here, according to Dick we all have attributes of an android as he later goes on to say “androidization requires […] predictability”
(p .12). If our subconscious leads us to predictability, then it is something that is completely out of our control, meaning the merge of ourselves and technology is unavoidable. Agreeing with Hayles, Dick does not believe that to be an android has any relation to physical attributes (p.11). Instead it is “to be pounded down, manipulated […] without consent” (p.11). This could relate to capitalistic society in the sense that individuals who have political power, have the ability to transform a human into a slave for society. This therefore opens up a lot of ethical questions for a large part of humanity and the society we live in.
From looking at this section of Dicks essay it remains somewhat unclear as to what an android is. It could be programmed into any one of us, under the right circumstances. The process he suggests in creating the mentality of an android could be considered as disturbing. Nevertheless, unification is clear here as is with Hayles: “We all go to a common place. But it is not the grave; it is into the life beyond. The world of the future” (p. 26)
References
Dick, P (1972) The Android and the Human. In: Sutin, L (1st edition) The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings. New York: Pantheon.
Haraway, D (1991) A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. In: Simians Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge.
Boudrillard, J (1981) Simulacra and Simulation. New York: University of Michigan Press
Cybernetics
Dick (1972) states that “Norbert Weiner saw a valid comparison between the behaviour of machines and humans”(p.9) but he points out that there is something that Weiner did not anticipate; that we could “study ourselves to gain insights into mechanical constructs” (p.9). This statement suggests a strong correlation between human and mechanical behaviour, in addition to the possibility of androids developing a cognitive learning ability of their own. To study ourselves to gain an insight into the android could only mean that we, as humans have distinctive mental similarities. This would coincide with Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, (1991) as she states that we are all “hybrids” (p. 149).
Reality?
Dick (1972) says that the distinction between the two derives from a “psychological” problem, (p.9) and as psychology consists of mental constructs, the subject of reality becomes questionable. He states that reality “could all be an illusion” (p.10). This corresponds to Boudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulations (1981) in the sense that the distinction between real and constructed results in a “hypperreality” (p. 23). If this is the case, then differentiating reality from the fake makes it even more difficult to determine what is human. To further this, Dick (1972) goes on to say that “many of our drives originate from the subconscious” that “controls us […] and makes us predictable” (p. 11). Here, according to Dick we all have attributes of an android as he later goes on to say “androidization requires […] predictability”
(p .12). If our subconscious leads us to predictability, then it is something that is completely out of our control, meaning the merge of ourselves and technology is unavoidable. Agreeing with Hayles, Dick does not believe that to be an android has any relation to physical attributes (p.11). Instead it is “to be pounded down, manipulated […] without consent” (p.11). This could relate to capitalistic society in the sense that individuals who have political power, have the ability to transform a human into a slave for society. This therefore opens up a lot of ethical questions for a large part of humanity and the society we live in.
From looking at this section of Dicks essay it remains somewhat unclear as to what an android is. It could be programmed into any one of us, under the right circumstances. The process he suggests in creating the mentality of an android could be considered as disturbing. Nevertheless, unification is clear here as is with Hayles: “We all go to a common place. But it is not the grave; it is into the life beyond. The world of the future” (p. 26)
References
Dick, P (1972) The Android and the Human. In: Sutin, L (1st edition) The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected Literary and Philosophical Writings. New York: Pantheon.
Haraway, D (1991) A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. In: Simians Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge.
Boudrillard, J (1981) Simulacra and Simulation. New York: University of Michigan Press