Abstract
Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? not only invites us to think about the problems of androids' identity, but also forces people into rethinking the existence of ourselves. As the subject, a man recognizing himself is firstly concerned with "identification/distinction." In the constructed world of the novel, the core of identification/distinction lies in the identification between a human being and an android. Empathy plays an important role in subject construction, which indicates that the subject can grasp others through bodily experience to achieve self-construction. However, it is merely imaginary to grasp the subjectivity of others through empathy, and it is still impossible to break away from solipsism; thus, we must be subjected to the ideological construction. Although problems exist in the Mercerism ideology in the novel, it is probably where we are really going to as an individual life.
First Page
104
Last Page
111
Recommended Citation
Miao, Simeng. 2016. "Unfinished Subject: Empathy and Subject-Construction in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep？." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 36, (1): pp.104-111. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol36/iss1/22
