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Homework answers / question archive / Philosophy 140 Midterm “Take Home” Essay (50 points) Due October 17th by midnight For the midterm essay portion, submit a 5 paragraph essay into the Turnitin link that will become available the week it is due
Philosophy 140 Midterm “Take Home” Essay (50 points) Due October 17th by midnight For the midterm essay portion, submit a 5 paragraph essay into the Turnitin link that will become available the week it is due. This is considered a take home essay, meaning that you are not timed and can work on it freely throughout the next weeks for later submission. Choose one of the following prompts to write on: 1. In the novel, animals are so rare because most are extinct, and they are tended very carefully, but not out of compassion or love--only as status symbols prized for their ability to confer an aura of success on their owners. What does the novel have to say about Western consumerism? About Western values in general? How current are these ideas? Can you apply any theories or ideas found in any of our other texts in this class about consumerism to any of the issues that you see raised in the novel? 2. One important question is “what is it to be human?” What is Dick’s answer to this question? How are androids and humans contrasted in this novel, and to what purpose? Is his view of human nature inherently negative, positive, mixed, or ambiguous? Can you apply any theories or ideas about human nature found in any of our other texts in this class to any of the issues that you see raised in the novel? 3. One of the goals of the novel is to show that so long as humans are anxious about their own tools, those tools will be seen as having some innate power over mankind. In other words, regardless of technology's fallibility, if humans regard themselves as less smart or less able than their tools, then they will be at the mercy of their tools. Technology will advance, regardless of what the majority of humanity feels about that technology. Any struggle to remain the ruler or owner of new technology will surely fail. Is this a reasonable viewpoint? What does the novel say about the relationship between humans and technology? About inevitable technological progress? Can you apply any theories or ideas about the relationship between humans and technology found in any of our other texts I this class to any of the issues that you see raised in the novel? *Be sure to include at least three quotes total, one of which should be from a different text we’ve read apart from the novel* For citation from the novel, use this format: (Dick, 110) For citation from our text, use this format: (Author, 493) No bibliography required Primary sources are the textbook only. Summaries, handouts, and videos do not count as primary sources, as they are not the authors own words. The latter are examples of secondary sources, which are allowed as supplementary information, but do not meet the primary source requirement. Philosophy 140 Midterm Essay Grading Rubric Introduction and Conclusion ______ Introduction (0 - 5): Does the introduction contain a specific, underlined thesis statement (the claim you intend to prove)? How well does the first paragraph introduce your topic and the issue in question? Is your introduction within five sentences? ______ Conclusion (0 – 5): How well did you state what you have accomplished in your essay? Do you convey the wider ramifications? Is your conclusion within five sentences? Supportive Body Paragraphs ______ (0 – 30) How well did you explain and support your ideas? Did you apply any ideas or concepts from our class materials to the novel? Did you define relevant key terms? Does your writing exemplify understanding of both the key concepts you are discussing from the novel, in addition to what you chose from other class materials? Is your writing factually accurate? Do you demonstrate mastery of the materials you choose to discuss? Are the quotes you use relevant to your discussion? Composition and Mechanics ______ Composition, Spelling, and Grammar (0 – 5): Is your language clear and precise collegelevel writing? Are you using correct terminology? Did you proofread your essay carefully? Are the ideas in your essay logically ordered? ______ Mechanics (0 – 5): Did you draw upon ideas from at least one other author from the class? Did you use parenthetical citation and cite your sources? Did you employ at least three quotes total? Is your essay in 12 point Times New Roman Font with 1-inch margins? Total (out of 50 points)
Human nature
Introduction
In the noel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Philip Dick presented challenging issues about what it means to be human. Both the novel and the film adaptations of Blade Runner center on the conflict and struggle between biological humans and artificially made androids. The story's greatest legacy, on the other hand, may be in how it challenges a prevalent Western society's view of the human being. There are a lot of traits in this picture that are shown as ideal symbols of humanity's development such as whiteness, masculinity, heterosexuality, reason, professional success, and physical power. “In a very real sense our environment is becoming alive, or at least quasi-alive, and in ways specifically and fundamentally analogous to ourselves...”
A key theme of the story is posthumanism, which takes advantage of the widely held notion that human beings are unique and valuable in and of themselves (Burton, 2018). It's not uncommon to hear people refer to this feeling as a distinctive feature of "humanism." Even whether a creature is a mammal, a robotic, a computer-based entity or a stone or even a star, its physical characteristics do not prevent it from being called human. Because of their bodily attributes, all beings are regarded to be human. “Rather than learning about ourselves by studying our constructs, perhaps we should make the attempt to comprehend what our constructs are up to by looking into what we ourselves are up to.” Alternatively, any being may be considered human if they show concern for others in some way. As a result, the term "human" has essentially become a euphemism for "deserving of existence."
The novel's protagonist, hunter Deckard, uses the Voight-Kampff test to distinguish between humans and androids. He uses the method by combining psychological analysis with physiological reaction measures, the test aims to determine whether or not a person is capable of empathy. If a person demonstrates a high degree of concern for the lives of others, they are considered human and are given permission to live. Otherwise, they are deemed non-human and must be put to death. Deckard learns early on in his transformation that some younger androids may pass the test and therefore pass as humans. Due to this epiphany, Deckard concludes that the ability to empathize should always be used while evaluating the worth of another creature.
Human nature is the belief that all 'normal' people have a set of characteristics that make them apart from one another, such as ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. Both sociology and psychology share an interest in human nature and behavior, which they investigate. Humanity's essence has been studied by philosophers and religions alike. Because the environment can influence genetic predispositions, it's unlikely that genetically predisposed behavioral traits will be passed down in their entirety. Natural traits in humans are those that have an extremely high genetic probability of occurrence. To put it another way, human nature is not seen as something that forces individuals to act in a certain way, but as something that increases their likelihood of acting in a certain way over another.
Conclusion
In conclusion, humans, according to Dick, are any beings who are worthy of being alive. The author is likely implying that any creature eligible to be considered human so long as they exhibit empathy for other beings is a reasonable assumption. Modern psychiatry and psychology, as well as scientific viewpoints like as behaviorism, determinism, and the chemical model, are equivocal about the nature of human beings and their behavior. Alternatively, they may be used to explain its origins and underlying mechanisms, as well as to illustrate human capacity for change and diversity that are incompatible with the idea of human nature.
