Philosopher Reviews “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

[@bev9708]

I agree that the title isn't great, that is until you read the book... by the end of the book, I started realising that the title is actually brilliant and actually informs us of how to interpret the story!! Loved listening to your thoughts!! I had been meaning to read it for about 40 years now and I FINALLY read it only last week and LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! I'm currently just binging Philip K. Dick to my immense joy and pleasure.

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

His entire corpus is binge-worthy! Do you have a favorite yet?

[@groggs321]

The title is perfection!

[@bev9708]

@@ChicoThePhilosurfer I never realised just how prolific Philip K. Dick was ... omg it seems to be endless !!!! So far my favourites are definitely his short stories, and The Defenders really got me totally engrossed, though I've only read a few of his novels and not yet The Pentulimate Truth!! If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!!

[@esperanzaespejo8182]

I was also impressed by the mood organ and the empathy box! What did you think about Mercerism, Chico?

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

Great question! Personally, I think it was engineered to fill a void people feel when they're not sure who is real and who isn't. I think we have an inherent need to connect to others, but it leaves us vulnerable. If we find out that the people we were connecting to are not people at all but just programs (like the androids in the book), we feel totally demoralized. The problem is you can never truly know if the person you're talking to is an android or not. Mercerism is a way to connect to one shining hero in a way that feels so real, you feel confident that it is real. Of course, the trouble is that even in doing so, you're relying on the technology of the box, and in the end it's discovered that the whole thing was a farce. So, I think Mercerism is the author's cynical opinion of the prospects of connecting to others in an age of technology. I think it's also interesting that the way they connect is more through suffering than through pleasure or joy. You would think that they would have made Mercer as some guru on a plane of enlightenment or sitting in a garden of Eden, but instead he's constantly getting abused and never reaching his goal. Maybe the idea is that we only truly connect through our pains? I'm not sure. What do you think about Mercerism, btw? We might have a totally different take on it. I think it's a really neat device Dick sets in there, and it could be doing multiple jobs

[@lucky_clover_4]

@@ChicoThePhilosurfer I definitely agree that it was meant to help people in the post apocalyptic world connect! I also thought of it as means to further separate androids and humans. I think whoever commissioned Al Jarry also made the Voigt-Kampff test or at least had something to do with it. By deciding empathy was what set them apart they wanted to make sure that all humans could pass the test via empathy boxes. Bc imo not all humans are naturally empathetic. They needed mercerism so everyone would accept that empathy for living creatures was the most important thing. I think Mercerism was just a well intentioned cult, although I don’t agree with their methods. Something that really confused me in the book was when Wilbur would appear to to differ people and talk. It makes sense that’s why the androids wanted to expose it (Buster Friendly), bc then humans would be able to accept them as living beings. I doubt a sheep has much more empathy than an android

[@bannerman3553]

Philosopher click.. then see a guy with a hat 😂😂

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

Haha yeah I don't wear it in class, but pretty much any other time

[@GizmoMaltese]

I feel like the book is more about humanity than it is about androids. It's the best kind of sci-fi that uses sci-fi topics to explore human themes. I guess the book reveals that it's our ability to empathize that makes us human. And we're not fully human unless we can connect to others and empathize collectively. I think ultimately that's what Mercerism is all about. But the facts of Mercerism are a sham but yet because Mercerism reveals a universal truth, it survives despite the fact that Mercer himself is a fraud. In the end, Mercer is real to Isidore and Dekkard.

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

I think that's absolutely right. I think the androids are only a foil for exploring humanity. I also think PKD was making Mercerism allegorical for Christianity; and claiming, as you said, that it's necessary even if false. As a Christian, I don't find that too compelling. Why did humanity develop so as to need a lie? It seems to me that this need for empathy in suffering would be evidence that there is some universal empathic connection. Sure it can be faked like Mercer, but that only means we need to look for evidence of the real.

[@lorist7608]

hello please help me. I’m a french student and my teacher asks to read that book. can you answer to the questions he gave to me?

[@marcusporter7565]

Which one is the proper version? Because the one I looked up on the Wal*Mart website has one that has 256 pages.

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

The one I have is here: www.amazon.com/dp/0345404475/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_szBbDbPC4202Y. He wrote an incredible amount of short stories, so that Walmart version might just include extras.

[@Kmuney33]

Love this 🖤Just subscribed..about to binge watch your vids😂

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

Thanks so much Korben!!! I really appreciate it!

[@aszul7750]

Bruh, the title is what first got me interested lol

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

Haha yeah crazy title huh!

[@CrimeFighterFrog]

I couldn't disagree more. I think "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is an excellent title.

[@s_1deways948]

Hello!

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

¡Hola, Luciano!

[@lorist7608]

hello please help me. I’m a french student and my teacher asks to read that book. can you answer to the questions he gave to me?

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

I’ll do my best but it’s been a while. What are the questions?

[@lorist7608]

@@ChicoThePhilosurfer 1. Where’s the story set in? 2. Why has Earth changed? 3. What’s now everywhere on Earth? 4. What have disappeared? 5. Where have many people now emigrated? 6. How do some androids look and act like? 7. What test finds out if people are really androids? 8. What are ‘special’ people not allowed to do? 9. What’s Mercerism? 10. What do these people have to do?

[@lorist7608]

@@ChicoThePhilosurfer thank you so much. you don’t know how much I’m happy

[@ChicoThePhilosurfer]

I’m sorry but I can’t find my copy of the book, so I won’t be of great help. The story is in future San Francisco. The earth changed due to a nuclear war and now radioactive pollution is everywhere. Animals have disappeared. Many people have emigrated off-world. Androids have been made so realistic they look and act just like humans. For this reason, an empathy test has been designed to tell them apart (there’s also a posthumous bone marrow test). I’m not sure about ‘special’ people. Mercerism is the new religion in which people use an ‘empathy box’ to connect to this guy named Mercer and feel the pain he feels as he climbs a hill while getting rocks thrown at him.

[@lorist7608]

@@ChicoThePhilosurfer no problem, you’ve helped me enough with that. thank you. have a nice day !