A Degree In Humanity: Artificial Humanity
and its Effect on Our Self-Image in Blade
Runner and Edward Scissorhands
Table of contents:
Introduction………3
Chapter 1: Humanity’s Self-consciousness………16
Chapter 2: Uniqueness: Man as a Cultured Animal………...29
Chapter 3: Humanity’s Conscience………....37
Chapter 4: Humanity’s Historical Awareness………47
Conclusion………..52
INTRODUCTION
Although technological progress is as old as the human race, the twentieth century has been witness to a remarkable degree of it. During the previous century, humanity has invented many machines, such as cars, telephones and computers, which have made human life much easier. The current era seems to take the increase in progress a step further. Although
humanity had invented a range of new machinery in the previous century, the gap between man and machine continued to be clearly identifiable. The developments of the last couple of decades, however, force us to rethink what separates us from our technological outgrowth.
A prime example of someone who demonstrates the intimacy between man and machine is Kevin Warwick. He is a prominent researcher in the field of cybernetics.
Cybernetics, a relatively new area of research, concerns itself with understanding how “closed systems” like the human body and computers operate. Cybernetic theory does not distinguish between organic and mechanic systems. Instead, it examines how both function as “closed systems.” This characteristic makes cybernetics a discipline where the understanding of ourselves and our inventions meet. As a prominent researcher, Kevin Warwick does not limit himself to theory. He actually transforms himself into a cyborg. By doing this, he is in the forefront of research to merge human technology with our natural bodies.
not have to take place anymore. People will just walk into a store and leave, while their bank account will automatically be charged!
The second step Warwick took to become a cyborg, was when doctors at Oxford hospital surgically linked an electrode array to his nervous system.2 The linkage of a remote control to his nervous system allowed Kevin to opperate machines, such as a wheelchair, by means of his thoughts only. The way Warwick used technology in this experiment could be of great help to society. For instance, immobilized people could get around in a wheelchair by merely thinking their way to the desired destination.
The alterations Kevin Warwick carried out on his body stress the question where humanity ends and machines begin. Because he has proven we can successfully extend our nervous system, the core of the human body, into the circuitry of a computer, the boundary between the human body and computer hardware is blurred. By doing the experiments, Kevin Warwick demonstrated that as the pace of technological development continues to accelerate, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish man from machine.
If it becomes harder to discern man from machine, the question arises what human quality sets us apart from machines. Many academics, such as Donna Haraway, have also been preocupied with this question. Whereas Warwick’s progress is in the application of technology, Donna Haraway’s achievements are philosophical. She has stated that we should already consider human individuals to be cyborgs.3 By following this logic, she pronounced herself a cyborg long before Kevin Warwick made efforts to transform himself into one. The argument she used to back up her claim is that the merging of man and technology is a long established fact. We cannot distinguish ourselves from the technology we use on a daily basis.
According to Haraway, this means that being a cyborg is not about inserting pieces of technology into our bodies. We are already enhancing our bodies by the technology we use on
2
Kevin Warwick, 2005, Cyborg 2.0, http://www.kevinwarwick.com/Cyborg2.htm (accessed 20th October, 2009).
3
an everyday basis. Transportation vehicles enable us to travel faster, communication devices enable us to talk to persons in remote locations, and computers help us make highly
complicated calculations in a matter of seconds. Not only does technology drastically enhance the functions that our bodies used to carry out on their own, technology is also affecting the way our bodies function.
One telling example is the South African track athlete Oscar Pistorius, who is
nicknamed “Blade Runner.” Because of a chronic disease affecting his legs, Oscar underwent double amputation at a young age. Despite his amputation, prosthetic legs especially designed for running purposes enable him to compete with professional track athletes.4 Because, in contrast to Pistorius, other athletes do not have legs solely designed for running purposes, his success has raised many questions. The International Association of Athletics Federation, in reaction, banned the use of any technical device that would give athletes an advantage over other athletes. The IAAF decided this also included the artificial legs used by Pistorius.5
Even though the Court for Arbitration of Sport has nullified the decision, the
commotion around Pistorius does demonstrate there is a certain fear that the use of technology might upset the balance between athletes. If the prosthetic legs allowed Pistorius to run
considerably faster than other athletes, his competitors might feel tempted to have their healthy legs amputated just so they could make use of the same prosthetics. This raises the question of how far people are willing to go in order to have success. Is humanity actually prepared to destroy large parts of its authenticity in order to use artificial replacements that make it perform better?
Besides arguing that technology enhances and alters the way we function, Haraway raised the point that we should look at man – machine interaction. Because we have
incorporated ourselves into a structure that relies heavily on technology, Haraway says we
4
should see individuals as nodes in an elaborate network. The network of man and machine is presenting itself to us everywhere we look. One may think of people working at a production line, or with a home computer.6 Here, it is very clear to see that humans have placed
themselves into a network together with the products of their own invention. The fact that makes this example more interesting is that in these circuits machines often dictate human functioning. In a production line, for instance, the human laborers have to adjust the speed in which they work to the speed by which the machines turn out products.
A recent development underlining the creation of a system incorporating humanity and technology is the appearance of chatterbots. Chatterbots are software programs solely
designed to communicate with humans. The programs give humans the feeling they are communicating with someone else via the internet while, in fact, the communication depends on computer generated responses. One example of a chatterbot is the Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity called A.L.I.C.E.7 Even though the communication capacities of chatterbots are in a rudimentary phase, the chatterbots that are in existence do shed a light on what technological developments are likely to come. The use of chatterbots demonstrates that, slowly, we can start to engage in a dialogue with technology. The possibility to communicate with technology makes man – machine relations more intimate. In addition, the possibility to communicate with technology blurs the cognitive boundary between organic- and artificial humanity.
Jean Baudrillard is another academic who has done research into the relation between humanity and technology. Baudrillard’s explanation of the continued current of technological development is that humanity has become weary of the difference existing between
individuals. Because individuals differ from each other in things such as upbringing, believe system and place in society, they can be very unintelligible to each other. According to
6
Bruce Sterling, 2000, Cyborg 1.0.
7
Baudrillard, technology is the antidote to the problem of differentiation because it promises to make us all the same.8
A fictional example that illustrates Baudrillard’s point are the cyborgs, known simply as “borg,” depicted in Star Trek. These fictional creatures are also a hybrid between organic beings and highly advanced technology. The borg know no difference because they all look the same and share one collective mind. In fact, the borg are highly antagonistic towards difference because their objective is to assimilate all individual life-forms into their collective. Presumably Baudrillard, who suggested humanity is troubled with xenophobia, would judge this kind of fictional excursion the product of indulgence in our wish to exchange a society consisting of individuals for an all-encompassing self.
The example of the borg demonstrates that fiction offers another inroad into exploring important questions circulating in society. Because fiction can function as a field to work out philosophical questions, it is not surprising to see the question of what differentiates humanity from technology finds expression in cultural forms. American popular culture has also used the shifting boundary between organic- and synthetic-humanity as a theme. Many movies and television series in particular, seem to focus on this subject. This essay will focus explicitly on how motion pictures have treated the narrowing gap between man and machine. Motion pictures are interesting cultural artifacts because of the way they impact on their audience.
One major advantage film has is that it allows the movie maker to manipulate the way in which the information is transmitted. To begin with, the director of a motion picture is able to manipulate the transmission of information by choosing different camera angles. Choosing different camera points to approach the subject matter, instead of shooting the whole film from a fixed position, makes it possible to direct the vision of the audience.9
This molding of visual perspective allows the director to highlight the parts that he or she considers most important. One classic example is the use of pan shots. Zooming in on a specific action can be
8
really confrontational for the audience. For instance, the action of somebody being shot can be made really explicit if the camera zooms in on the action of bullets penetrating a body and leaving big holes. The close-up, therefore, is a powerful tool because it provides very detailed and specific information to the point of becoming so confrontational that a big impression is made on the psyche of the viewer.10
The technique of editing, sequencing scenes in a multitude of formations, is another strongpoint of film. The creation of dramatic effect is possible by editing because the different possibilities in which the film fragments can be cut and sequenced are infinite.11 By editing, the director can either speed up or delay time and, subsequently, determine the pace in which the story is told. The technique also allows the director to cut to different locations in order to create interplay between scenes.12 The film can, for instance, first depict action unfolding in one location and suddenly jump to a radically different scene occupying a completely different space and time. In this fashion, movie makers are able to create dissonance, which causes suspension, or are able to bring unrelated elements in the story together. The exposure of relations between events in the plot may result in sudden realizations that can shock the viewer. Editing, therefore, gives the movie maker the power to manipulate reality and to trigger an emotional response in the audience.13
The near total control of an audience’s sensory environment is another factor that makes film influential. According to phenomenology, people are not born complete with ideas. Only by means of sensory perception of the outside world do people acquire ideas about the world.14 If it is true that consciousness is the product of sensory perception, than whoever has the power to control what our senses take in subsequently has the power to
10 Ibid., 44. 11 Ibid., 28. 12 Ibid., 37. 13 Ibid., 47. 14
John Locke, 1690, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Project Guttenberg,
control our consciousness. This effect is also what filmmakers are after. One of them, Martin Shelton, argued that the near-total control of an audience’s sensory environment allows the filmmaker to attract the attention of the audience in such degrees that its members are captivated and do not have eye for anything beside the motion picture they are watching. During this process, members of the audience only perceive what the filmmaker wants them to perceive.15 Because sensory perception determines consciousness, controlling viewers sensory input has a significant effect on the consciousness of the people undergoing the experience. Motion pictures, therefore, have a definite impact on the mind of their audience.
In this project I will be examining two such influential films. The first movie I want to discuss that explores the boundary between organic- and artificial-humanity, is Blade Runner, which is directed by Ridley Scott and dates from 1982. Ridley Scott has made great use of the possibilities film allows. By using special effects as a subtle and integral component of the motion picture, the director has created an amazing visual display that captivates the viewers. Because Blade Runner presents a dystopia where technology has run amuck and has
infiltrated every section of human society, even going so far as to start producing artificial humans on an industrial scale, it is an excellent example of a film that explores the boundary between the human and the artificial.
humans to such degrees that the two cannot be distinguished from one another by the naked eye alone. To help out, a device has been created that measures the emotional response of the person subjected to the test, which is called the Voight-Kampff test.
The movie centers on a group of these replicants, who have left the off-world colony where they were stationed in order to return to earth. In order to make sure illegal replicants hiding on earth are hunted down and killed, there is a special team of professional gunmen in place, which are called Blade Runners. One of these Blade Runners, who is the protagonist of the movie, goes by the name of Rick Deckard. The motivation the replicants, which Deckard is assigned to kill, have to come to earth, is because they want to meet their maker. Doctor Tyrell is the head of the Tyrell Corporation that manufactures the replicants to serve in off-world colonies. The group of replicants want to find out if he can repair an error in their design, which is a lifespan that is only limited to four years. Knowing they are never more than four years removed from their time of death has placed the replicants in constant fear of dying. The motion picture implies that because the replicants react intensely to their fear of dying, beings that are our artificial double are capable of having feelings and can even appear more human than human. This is also the slogan of the company producing the replicants. Doctor Tyrell says to Rick Deckard, “More human than human is our motto.”16
Another motion picture that revolves around exploring the dynamic of organic humanity versus its technological duplicate is Edward Scissorhands. This film was directed by Tim Burton and premiered in 1990. In contrast to the presentation of a dystopian society in
Blade Runner, the society presented in Edward Scissorhands seems more utopian. The
environment where most of the action unfolds is a quiet, pastel shaded, suburb where family values still have meaning. Edward Scissorhands also differs from Blade Runner in the
distinction the film makes between organic humanity and its artificial offshoot, which is more
16
exaggerated. Where Blade Runner’s society has great difficulty determining which persons are organic and which are engineered, the difference between Edward and the other
protagonists is obvious from the start. Edward’s haunting appearance seems to have come straight out of a nineteenth century Gothic novel and contrasts highly with his surrounding. His status as technically produced human is even more highlighted by the big menacing scissors he has for hands.
The central theme the motion picture revolves around to explore the dynamic between organic humanity and its technological counterpart, is the capacity of Edward to feel romantic love. The narrative begins when Edward, who had been created by an inventor and who lived all his life secluded from society, is discovered by a housewife trying to sell cosmetic
products. After she takes him home to live with her family, Edward is introduced to human society. At first, he is greeted as an exciting novelty but when he falls in love with Kim, the daughter of the lady who took him home, things start to go wrong.
Kim’s boyfriend, who will not accept that he has been replaced by something he does not consider human, exploits Edward’s naivety towards society and causes him to be arrested. At the same time, a neighbor who presumes Edward’s artificial nature excuses her to use him as her own personal sex-toy, claims she has been raped by him after he refuses to have sex with her. These events cause society’s viewpoint of Edward to shift. Whereas, at first, the neighborhood accepted Edward as an intriguing product of technology, in the end there is a limit to the autonomy they grant Edward. When the romantic love he feels force Edward to transgress these limits, society starts to see him as a menacing freak of nature.
are a means to make the audience wonder how humanity’s progress might proceed. Because the motion pictures deal with the relevant question of what might happen if the increasing technological developments diminish the boundary between humanity and its artificial double, they should not be considered for their entertainment value alone. Instead, the movies in question function as crucial tools for us to rethink what human qualities set us apart from artificial humanity.
The prime character trait of humanity that the films help inspect is that of man’s self-consciousness. Humans are a unique species because they can experience their own existence consciously. In order to monitor whether or not artificial intelligence is able to take on
subjective thoughts and emotions, scientist Alan Turing devised a test. When artificial
intelligence becomes sophisticated to the degree that it can trick a human into believing that it is conversing with another human, it passes the Turing test. Blade Runner portrays a similar test, the Voight-Kampff test, which job it is to distinguish humans from replicants. However, this test does not measure self-consciousness. Instead, it measures whether or not the
emotional response of the subject is similar to that of a human.
Humanity’s self-consciousness also enables humans to imagine what lies beyond their own state of being. Since our self-awareness enables us to question our place in the world, we force ourselves to come up with certain answers to our identity. Perceiving our state of
Our self-awareness has also given rise to humanity’s self-proclaimed exceptionality. Ever since we started to question our place in the world, the consoling idea of humanity as crown of all creation formed. Almost all religions see creation as something unique in which humanity occupies the most unique part. However, on the occasion we start to add new beings to creation that resemble us, our uniqueness will wear off. We will no longer be outstanding because in a world that organically evolved over time, artificial life forms break the general rule. Moreover, the beings we are in the process of creating might be capable of having the same profound feelings we do. The replicants in Blade Runner, for instance, are driven by very intense feelings. The fear of dying even makes them embark on an interplanetary journey.
Another quality that sets humanity apart and is investigated in the motion pictures I discuss, is humanity’s sense of right and wrong. The ability to tell right from wrong is another product of humanity’s self-consciousness since it enables us to evaluate the way we behave. Because we can evaluate our behavior, we can categorize our actions, some belonging to the category of good behavior and others to bad. Ever since humans were able to communicate with one another, humanity has determined that some things are inherently right and others are wrong. This principle can also be seen in many religions. These religions consider doing things that are right as virtuous and doing things that are wrong as sinning.
Edward Scissorhand’s, for instance, also questions if having a conscience is
One additional quality that sets humanity apart and is portrayed in the motion pictures here discussed is that humans have a historical awareness. Over the course of a person’s life, a person forms memories of events that have had a certain importance. This process also
happens on a much bigger scale where collective memories of important events turn into history. Having the ability to remember events is not only a virtue because, depending on the event that is remembered, it can also be confrontational and unpleasant. Blade Runner also deals with the question of historical awareness as something distinctly human. Even though the Replicants have memories of events, since the lion part of what the Replicants can remember is artificially implanted to make them more psychological stable, they cannot be sure if the memories they have are theirs or not.
The motion pictures in question, then, urge us to rethink what makes us human. Moreover, they make us wonder what our place and function on earth is. Questions that the movies raise are various. For example, what purpose does our self-consciousness serve and how does it make us more exceptional than other forms of life? Why do we consider people whose conscience influences their actions more humane than individuals who just do as they please? How does our historical awareness help in reafirming our identiy over a prolonged period of time? Does artificial humanity have to posses over historical awereness before we can start to consider them part of humanity? The importance of the questions raised by the current level of technological progression is underlined by the motion pictures central in this essay. The closing of the gap between technology and humanity, of which artificial humanity is the product, thus, raises important questions in humanity concerning its nature, and,
Chapter 1: Humanity’s Self-consciousness
The capacity to reflect on our own state of being is constitutive of a person’s identity and also resurfaces as a theme in the motion pictures Blade Runner and Edward Scissorhands. Self-consciousness allows humans to experience their existence subjectively. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Self-consciousness helps humans to experience the world with a certain critical reservation. In contrast to most animals, which do not recognize a difference between themselves and the world around them, our self-conscious makes us view the world from a critical distance. Critical distance from the world allows most humans, or even forces them, to ask important questions about their place in it. This tendency provokes a seemingly everlasting discourse on existence that has not nearly reached its zenith.
The quality that goes together with self-consciousness is the ability to see what lies beyond our individuality. This gives self-conscious beings the ability to consider the feelings of others. Although a particular individual might experience life very different from another, imagining what lies beyond our own state of existence helps us to relate to others nonetheless. This enables humans to socially interact with others. The fact that social interaction comes with many benefits is another reason why self-consciousness is an advantage.
Being self-conscious can also be a disadvantage if it makes a person notice an insurmountable distance between his or her own identity and that of the people in the direct environment, such is the case with Edward Scissorhands. In this case, being
self-consciousness is a curse because our self-self-consciousness demands social interaction. Self-consciousness creates an inner reality which seeks to express itself through interaction with others. Since humans have the tendency to go insane when left alone with their thoughts long enough, social interaction comes with health benefits. If, for some reason, humans are
excluded from social interaction this can be very distressing.
Donna Haraway has explained social exclusion from a linguistic viewpoint. She states the “human” is not only something tangible that exists in the world at large but that it is also an arbitrary category that has its place on a linguistic level.17 Entrance to this category is not something that happens automatically. From days long past, dominant groups of humans barred other humans, mostly belonging to different ethnic groups, from the category of the human.18 Because the people excluded from the category of the human were also denied their humanity, exclusion on a linguistic field had its impact in reality.
Because our self-consciousness divides the world between the self and the other, the linguistic construct of humanity is closely linked to our self-consciousness. Since humans can feel a close bond with some humans in their direct environment, which share a similar
identity, and not with others, this dynamic is also at work within groups of humans. The humans that visually, or culturally, differ too much from the norm, run the risk of not being included on the self-side of the human. The discrepancy that occurs often goes together with the classification of different races, which has occurred in an historical context.19
In European history, the races that where not white were often excluded from the linguistic construct of the
17
Donna Haraway, Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium.FemaleMan?_Meets_Onco MouseTM (New York: Routledge, 1997), 214.
18
Ibid.
19
human. Without the consequences attached to the exclusion from this category, this might not be a problem. However, human beings that were historically viewed as not human had to suffer much abuse. Their perceived inhumanity was an excuse to treat them inhumanely.20 This is because societies that denied the humanity of some races also denied they shared certain characteristics considered part of humanity: characteristics such as having a conscience and the ability to feel pain.
Exclusion from humanity might also be an obstacle that the artificial duplicates of humanity need to overcome. For Donna Haraway, however, this would be just as preposterous as the historical exclusion of African slaves and Jews from the category of the human. Her argument is that human subjectivity is already the combined product of organic evolution and artificial progress.21 Haraway, therefore, argues that when Blade Runner’s and Edward
Scissorhands’ version of artificial humanity arrives on the scene, the demarcation line
between organic humanity and artificial humanity will be almost indistinguishable.
Blade Runner, in particular, has made the exclusion of artificial life forms, which are
also self-conscious, a central topic. The point that Blade Runner dramatizes is that humanity includes a host of praiseworthy characteristics such as compassion and a sense of right and wrong, yet, bears with it a history of inhumanity. If humanity encompasses that what is not considered human as well, this makes it very complicated to determine what it is that constitutes humanity. 22 Blade Runner recognized that the future existence of artificial humanity makes it even harder to define humanity.
In, Blade Runner, the artificial humans depicted have embarked on a quest in order to be considered human. According to Brian Carr the motion picture envisions “the ‘becoming’
20
Hortense Spillers, “All the Things You could Be by Now, if Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother': Psychoanalysis and Race,” boundary 2 23.3 (1996): 66.
21
of the human subject in its psychic dimensions.”23 The replicants that have come back to earth claim that they share much the same psychological characteristics with their organic
predecessors, and that this is the reason why they should be considered human. Part of these psychological characteristics gives them the need to receive
acknowledgement for what they are, self-conscious beings that are the mirror of humanity. What makes them mirror organic humanity is that the replicants experience reality in the same way, yet, are not the same. They are the not product of biological evolution but of
technological advancement. For Donna Haraway, who claims technological advancement is part of biological evolution, the artificial double of humanity is the highpoint in an
evolutionary development to contain the essence of humanity in a technological form.24 Throughout the movie, replicants force their way into the category of humanity by pushing their vision and life experience on organic humans. This is what the leader of the replicants, Roy Batty, does just before he dies and tells Deckard that he has “seen things you people wouldn’t believe.”25 Here it becomes interesting to explore what being self-conscious means for life forms, which are the product of technological progress, yet share the same
psychological characteristics as organic humanity.
The first thing that being self-conscious does to the artificial humans depicted in the motion pictures Edward Scissorhands and Blade Runner is that it has a discernible impact on their identity. In this respect, self-consciousness of the artificial humans functions like a mirror allowing them to look into their psyche so that they, like their organic counterparts, can consciously reflect on their own existence. What makes the self-consciousness of the artificial humans function like a mirror is that they see their own existence through the other, in this case organic humanity. Consequently, the self-image created is one of the determining factors
23
Ibid.
24
Donna Haraway, Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium.FemaleMan?_Meets_Onco MouseTM, 142.
25
for the decisions they make. It is the awareness of their position in relation to organic humanity that motivates the artificial humans to behave in a certain way. Being
self-conscious, therefore, does not only imply that the artificial humans can reflect on their own existence, instead, similar to the way self-consciousness works with organic humanity, it also has a real impact on that existence. What is striking about the way self-consciousness works, for organic humans and artificial humans alike, is that once the individuals of both groups start to reflect on their identity it stops being the same.
One of the replicants in Blade Runner, by the name of Rachael, is very aware of her identity in relation to organic humanity. She knows that the human society around her regards replicants as ‘the other’ and takes it upon her to play with this construct. The scene in the motion picture in which this realization comes most to the fore is on the occasion that Rick Deckard, whose job it is to kill the renegade replicants, has taken her home. In his apartment, she sees a sepia photograph of a woman Deckard has positioned on his piano, and literally mirrors her by fashioning her appearance similar to that of the woman.
Here Rachael is not simply playing with the way she looks; psychologically, there is more at play. With the act of fashioning her hair similar to that of the woman depicted in the photograph, Rachel purposefully exchanges her own identity for that of the woman she does not know. Kaja Silverman has said that Rachael: “performs knowingly that transaction which is at the heart of all subjectivity, a transaction without which there could be no ‘me’ - she assumes the image of the other.”26 Racheal’s reaction to the photograph is one of the occasions in which it is clear to see that the self-consciousness of the replicants is not restricted to only a reflection on their state of being, it also motivates their behavior.
Rachael fashioning her appearance similar to that of the woman in the sepia
image that has a special significance for Deckard, she signals her romantic desires. The scene that follows makes clear that the self-consciousness of the replicants affects their identity. When Deckard approaches Rachael passionately, she says she cannot rely. Although the movie leaves its audience guessing what Rachael cannot rely on, the context makes clear that she cannot rely on her desire to be with Deckard.
In order to understand why Rachael doubts whether she can rely on her desire to be with Deckard, we have to keep in mind that the Tyrell Corporation gave the replicants an artificial past. The Tyrell Corporation had given the replicants memories to control their emotional responses. Self-consciousness forces Rachael to realize that if the memories that determine her emotional responses are not her own, she is not sure if her motivations, which are the product of these memories, are genuinely hers or come from some other source. Following this logic, the romantic interest she feels toward Deckard might not be hers either.27 This indeterminacy is the reason Rachael has for not responding to Deckard.
The fact that she seems to be aware of which factors give rise to her motivations suggests that Rachael is highly self-conscious, more self-conscious than organic humans that most of the time do not seem to question the reasons underlying their actions. The way her overdeveloped self-consciousness determines Rachael’s identity is that, considering her artificial nature, she is able to question if her feelings of love are genuine. The solution of this doubt makes her somebody that can take part in a romantic relationship.
Edward Scissorhands also demonstrates behavior from which we can conclude that, on some level, he is very self-conscious. The part of his existence that Edward is most conscious of is that, in contrast to the people around him, such as his surrogate family, he does not have real hands. He has scissors instead. Edward understands that his scissor-hands are not only tools for decoration but can also have a destructive impact.28 After the police arrested him for
27
Ibid., 128.
28
breaking into the house of Kim’s boyfriend, a favor he did for Kim after she asked him to, Edward becomes emotionally upset when he sees Kim and her boyfriend talk. His way to release the anger built up inside him is by unleashing the destructive force, which lays
dormant in his scissorhands, on the interior of the Bogg’s residence. Here it becomes apparent Edward is aware of his identity as an individual that can have a destructive impact on his environment. What also becomes clear is that Edward’s consciousness towards his identity is not limited to his body alone; it includes his body in relation to his environment.
Edward’s awareness that his body can have a destructive impact on his environment is not restricted to a simple realization, there are consequences attached to his realization. Because he knows his scissorhands cut up everything he touches, Edward also knows that the scissors he has for hands get in the way of him touching someone else without harming them. Knowing this truth about his body, Edward constantly has to fear accidentally hurting
people.29 He is thus very aware that his scissorhands form an enormous obstacle in the way of becoming intimate with the object of his affection. Towards the end of the movie, Kim, the girl who Edward is very much in love with, asks him if he can hold her. Considering his fear to hurt the people he loves, his obvious - yet emotionally destructive - response is that he is unable to. His self-consciousness, therefore, determines his identity as an artificial life form barred from entering romantic relationships.
Higley has claimed that Edward’s does this because he senses hands have a: “clandestine relationship to masturbation, and when sharp they inspire a number of disturbing
associations.”30 Although it would explain why Kim reacted extremely terrified, Higley’s argument strikes as somewhat dubious. Either way, it is clear to see that Edward’s bodily condition, in combination with his self-consciousness, makes Edward an artificial life form that is very pre-occupied with how others perceive him.
Not only does consciousness shape the identity of artificial humanity, being self-conscious also functions as a tool of empowerment. It gives the artificial humans grounds from which to claim their self-possession. Because the artificial humans are conscious of their own existence, they can argue the point they are not simply the other of organic humanity but that, on the other side of the divide, there is a self, too. Their self-consciousness makes them more than simple automatons that display human behavior. Instead, at the foundation of their behavior lay cognitive processes. This makes a world of difference. If artificial humans were only machines without the ability to experience emotions, there would not be anything wrong in using them as a commodity. On the other hand, if they share the same burdens with organic humanity it would only be fair if they share the same rights as well. What helps artificial humans claim their self-possession is that self-consciousness also makes them aware over what they are claiming possession. Although, at first glance, this might not seem important, the impossibility to want something you do not know exists makes it crucial.
One of the replicants in Blade Runner, by the name of Pris, also knows that she is psychologically equal to the organic humans that have created her. This realization becomes apparent when J.F. Sebastian, the person who technically engineered the replicants, asks Pris if she can show him what she is capable of and she refuses to satisfy his curiosity. By refusing to show him what she is capable of, Pris asserts her self-possession as a person with a will of
30
her own, instead of merely functioning as a very sophisticated machine that automatically does whatever the owner asks of it. Pris employs a very clever way to make Sebastian aware of the fact that, although she is technically engineered, her identity contains a cognitive plane that makes her a person with feelings. She does this by phrasing Descartes’ famous adage
cogito ergo sum, “I think. Therefore, I am.”31 Pris, in this instance, also claims she is an individual because her self-consciousness enables her to experience life the same way organic humans does. Because being a self-conscious individual comes with the ability to determine one’s own choices in life, her claim to humanity also includes her claim to self-possession.
Consciousness of artificial humanity towards their identity is, in turn, influenced by the place they occupy in human society. It is this grounding in human society that allows, or stops, the artificial humans to become aware of their own condition. Similar to the way organic humans develop their identity, knowledge of human society is a crucial aspect in the self-realization of the artificial humans because, as explained earlier, self-consciousness depends on the dynamic of the self and the other. Only through knowing its environment can artificial humanity really know itself. The self-consciousness of the artificial humans is, therefore, not a given but has to grow through interaction with human society.
Rachael’s struggle to come to terms with her artificial nature perfectly illustrates that interaction with human society is the first means in becoming aware of which conditions are at the base of a person’s existence. What makes it so problematic for Rachael to accept she is a replicant is that nobody in her environment ever told her.32 The memories of a youth that was not her own contribute to making this realization a traumatic event. While the only persons that Rachael knows without the aid of artificial memories are her boss Eldon Tyrell and probably some staff of the Tyrell Corporation, her artificial memories make Rachael believe she has a mother and other family members. The memories, thus, not only give
31
Rachael a false past, they also give her the impression of a social environment she never had. Because the environment Rachael believed she had was not hers but that of Tyrell’s niece, this occludes Rachael’s knowledge of the environment that is hers, and, therefore, also functions as an obstacle she has to overcome in order to gain awareness of the conditions that are at the base of her own existence.
In comparison, Edward’s attempt to negotiate an identity through his environment is even more complicated than the process Rachael had to go through. Although he did not have to confront false memories, the situation Edward had to live in for years presented him with an environment with which interaction was impossible. The reason for this is that after the person who invented him died, Edward was forced to spend all his time in solitude. Because of the absence of the other, without which the formation of an identity cannot take place, Edward’s psychological development is cut short. His solitude, but not the problems towards his own identity, ends when the local Avon-lady introduces Edward to human society. Introduction to an environment that does allow him to interact with others promises to give Edward the chance to develop an intelligible identity.
Having left his solitude behind, the environment Edward encounters is a suburban society centered on the oedipal family. The fact that Edward is not the product of sexual relations but of a technological progress causes him to be permanently at odds with his new environment. According to Foucault: “it is through sex-in fact, an imaginary point determined by the deployment of sexuality-that each individual has to pass in order to have access to his own intelligibility.”33 Although the people in his environment know their position in society, be it the housewife or the rebellious adolescent, Edward’s place in society remains
undetermined. Because the conditions that lay at the base of Edward’s existence hinder his
33
sexuality to determine a clear identity, this makes social interaction problematic for Edward. As a result, Edward stays somewhat unintelligible to himself.
Edward presence as someone that is not fully intelligible to himself, also disrupts the community that adopts him. On many occasions, such as the neighborhood barbeque and the television show, Edward’s difference from the rest of society causes him to be the center of attention. By unwillingly reminding people of the fact that the way in which social unity is maintained is arbitrary, Edward “disjoints the body of the socius.”34
All attempts to give Edward a place in society, therefore, are useless and only remind people of the fact that the unity in society is largely the result of conformity. Edward’s inability to fit in also reminds the people in the community of the big sacrifices they had to make in order to fit in.35 Examples of these sacrifices are being forced to trade in a free spirit for a psychological mindset formed by the rules of society and adapting to strict codes of sexual conduct.36
When Edward unintentionally reminds the people in the community of these facts, jeopardizing the day-to-day reality of the community, there is no resistance when Edward is expelled. Kim’s boyfriend, who feels Edward’s presence has ruined his life and threatens the community at large, accuses Edward of destroying everything he touches and sees it as his job to drive Edward from the community.
Edward’s example demonstrates that even though artificial humans might be able to perceive their own existence subjectively, and consequently adopt behavior that is socially accepted, this does not necessarily mean artificial humans can hold their own in human
society. When artificial humans differ from their environment too much, there are limits in the formation of an acceptable social identity. Because Edward and the society he encounters differ so much from each other, he has trouble to see himself through his new environment. The suburban community, therefore, also does not allow his self-consciousness to fashion a
34
clear social identity. As a result, Edward’s environment turns against him and forces him to return to his solitude.
The motion picture Blade Runner suggests that despite the initial obstacles that artificial humanity might encounter when it comes to interacting with human society, there are also important chances. If, in first instance, human society might not consider artificial humans to be part of humanity, when organic humans and artficial humans start to see themselves in each other, there is the possibility for the two sides to see themselves in a new light. This is also what happens between the blade runner Deckard and the leader of the replicants, who goes by the name of Roy Batty. When Roy starts to die, because his life expectancy of four years has expired, he makes Deckard realize replicants have feelings as well by recounting his life experience. In response, Deckard comments neither replicants nor blade runners were supposed to have feelings. By doing this he perceives his existence
through the existence of the replicants he has to kill.37 The effect this has on Deckard is that he starts questioning his profession as a gunmen hired to kill replicants. From this point, it could be possible that in a foreseeable future humanity as a whole will perceive its existence
through our artificial double and grow conscious of itself in a radically different way.
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Chapter 2: Uniqueness: Man as a Cultured Animal
As discussed in the previous chapter, artificial humanity shares a myriad of characteristics with humanity, including its self-conscious nature. Because our self-consciousness makes us perceive our own individuality, it has given rise to the question why we are on earth. This question has produced a number of myths considering our origins. Even though there is an enormous amount of different myths, which approach the question of our existence from different perspectives, the myths do have one important thing in common. What they have in common is that there is a clear emphasis on the position humanity occupies in the universe. Even though there is no center in the universe, these myths place humanity in it. The reason for this is that we perceive our environment from only one unique point, which is ourselves. Although our senses let us experience events that are outside of us, we cannot experience something outside of our senses. This restriction makes that virtually all humans are aware, albeit mostly on a subconscious level, that tied in with perception of the world we also experience our own presence.
awareness separates artificial humanity from organic humanity although it originates from similar psychological processes. Since the previous chapter has already discussed the psychological depths of artificial humanity, here it is more interesting to discuss artificial humanity’s place in society.
The most obvious aspect of artificial humanity’s uniqueness is the way in which artificial humanity comes into existence. In contrast to all other life forms familiar to us, which were born because of a biological evolution, artificial humanity is the only life form that enters existence because of technological progress. Just as our self-consciousness is crucial for the existence of our continuously changing self-image, it is also crucial for the creation of artificial humanity. According to Loren Eisely, the possibility to perceive our state of existence makes us investigate in what way humanity is part of the natural world.38 This is an ever-reoccurring theme that also comes back in the myths humanity made use of to explain its existence on earth. In the recent past, this search for continuity between us and our
environment has resulted in our knowledge of evolution. This knowledge is a crucial
prerequisite for a society to start producing artificial life by means of scientific manipulation. It is in this manner that artificial humanity is the product of our self-consciousness and is made in our image.
After technical knowledge of evolution had found place with humanity, it was possible for this knowledge to crystallize itself in the form of artificial humanity. Since birth, the umbilicus marks the ties organic humans have to the rest of humanity. Similarly, entrance into the world also has a determining influence on the bodies of artificial humans. One character that clearly demonstrates this example is Edward Scissorhands. He deserves special attention in this respect because his unfinished nature has given him a body that does not tie in with the rest of humanity. Edward’s scissor-hands, which are very eye-catching, give him an
38
appearance that holds the middle ground between man and machine.39 Because his hands give Edward a partially machine-like appearance, his body reminds people in Edward’s
environment that he is the product of technology.
Just as Haraway would argue that Edward’s machine-like appearance serves to underscore his reliance on technology and is, therefore, not special in itself, Julie Clarke reminds us that human bodies depend on technology as well.40 Edward’s appearance, therefore, is not what makes him unique. It is only when it becomes apparent what impact Edward’s body allows him to have on his environment that he becomes unique. Even though his appearance marks Edward as different from the start, when his hands place him in the center of attention, it becomes clear Edward’s superficial difference is merely the projection of a more profound dissimilarity between Edward and his environment.41
The profound difference separating Edward and the society around him is that, unlike the people in the suburban community, Edward is permanently at odds with the unifying principle of the oedipal family.42 Edward does not have his origins in a family, nor is he likely to produce one. Whereas the family is the sign of unity, since Edward’s maker died before he could finish him, Edward is the bearer of partiality.43 The way Edward came into existence is not by naturally growing from one cell into a unified organism. Instead, Edward’s maker assembled him out of different parts that do not have much relation with each other. An elaborate series of leather belts have to keep him together. Similar to his own physique, everything Edward “touches is cut, severed, disjointed.”44 Edward’s partial nature threatens to undo the social unity of the nuclear family that keeps the community together as well.45
However, the impact of Edward’s presence on the community can only have this dramatic
39
Julie Clarke, “All too human: Edward Scissorhands,” Film as Text 50 (2008): 94.
40
Ibid., 93.
41
Ibid.
42
Russel Potter, “Edward Schizohands: The Postmodern Gothic Body,” Postmodern Culture, 2:3 (May 1992): 1.
43
impact because it already contains differences, which are smoothed over by the immaculate appearance of the suburb and its polite manners.46
Edward’s difference, therefore, is in line with the difference existing within the community.
Because the people pretend their socially adapted behavior comes natural to them, difference in the community is negated.47 As Potter says, life in the suburb depicted is “so attenuated that it has become, in Baudrillard's terms, a mere simulacrum of itself.”48 However, Edward is in no position to play along with this game of make pretend. Whereas the
community seems to base its social existence on the negation of reality, Edward’s unfinished body, especially his unfinished hands, does not allow him to fully enter reality.49 Edward can never feel the physical consistency of his environment because he cannot touch anything without cutting it.50 However much Edward tries to contact a coherent reality, the more it comes apart. This is also made painfully clear in the scene in which Edward rescues Kevin from being run over by a speeding van. When Edward wants to see if Kevin is alright he slashes open his face. Edward’s need to contact a reality the community has traded in for a make believe paradise, therefore, makes him psychologically different.
Having inspected Edward’s example, it thus becomes apparent the body determines the psychology of the artificial humans. It is through the senses that self-conscious beings become aware of themselves and their environment. Because Edward has to do without one of the most important senses, which is touch, he cannot come into full contact with his
environment. According to Slavoj Žižek, Edward’s inability to grasp the real makes him typify postmodern subjectivity.51 Postmodern subjectivity is the result of living in a society that has replaced reality for a hyper-reality. This semantic shift in society keeps individuals
46 Ibid., 29. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid., 2. 49
Slavoj Žižek, “Grimaces of the Real, or When the Phallus Appears,” Rendering the Real, 58 (1991): 59.
50
Ibid.
51
from having full contact to the real, consequently limiting their social position to that of a bystander. Similarly, Edward’s knowledge that any contact he makes with reality will rip it apart forces him to watch reality from a distance. While the people in the community have turned their backs on reality, Edward’s life revolves around staring at it.52 This makes him occupy a different position in relation to reality than the people around him.
In contrast to Edward, who seems doomed to spend the rest of eternity outside of reality, the replicants in Blade Runner are in the center of a reality that is life threatening. They have to handle the reality of their life coming to a premature end. Whereas Edward is afraid his touch will destroy the reality he wants contact with, the majority of the replicants depicted, do not seem to care whether the reality that cheated them out of a normal life is damaged in order to further their goals. Roy Batty, the leader of the replicants who have come back to earth, even goes as far as to kill the person that produced him. Thus, in contrast to Edward whose existence is dramatically separated from the Oedipal model, Batty’s
motivation is in line with the “Oedipal imperative.”53 Batty´s conviction that he has the right to a full normal life, like any self-conscious individual, and that his maker refused him this, makes him kill in retaliation. Retaliation is behavior typical of humans. What makes Batty, therefore, unique from organic humanity is his life-span, which is predetermined to four years, but not the solution he has chosen to deal with this problem.
The uniqueness of artificial humanity is not only apparent in their individuality; their uniqueness manifests itself in the special place they take up in society as well. In case of
Edward Scissorhands this is exemplified by the many instances Edward is made to function
special nature makes him deserve attention and that he is not capable of taking care of himself.54
The community placing Edward in the position of attention ironically keeps Edward from fully interacting with his environment on equal terms and, instead, makes him take up the position of bystander in his own freak show.
Because Edward’s condition keeps him from playing along with the social charade of the suburb that has adopted him, his presence brings the negated difference that exists in the community to the surface. Since the community has staked everything on negating difference, and Edward is the one that makes it resurface, this makes Edward into a danger for the unreal nature of the community.55 It is easy to see the community depicted in Edward Scissorhands depends on people living out something that is unreal because reality is full of contradictions. However, it is also clear to see this fantasy does not come without certain costs attached. Because the ‘self’ cannot exist without the ‘other,’ doing away with difference causes the people in the community to become alienated from themselves as well.56 Difference, however, goes to the core of Edward’s identity, which is perceptible in his fractured appearance.
Dissimilarity from the community makes Edward reveal the self-alienation of the people in the community. This special power makes him the agent of an expelled difference.57
Similar to Edward, the replicants in Blade Runner also remind organic humans of reality. The replicants live more intensely because they have all the experiences of an adult organic human but just four years to experience them. Because the replicants are the only individuals resigned to a position of slavery, the replicants experience their subjectivity more intensely as well. Blade Runner thus does not portray the replicants as mere copies of organic humanity.58
Instead, the replicants have a personality of their own, which is “more human than
54
Julie Clarke, “All too human: Edward Scissorhands,” 97.
55
Russel Potter, “Edward Schizohands: The Postmodern Gothic Body,” 29.
56
Ibid.
57
Ibid.
58
human.”59 Silverman suggests that, because of this, viewers can also learn more about what the psychological consequences of being human are from watching the artificial humans than from watching the organic humans portrayed in the motion picture.60
Being similar to us, yet being unique, makes artificial humanity force us to adopt a more accurate self-image. According to psychologist James Hillman, the double offers humanity a method to reveal our true nature in spite of the material obsessions causing us to forget ourselves.61
Artificial humanity functions for us as a psychological mirror. Through resemblance, the double reminds us of our own nature.62 In this respect, artificial humanity can force us to get into touch with our true nature again even if most people are occupied by obsessions of possession which keep us from coming into full contact with ourselves.
Artificial humanity, therefore, offers us a chance to grow psychologically. Sadly, in both Edward Scissorhands and Blade Runner most people fail to get in touch with themselves again. In case of Edward Scissorhands the community that fails to recognize the difference existing in society even expels Edward. One of the few persons that do learn from the
situation is Kim, who proclaims her love for Edward at the end. The likely reason why she is able to learn is her adolescence, which makes her psychologically mature enough to perceive what is going on at a social level but prevents her from being thoroughly blindfolded. Most adults, however, are thoroughly blindfolded by material obsessions which feed the hyper-reality of the suburb.63 In Blade Runner Rick Deckard is the only person who learns from his experiences. The reason he learns from his encounter with the replicants is that he sees the parallel nature of his existence and that of the replicants who he is assigned to kill.
59
Ridley Scott, Blade Runner, Warner Home Video, 1982.
60
Kaja Silverman, "Back to the Future," 114.
61
Ibid.
62
James Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld (New York: Harper & Row, 1979), 4.
63
Chapter 3: Humanity’s Conscience
Another aspect characterizing humanity is its sense of right and wrong. This is what we call our conscience. Human conscience functions as the crucial principle that many societies make use of to substantiate their organization. For instance, capitalism revolves around the idea that it is right for private parties to make an investment first and keep possible earnings for
themselves later. In contrast, all communist societies revolved around the idea that investment and benefits, or loss, should be communal. The idea behind communist ideology was that capitalism exploited the common man who did not have much money at hand to make investments. The ideologies underlying capitalism and communism are only two examples out of a large number of ethical principles that determine the operation of societies.
Conscience, therefore, has a powerful determining influence on the organization of human societies.
own behavior, which self-consciousness grants us, therefore, makes self-consciousness a determining factor in applying our knowledge of right and wrong to our day to day decisions.
Having a sense of right and wrong also makes humanity more unique. Because of a lack in communication, we cannot say for sure whether or not animals develop a sense of right and wrong. What we can say, is that animals do in no way have an idea that comes close to our culturally developed notion of what behavior qualifies as right and what qualifies as wrong. The reason why humanity has a culturally developed notion of right and wrong is because our idea of conscience is the result of cultural processes. Time after time, generations of humans re-inscribes reality in a normative way and pass their teaching on to the next. Most events that transcend the concerns of the individual, we communally discuss and label as favorable and good or regrettable and bad. History is full of such examples. Generally speaking, humanity condemns wars yet approves of important scientific breakthroughs. Our continuing habit to evaluate the merit of events and behavior, therefore, sustains humanity’s culturally developed conscience.
Because humanity as a whole re-inscribes reality in a normative way, this also results in making groups in society aware they have certain rights. Since conscience makes most people realize their common destiny, the principle these rights are based on is that of equality. As history progressed, the tendency to think all individuals deserve be treated equally grew. The governing system in which this equality principle can be most clearly seen is a
instead of the people, the conscience of the replicants also makes them aware they have certain rights in relation to the organic humans that created them.
Because the beings depicted in Blade Runner are not merely very sophisticated machines but are actually aware of their own existence, the replicants figure they have the right to a full life. This conviction makes them come back to earth and confront their maker. J. Telotte has claimed that the journey the replicants undertake for more life resembles that of the mythic figure of Prometheus.64
Similar to the mechanics of fire, which unlocks the energy kept back in dead material, the replicants need more life to fulfill their full potential.65 Since the will to continue existing over a longer period of time goes to the core of the replicants identity, it is also closely tied to their sense of right and wrong. When Batty sets out to convince his maker, Eldon Tyrell, of the ethical obligation to elongate his life-span, Tyrell answers this is not possible. In response, Roy’s substitute method of attaining justice is by terminating the life of his maker. Because this murder is not a random act of violence but retribution for their own life unjustly coming to a premature end, the trail of death the replicants leave behind is inspired by their sense of right and wrong.
The example of the replicants standing up for their right to a full life tells us something about our conscience. It illustrates that our conscience does not merely dictate in what ways an individual should treat others. Humanity’s sense of right and wrong works both ways. It also gives individuals a sense of how they deserve to be treated. Our self-image in
combination with our conscience gives us a sense of self-worth, which determines what kind of treatment we tolerate. If an individual has a very low sense of self-worth, he or she is less likely to object when suffering abuse. However, if the treatment we receive from others does not match up with our sense of self-worth, humans are more likely to stand up for their own interests and change the situation. In this case, Blade Runner shows that if we create beings
64
J. Telotte, “Human Artifice and the Science Fiction Film,” Film Quarterly 13.3 (1983): 49.
65
with the capacity to experience their own existence subjectively, and develop some sense of self-worth, we should not be surprised if they stand up for themselves.
In contrast to the replicants, Edward is not aware of having any rights in relation to society. The reason for his social ignorance is the long period of solitude he faced during his first days of existence. Despite his social ignorance, Edward does have the need for emotional connection. His naïve wish to please makes Edward very susceptible to demands from the people around him. The biggest social demand, which also applies to everyone in the
community, is to conform to society.66 All the instances Edward is asked a favor, his naivety keeps him from perceiving bad intentions. The result is that Edward is, unlike the replicants depicted in Blade Runner, defenseless against the negative currents circulating in society.
Edward’s social helplessness forces an important question to surface. To what extend should organic humanity take the responsibility for artificial humans in society? Is it morally justifiably to expose individuals to negative forces circulating in society, such as greed and selfishness, if they have no way to stand up for their own interests? The fact that artificial humanity is the outcome of our technological progress makes it our responsibility. On the other hand, artificial humanity could also grow to encompass self reasoning individuals capable to determine their own course of action. This makes the matter very complicated. In this way, the potential presence of artificial humans in human society can force us to go over our conscience again and re-determine to what extend we should influence decisions made by socially weaker segments in society.
replicants claim their humanity and the self-possession that comes with it. According to Robyn Wiegman, the way in which African American slaves achieved their transformation in society from a condition of property to a self-possessed individuality is very closely related to the significance of gender.67 In the condition of property, the slaves were regarded as
machinery and, consequently, denied a gender. With consideration of the slaves’ gender, it
was no longer possible to view them as mere machines.
Blade Runner depicts the replicants as future slaves whose reality is similar to the
condition African American slaves were in. The shift from a machine without a sex to a gendered human is portrayed in the developments between Deckard and Rachael. When Deckard realizes Rachael is a replicant, after administering a Voight-Kampff test, he thinks of Rachael as a machine without gender. In this instant Deckard also refers to Rachael as it instead of her. However, when Rachael stops a replicant who is about to kill Deckard, a romantic relationship develops between them. Their romance activates the significance of Rachael’s gender. This is the point that Rachael exchanges her identity from that of a machine without gender for that of a self-possessed woman free to choose her future.
The change of Rachael’s identity sheds light on the unfinished nature of human conscience. Our idea of good and bad is not fixed but always changes at the hand of experiences we gain. A few centuries ago, for example, slavery was approved of by many people ignorant of the negative implications. The difference in time shows us our conscience can grow to be more sophisticated. Transcending our obsession to posses, and understanding the underlying processes that constitute material reality, offers a way for individuals to be more at one with the world and improve their idea of good and bad.
According to Nietzsche, true enlightenment is becoming aware of the fact that oppositions, such as our idea of love and hate, are not antagonistic towards each other but
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strengthen one another.68 This realization comes with a certain piece of mind that modifies our attitude to a degree we start to treat others differently. The biggest difference that occurs is that we no longer try to limit the choices of the other but give them space to support their own growth as a person. Haraway has argued the cyborg, being the combined product of
technological progress and human evolution, offers organic humanity a way to transcend the self imposed dualisms we make use of to explain our environment.69 If humanity is, therefore, intelligent enough to reproduce itself technologically, we may also proof enlightened enough to facilitate the personal growth of our artificial counterpart.
Another important part of conscience is that it is not only active on the moment that a person is considering which course of action to take. It also functions after a decision is made. If an action made went in against the conscience of the respective person, conscience has the tendency to resurface in the form of regret. With organic humanity, whose history is full of mistakes, regret is a common feeling. Regret is not a feeling that merely bothers the one that experiences it. It also serves a purpose. The unpleasant feeling of guilt that accompanies regret is crucial to the way conscience functions. Because feeling guilty can have such an emotional impact that it is nearly unbearable, most people will do anything to avoid the feeling. After the bearer of regret realizes why he or she is feeling bad, the unpleasant feeling is transformed into a learning agent. A positive outcome of this learning process can include taking a different course of action next time around.
Blade Runner depicts artificial humans that are also sensitive to feeling regret. After
Deckard is saved by Rachael, who is shaking from the torment of having killed Leon, he takes her back to his apartment. Because Deckard usually feels bad after having killed a replicant, he tells Rachael it is normal to have ‘the shakes’ after killing. Since the only dividing line
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