What is humanity? Some use the idea to distinguish themselves from others, while some use humanity as a safeguard to rationalize their actions. The truth is that humanity does not have a concrete definition; it is what one wants it to be. In Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, humanity is defined as the intrinsic ability to sympathize with one another allowing humans to superiorize themselves over androids. Empathy is ultimately what society seeks to express in order to justify its humaneness. The emphasis put on empathy is so extreme that those in San Francisco own an empathy box, which ultimately is “an extension of [one’s] body; it’s the way one [touches] other humans” since those remaining in post-apocalyptic San Francisco are at minimum. The empathy box essentially has the purpose of reminding humanity that they possess a common identity, an identity that distinguishes them from the inhumane: the androids. J.R. Isidore represents humanity when “a weird terror [strikes]” his face as the android Irmgard baty “cut[s] four [legs] off” the spider for enthusiasm. Androids are distinguished from humans as they “are not born...and wear out like ants” unlike humans which “grow a up… and die from old age” (193). Humans’ ability to be empathetic separates them from androids, but their cruelty towards androids is seen as inhumane. …show more content…
Secretary General Corning claims that “[m]ankind needs more empathy,” however, humans are murdering androids in an urgent endeavor to remind themselves of their own humanity. Amusingly, this is ironic because killing is most definitely qualified as an unsympathetic act, but Rick Deckard justifies this action as only “kill[ing] the killers.” He is helping save the rest of humanity from the sympathetically “defeated.” Androids are referred to as “it” to maintain the separation between androids and humans