Abstract
In his theoretical essays and literary narratives, Philip K. Dick highlights haunting concerns about the rise of technology and its adverse impact on humans, influencing their realities, behaviors, and subjectivities and often resulting in dehumanizing effects. These effects, he explores through the ambivalent conflation between humans and machines, incarnated in his android characters. In the android, Dick creates a multi-layered metaphor. Most importantly, the android is the antithesis of the “authentic human,” whose soul is the combination of freedom of will, independence, disobedience, the ability to feel and express affect, among other behavioral traits. Additionally, the android manifests the traditionalist views projected on technology, whereby machines are confined to their function as instruments at the disposal of humans, excessively exploited by totalitarian ideologies to deprive authentic humans of their souls and, thus, convert them into instruments themselves. This process of conversion, Dick calls andronization, which ideologies— chiefly the capitalist regime—apply to humans through manipulating their behavior by controlling their perception of reality and their own subjectivities. For Dick, andronization is possible because reality is constructed, not given. Utilizing the potentials of construction, he argues, ideologies use technology to create and impose fake realities and subjectivities on humans and entrap them in illusions of authenticity. Moreover, through fake realities, ideologies turn humans into machine-like creatures, who serve their power-driven interests. All these ideas weave through Dick’s selected short story “The Electric Ant” (1987). Backed by core thematic arguments within the theory of autopoiesis and gaining insights from Martin Heidegger’s approaches to technology, the paper attempts to explore the problematics with which Dick grabbled throughout his career and seeks to reconfigure the android metaphor. Therefore, using these theoretical frames to analyze the short story, this paper aims to examine Dick’s treatment of his protagonist, the android Garson Poole, and, then, to reconstruct the image of the android as a rebel, capable of championing the authenticity of humans, rather than being a passive tool in the hands of ideology.
References
- Cohen, R. S., & Wartofsky, M. W. (1979). Editorial Preface. In Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J., Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living (pp. v-vi). Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
- Dick, P. K. (1987). The eye of the sibyl: The collected stories of Philip K. Dick (The collected short stories of Philip K. Dick, vol. 5). New York: Citadel Twilight.
- Dick, P. K., & Sutin, L. (1995). The shifting realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected literary and philosophical writings. New York: Vintage.
- Dick, Ph. K. (2017, October 7). Rare Blade Runner interviews with Philip K. Dick. (P. M. Sammon, Interviewer). Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/3d7XMnmPgUk
- Descartes, R. (1998). Discourse on method and meditations on first philosophy (D. A. Cress, Trans.). Cambridge: Hackett. (Original work published 1637).
- Fitting, P. (1983). Reality as Ideological Construct: A Reading of Five Novels by Philip K. Dick (De la réalité comme construction idéologique: Lecture de cinq romans de Philip K. Dick). Science Fiction Studies, 10 (2), 219-236. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4239550
- Galvan, J. (1997). Entering the Posthuman Collective in Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Science Fiction Studies, 24(3), 413-429. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4240644
- Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology and other essays (L. William, Trans.). Chicago & London: Garland Publishing. (Original work published 1977).
- Hayles, N. K. (1999). How we became posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature and informatics. Chicago & London: Chicago University Press.
- Lewis, C. S. (2015). The abolition of man. New York: HarperOne.
- Macpherson, C. B. (1962). The political theory of possessive individualism: Hobbes to Locke. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
- Robert, P. (2003). The post-human condition: Consciousness beyond the brain. Bristol: Intellect.
- Sims, C. (2009). The Dangers of Individualism and the Human Relationship to Technology in Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Science Fiction Studies, 36(1), 67-86. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475208
- Van Hise, J. (1982, February). Philip K. Dick on Blade Runner. Starlog, (55), 19–22.
Abstract
Philip K. Dick, kuramsal denemeleri ve edebi anlatılarında teknolojinin yükselişi ve insan üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerine dair, özellikle teknolojinin insanın gerçeklik algısına, davranışlarına ve öznelliklerine etkileri ve çoğunlukla da insani olmayan sonuçlar yaratma noktasındaki tekinsiz bir dizi endişeyi öne çıkarır. Bu etkiler, Dick’in irdelediği insan ve makine arasındaki tutarsız ikilik aracılığıyla android karakterlerinde vücut bulur. Android yaratımında Dick çok katmanlı bir mecaz ortaya çıkarır. En önemlisi ise, android, diğer davranışsal özelliklerin yanı sıra, ruhu irade özgürlüğünün, bağımsızlığın, isyankarlığın ve duyguyu hissetme ve ifade etme yetisine sahipliğin toplu bir tezahürü olan “özgün insan”ın karşı tezidir. Ek olarak, android, insanın tasarrufundaki araçlar olarak işlevlerine hapsedilmiş, totaliter sistemler tarafından özgün insanları ruhundan mahrum bırakarak onları da araçlara dönüştürmek için kullanılan teknoloji üzerindeki gelenekselci görüşleri ortaya çıkarır. Dick’in andronizasyon olarak tanımladığı bu araçsallaştırma süreci özellikle kapitalist düzen tarafından gerçeklik alımlaması ve öznelliği tahakküm altında tutarak insan davranışlarını manipüle etmek maksadıyla da kullanılmaktadır. Dick’e göre andronizasyon, gerçekliğin kendisi de bir inşa olduğu ve verili olmadığı için mümkündür. Dick’in savına göre ideolojiler, bu inşanın sağladığı imkanlardan istifade ederek teknolojiyi, sahte gerçeklikler ve öznellikler yaratıp insana dayatmak ve bu sayede insanı özgünlük sanrılarına hapsetmek için kullanır. Dahası, bu sahte gerçeklikler aracılığıyla ideolojiler insanı, iktidar odaklı çıkarlarına hizmet etmeleri adına makine benzeri yaratıklara dönüştürür. Tüm bu ve benzeri fikirler Dick’in seçili kısa öyküsü “The Electric Ant”te (1987) yaygın biçimde yer almaktadır. Öz var edim teorisinin temel tematik savlarına ve Martin Heidegger’in teknolojiye yaklaşımına dayanarak bu çalışma, Dick’in kariyeri boyunca konu ettiği ve üzerinden android mecazına yeniden şekil vermeye uğraştığı sorunsalları irdelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma, kısa öyküyü bu kuramsal çerçeveler bağlamında çözümleyerek, Dick’in baş karakteri olan android Garson Poole’u ele alış biçimini ve nihayetinde, ideolojinin tasarrufundaki edilgen bir araç olmaktan öte insanın özgünlüğünü savunma yetisine sahip olan bir isyankar android imgesini yeniden inşasını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır.
References
- Cohen, R. S., & Wartofsky, M. W. (1979). Editorial Preface. In Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J., Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living (pp. v-vi). Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
- Dick, P. K. (1987). The eye of the sibyl: The collected stories of Philip K. Dick (The collected short stories of Philip K. Dick, vol. 5). New York: Citadel Twilight.
- Dick, P. K., & Sutin, L. (1995). The shifting realities of Philip K. Dick: Selected literary and philosophical writings. New York: Vintage.
- Dick, Ph. K. (2017, October 7). Rare Blade Runner interviews with Philip K. Dick. (P. M. Sammon, Interviewer). Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/3d7XMnmPgUk
- Descartes, R. (1998). Discourse on method and meditations on first philosophy (D. A. Cress, Trans.). Cambridge: Hackett. (Original work published 1637).
- Fitting, P. (1983). Reality as Ideological Construct: A Reading of Five Novels by Philip K. Dick (De la réalité comme construction idéologique: Lecture de cinq romans de Philip K. Dick). Science Fiction Studies, 10 (2), 219-236. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4239550
- Galvan, J. (1997). Entering the Posthuman Collective in Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Science Fiction Studies, 24(3), 413-429. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4240644
- Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology and other essays (L. William, Trans.). Chicago & London: Garland Publishing. (Original work published 1977).
- Hayles, N. K. (1999). How we became posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature and informatics. Chicago & London: Chicago University Press.
- Lewis, C. S. (2015). The abolition of man. New York: HarperOne.
- Macpherson, C. B. (1962). The political theory of possessive individualism: Hobbes to Locke. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Dordrecht: D. Reidel.
- Robert, P. (2003). The post-human condition: Consciousness beyond the brain. Bristol: Intellect.
- Sims, C. (2009). The Dangers of Individualism and the Human Relationship to Technology in Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Science Fiction Studies, 36(1), 67-86. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475208
- Van Hise, J. (1982, February). Philip K. Dick on Blade Runner. Starlog, (55), 19–22.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Creative Arts and Writing |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 1, 2021 |
| Acceptance Date | December 1, 2021 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2021 Volume: 7 Issue: 2 |
All site content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution Licence. (CC-BY-NC 4.0)
