Emotional Intelligence

Philip K. Dick's science fiction novel focuses on both technological progress and the human condition.

It’s always fun to imagine what the world will be like in ten, twenty, fifty years.  Will there be flying cars and talking robots?  Will there be a cure for cancer?  Will energy be free for all?  The possibilities are endless, and Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? presents an ominous, yet interesting take on the future.

Rick manipulates his emotions to start his day at work.

What surprises me the most about Philip K. Dick’s future is that many of the characters express a keen sense of their emotions.  The first chapter of the novel begins with Rick Deckard and his wife, Iran, arguing about the settings of their Penfield mood enhancing machines.  In the heat of the argument, Rick considers “between dialing for a thalamic suppressant (which would abolish his mood of rage) or a thalamic stimulant (which would make him irked enough to win the argument) (Dick 4).  Use of the Penfield, in this way, shows that the characters value emotions in their day-to-day lives.  Knowing the effect of emotions, Rick and his wife manipulate and “channel [their emotions] […] in useful ways” (Course Anthology 336).  Ultimately, Rick dials “for a creative and fresh attitude toward his job” (Dick 7).  He opts for “a businesslike professional attitude” (Dick 4) to start his day at work, recognizing “how [his] […] feelings affect […] [his] […] job performance” (Course Anthology 335).

Androids do not value animals as humans do. Rachael's reference to the owl as "it" rather than "she" reveals her true identity as an android..

While the characters of the novel understand personal emotions, they also understand the emotions of others.  When Rick Deckard tests Rachael Rosen, he carefully tunes in to her emotions, notices “her skeletal tension,” (Dick 58) and “listen[s] attentively” (Course Anthology 336).  Listening to her, Rick thinks, “She keeps calling the owl it.  Not her” (Dick 58).  This subtle fact reveals that Rachael is in fact an android, unaware of the increased importance of animals on Earth.  By listening carefully to Rachael and tuning in to her emotions, Rick finds truth and discovers that the Voigt-Kampff test is still effective in identifying artificial humans.

There are multiple intelligences. John proves that emotional intelligence is just as important as cognitive intelligence.

The differences between emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence are also interesting in the novel.  Few people recognize emotional awareness as a form of intelligence.  However, John Isidore provides a perfect example of when the Emotional Quotient can be just as important as the Intelligence Quotient. John “had failed to pass the minimum mental faculties test, which made him in popular parlance a chickenhead” (Dick 19).  Nevertheless, when he meets Rachael in his abandoned apartment, he seems to be intelligent and highly perceptive.  Meeting Rachael, he notices, “that her initial fear had diminished [and] […] something else had begun to emerge from her.  Something more strange.  And, he thought, deplorable.  A coldness…it was not what she did or said but what she did not do and say” (Dick 67).  John senses “the felt, but unspoken, emotions” of Rachael (Course Anthology 336) and catches on that something is not quite right.  All in all, despite his failed I.Q. test, John is intelligent in sensing and determining the emotions of not only himself but of others as well.

The experiments of 1964 prove that monkeys can experience emotions.

Although Philip K. Dick reveals the importance of emotions throughout the first few chapters, he fails to recognize that emotions can be significant not only in human lives, but also in animal lives.  One sentence in particular struck out to me: “Empathy, evidently, existed only within the human community, whereas intelligence to some degree could be found throughout every phylum and order including the arachnida” (Dick 30).  I’d have to disagree with this.  After visiting SACA the other day and speaking with a representative of PETA2, I realize now that animals are just as capable of feeling as we are.  In an experiment of 1964, macaque monkeys demonstrated empathy.  They were fed only if they agreed to pull a chain that would send a painful electric shock to another monkey.  Seeing the consequences of their actions through a one-way mirror, the monkeys chose to go hungry rather than hurt their fellow monkeys.  Thus, I believe that empathy can exist far beyond the human community.

This video captures macaque monkey mother-child interaction.  Just as the 1964 experiments show, animals are similar to us in many ways.

Regardless, Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? underscores the importance of emotional intelligence in many ways and has changed my views of what it means to be intelligent.  In his future, awareness of emotions and others’ emotions is a top priority.  Moreover, emotional intelligence is just as important as cognitive intelligence.  Maybe there won’t be flying cars and talking robots in the next ten, twenty, fifty years.  But, it’s nice to think that in the near futur, we will have gained more knowledge of our intelligences—whether it be physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional.  Reading these first few chapters, I know that I have gained some knowledge and, more importantly, a greater awareness of my emotions.

Pictures:

http://findmearobot.com/Pages/Required%20robots/Required%20Robots.html

http://www.images.com/image/107265/male-mature-adult-businessman-with-briefcase-running-while-looking-at-wristwatch/?&results_per_page=1&detail=TRUE&page=24

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/caribbean/wildlife-facts/2003/wildlife-facts-february-2003.shtml

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505075642.htm

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Saints/ARHallOfFame/BarryHorne/BarryArkangel-Vivisection.htm