Journal Article Analysis

Journal Article Analysis

Melissa Tucker

Popular Culture

Professor Whitney Iles

July 31, 2014

Introduction

            The journal article Faith and Bad Faith in Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? By Donald Palumbo is an article that describes the subjects that are raised in the book that inspired the movie Blade Runner. It talks in length about the questions raised by its main characters and also the many themes that are present in the film and the book. This is what will be discussed in this paper.

Article Analysis

            In the article, Mr. Palumbo describes how both in the book and the movie that the main character Deckard, a bounty hunter/detective, struggles with subjects such as empathy, going against social norms, detachment, social anxieties, stereotypes and various other human emotions throughout the story. The story is set in the future, where artificial intelligence has been made reality and the A.I. robots that have been created start to rebel against their makers. A few of the A.I. escape their prison and are treated as fugitives. Deckard is part of an elite team of bounty hunters dubbed “Blade Runners” and is tasked with finding the rouge A.I.’s. During his investigations, he has an empathy test that he has to give to potential rouge A.I., to determine if they are “human” or not. Based on their reaction times and the answers that they give, they will be deemed either human or non-human. If they are non-human, they will be further interrogated. Along the way, Deckard starts questioning himself and what it is that he is doing to the A.I.’s. Mr. Palumbo often compares what Deckard is going through and also the world that Deckard lives in as living in “bad faith”.  According to Palumbo (2013), “Deckard and his entire society do live in bad faith. Affecting artificial dispositions generated by the “Penfield mood organ” to avoid feeling “hopeless about everything… despair… about total reality,” people go through the motions of a normal life even though the world has already been destroyed, and they know it”. (p.6-7)

            He discusses how in the novel, the government often tells “humans” that they need to leave the “contaminated” Earth for the off world colonies, thus separating the humans from the “non-humans” even further. He explains that this is reflection of how bad faith can be placed in those in power simply because it is easier: “Of course, as Mercerism, its empathy-based and implicitly government-sponsored religion, is integral to and inseparable from this society’s bad-faith effort to define “human” as “possessing empathy,” it, too, is a locus of bad faith.” (p.9)

            He concludes by showing that the irony of the whole thing is that the android do show as much if not more human emotions then the humans do, thus proving his point that by putting “bad faith” in those in power often can lead to our downfall. The android are almost dangerously close to humans in their interactions:  “…while they lack empathy, the long list of human qualities the androids do exhibit—anger, self-pity, loneliness, sadness, bliss or joy, jealousy, vengefulness, fear, curiosity, anxiety, lust, impatience, intuition, hope, anguish, and even love—also includes faith and bad faith” (p.12)

                                      Agree or Disagree with the Author’s main points?

            All in all I would have to agree with Palumbo’s theories. During Deckard’s journal to self discovery, he often wonders if he himself is an android. That is the biggest question that you ask yourself when watching the film. However, in the book it is much more defined. He often sees that there is a proverbial “wool being pulled over everyone’s eyes” by the government and those in power (corporations). The novel was written during a time of turmoil in our world, when capitalism and socialism was at odds with each other and the world, and by putting “bad faith” in those in charge we often paid the ultimate price for that faith. It also shows how we really need to start thinking for ourselves. We can and should ask questions and while faith can be a good thing, sometimes, putting too much faith in something or someone can defeat the purpose of our basic “human” instinct which is survival.

Importance of the article

            I believe that this article is important, especially in today’s society. As a daughter of an evangelical pastor, I was always taught that faith is the most important thing in life. That putting faith in something can help you not only get through the tough times but also, that it can help guide you as a moral compass might. However in today’s society, where we put so much faith in others, be it our government, our big corporations, or in our religious leaders, we need to also be very much aware of the truth of things as well. Palumbo describes this well in his article as he explains that we must make sure that we should not succumb to “bad faith” or “blind faith” as then it turns something that is good into something that is just a crutch to get us through and help us survive. There are many examples from nations all over the world that put bad faith into those who wield the power and those people have suffered for it. The most important lesson I have learned from reading this article is to make sure that you stay informed. Staying informed is the best weapon against bad faith, because it allows us to make informed decisions and not have bad faith. I would like to think that not all faith is bad faith but sometimes there is a very thin line between the two.

References

Palumbo, D. (2013). Faith and bad faith in "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" The Journal  of Popular Culture, 46(6), 1-13. Retrieved from Electronic Journal Center, July, 2014.