Esta dissertação busca investigar os materiais sócio-históricos dos anos 60 norte-americanos materializados no romance de ficção científica Do androids dream of electric sheep? de Philip K. Dick por meio da análise do foco narrativo, especialmente. Embora não seja considerado um dos mais refinados romances de Dick, a obra apresenta um diagnóstico bastante apurado dos limites de experiência disponíveis da década. / This dissertation aims to investigate the socio-historical materials of the North American 60s materialized in the Philip K. Dicks science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by analyzing its point of view, mostly. Although it is not considered one of Dicks finest novels, the work presents a very refined diagnosis of the limits of the available experiences of the decade.

Esta dissertação busca investigar os materiais sócio-históricos dos anos 60 norte-americanos materializados no romance de ficção científica Do androids dream of electric sheep? de Philip K. Dick por meio da análise do foco narrativo, especialmente. Embora não seja considerado um dos mais refinados romances de Dick, a obra apresenta um diagnóstico bastante apurado dos limites de experiência disponíveis da década. / This dissertation aims to investigate the socio-historical materials of the North American 60s materialized in the Philip K. Dicks science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by analyzing its point of view, mostly. Although it is not considered one of Dicks finest novels, the work presents a very refined diagnosis of the limits of the available experiences of the decade.

The tendency within science fiction to satirise and expose dominant political and social structures works in harmony with Agamben's paradigmatic, philosophical system, which seeks to similarly expose the functioning of biopolitical structures in the West. Agamben is known for his controversial statement that the concentration camp has become the paradigm of modern western government. A key aspect or biproduct of this process is the situation of bare life - a state of being excluded from the polis that emerges as a result of the suspended nature of the paradigm of western government. This state is one of political denudation, such that governments may sanction the abuse and even killing of certain groups: a chief historical example is the murder of Jews during the Nazi holocaust. Sf novels, particularly the work of Philip K. Dick offer unique insights into the process that produces bare life, partly by exhibiting its own specific examples: positing the inhuman or post-human, androids and even women as instances of such. This thesis argues that Womankind is perhaps the central and most pervasive case of bare life, given her long-standing historical oppression. Furthermore, the representation of women in sf often exposes and in some cases critiques the patriarchal power structures that have allowed women to inhabit this political state. The philosophy of Deleuze offers the much needed potential to break away from this never-ending system of female oppression that the current paradigm of biopolitics facilitates. His and Guattari's system of becoming and immanence provides a framework for discussing the position of women as, rather than hopeless victims of a stagnant system, one of potential that they term becoming-woman; this process can be manipulated in certain emancipatory directions, freeing women from patriarchal, political practices. The sf figure of the gynoid in particular acts as a zone of indeterminate becoming whose presence in sf popular culture, literature and also in sf video games (e.g. the Mass Effect and Deus Ex series) is a conduit for exploring and imagining alternatives to current modes of being that are not necessarily gendered. I call this process becoming-gynoid, which offers new avenues for exploration in terms of gender and feminist theory both in sf fiction and sf video games.

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[pt] Esta tese investiga a configuração verbal, as estruturas narrativas e os tópicos temáticos recorrentes em alguns romances do autor norte-americano Philip K. Dick - The Man in the High Castle, Time Out of Joint e Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?- à luz de teorias literárias contemporâneas. É dada ênfase especial à problematização da subjetividade na elaboração do texto histórico a partir de uma abordagem construtivista dos processos de percepção da realidade. A escolha da obra de Dick se justifica pela crescente importância do escritor para os estudos não só da ficção científica, mas também para a investigação de técnicas narrativas específicas presentes tanto no discurso historiográfico quanto no discurso literário pós-moderno. Nessa perspectiva, a obra de Philip K. Dick ilustra múltiplos aspectos da sociedade contemporânea, dando-se destaque, entre outros, à objetificação da experiência humana e à musealização do presente. / [en] This thesis investigates the verbal configuration, the narrative structures and recurrent themes in some novels written by American author Philip K. Dick - The Man in the High Castle, Time Out of Joint and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - in the light of contemporary narrative theory. Emphasis is given to the analysis of the subjectivity present in the historical text and to the constructivist approach concerning the perception of reality. Dick`s work was chosen due to the growing importance of this author not only for the study of science fiction, but also for the investigation of narrative techniques present in the historiographic discourse and in the postmodern literary discourse. In this perspective, Philip Dick`s work illustrates different aspects of contemporary society, such as the objectification of human experience and the musealization of the present.

Esse estudo pretende analisar como o corpo está presente no texto literário tanto no que tange à sua expressão, assim como ao seu conteúdo. A partir da semiótica do discurso, que elabora a ideia de enunciação viva (nos moldes propostos por Jacques Fontanille), e da semiótica do vestígio, que explora a ideia de um enunciador corporificado (proposta pelo mesmo autor), cujo corpo deixa vestígios no texto, desejase entender as manifestações expressivas e figurativas do corpo no romance distópico de ficção científica Androides sonham com ovelhas elétricas? de Philip K. Dick. Acreditase que dentro do período histórico em que foi escrito, denominado de pós-moderno e pós-humano por alguns teóricos, e motivado por um rearranjo semiótico propiciado a partir da Segunda Guerra Mundial, que gerou um novo contexto para a produção de sentido, o sujeito e seu corpo sofreram transformações que se encontram como vestígios textuais e discursivos na obra analisada, através de esquemas corporais que orientam o seu andamento e figuração. O estudo tenta resgatar esse novo sujeito e corpo a partir da enunciação literária, e, levando em conta as estruturas axiológicas abstratas fundamentais do percurso do sentido, vida / morte e natureza / cultura, ambas ligadas ao corpo, explorar a discussão ética que a narrativa suscita. / This study aims to analyze the ways the body is present in the literary text, both with respect to its expression as well as its content. From the semiotics of discourse, which develops the idea of living discourse (as proposed by Jacques Fontanille), and the semiotics of trace, which explores the idea of an embodied enunciator (proposed by the same author), whose body leaves traces in the text, the study observes the expressive and figurative manifestations of the body in the dystopian science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It is believed that within the historical period in which the novel was written, considered postmodern and posthuman by some theorists, and motivated by a semiotic rearrangement brought about since World War II, which has generated a new context for the production of meaning, the subject and his body have suffered transformations which can be seen as textual and discoursive traces left in the analyzed work, through body schemas that guide its progress and figuration. The study rescues this new subject and body from the literary text, and, taking into account the fundamental axiological abstract structures of the semiotic square life / death and nature / culture, both connected to the body, explores the ethical argument the narrative raises.

Esse estudo pretende analisar como o corpo está presente no texto literário tanto no que tange à sua expressão, assim como ao seu conteúdo. A partir da semiótica do discurso, que elabora a ideia de enunciação viva (nos moldes propostos por Jacques Fontanille), e da semiótica do vestígio, que explora a ideia de um enunciador corporificado (proposta pelo mesmo autor), cujo corpo deixa vestígios no texto, desejase entender as manifestações expressivas e figurativas do corpo no romance distópico de ficção científica Androides sonham com ovelhas elétricas? de Philip K. Dick. Acreditase que dentro do período histórico em que foi escrito, denominado de pós-moderno e pós-humano por alguns teóricos, e motivado por um rearranjo semiótico propiciado a partir da Segunda Guerra Mundial, que gerou um novo contexto para a produção de sentido, o sujeito e seu corpo sofreram transformações que se encontram como vestígios textuais e discursivos na obra analisada, através de esquemas corporais que orientam o seu andamento e figuração. O estudo tenta resgatar esse novo sujeito e corpo a partir da enunciação literária, e, levando em conta as estruturas axiológicas abstratas fundamentais do percurso do sentido, vida / morte e natureza / cultura, ambas ligadas ao corpo, explorar a discussão ética que a narrativa suscita. / This study aims to analyze the ways the body is present in the literary text, both with respect to its expression as well as its content. From the semiotics of discourse, which develops the idea of living discourse (as proposed by Jacques Fontanille), and the semiotics of trace, which explores the idea of an embodied enunciator (proposed by the same author), whose body leaves traces in the text, the study observes the expressive and figurative manifestations of the body in the dystopian science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It is believed that within the historical period in which the novel was written, considered postmodern and posthuman by some theorists, and motivated by a semiotic rearrangement brought about since World War II, which has generated a new context for the production of meaning, the subject and his body have suffered transformations which can be seen as textual and discoursive traces left in the analyzed work, through body schemas that guide its progress and figuration. The study rescues this new subject and body from the literary text, and, taking into account the fundamental axiological abstract structures of the semiotic square life / death and nature / culture, both connected to the body, explores the ethical argument the narrative raises.

The works of Philip K. Dick act as an ideal template for readers to explore what it means to be human in a technologically dominated world. Dick’s emphasis on the usage of androids and artificial intelligence as literary monsters allows for a posthuman reading of the traditional literary monster, notably in how their uncanny nature and behavior helps reveal the synthetic tendencies of humanity. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, “Imposter,” and “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon,” each narrative incorporates artificial intelligence and androids acting as others to reveal the machine-like qualities of Dick’s human characters. This approach ultimately reveals Dick’s greater commentary on the nature of humanity’s tendencies to fall into machine-like patterns and expectations within the historical world. By asking questions of what it means to be human through posthuman monsters, Dick challenges the traditional definition of what it means to be both human and alive.

This paper analyzes the blurred boundaries between human and artificial intelligence in Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. A postmodern theoretical and critical approach that employs Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra and hyperreality and Jaques Derrida’s deconstructive theory provides the conceptual framework for the analysis. The primary focus is on the main character, Rick Deckard, as he grapples with identity, ethics, and the very nature of humanity in a world where androids are indistinguishable from humans. The essay identifies two focus points in the novel. The first analyzes and deconstructs the real versus artificial (human/android) dichotomy in the book and shows how isreconstructs the essence of identity and reality. The second focus point is the novel’s portrayal of empathy, supposedly a defining human trait and yet one mimicked by androids so well that it is practically useless as a criterion for distinguishing androids from humans. The conclusion drawn by this analysis is that Rick Deckard and the characters he meets may indeed illustrate Baudrillard’s hyperreality, depicting a world where humans are willfully stunting their own emotions and autonomy, lost in the false reality that society has constructed. Furthermore, the ethical dilemmas raised by playing God with life, even if it is artificial, align with Derrida’s deconstructive views of how non-binary all life is. This is especially seen in the contrasting depictions of Rachael (android) and Resch (human). Derrida’s views on humanity’s dissimulation of the cruelty of its exploitations, justified by humanity’s own parameters for what is deemed right and wrong, is also seen in Deckard’s moral struggles and the cruelty androids must endure as described by Rachael. This is lastly compared and contrasted with the contemporary development of AI and its potential dangers, shedding light on ethical considerations. While the AI available to us today is far from the kind of artificial intelligence Dick presents in the form of androids, it is, perhaps, not too soon for us to begin considering the moral and ethical implications now so that should the day come, we will be ready and avoid the crisis humanity has fallen into in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Speculative fiction allows an expanded view of literature and so allows scholars to explore new boundaries in the way words and ideas work. In the titular character of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, the reader sees an expansion of self through liminality while A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick explores its collapse. In order to portray each of these the character examined must move though one seems to move upward and the other downward. This idea of movement is only part of what expands the idea of liminality past the traditional idea of a doorway to create a hallway that the character might traverse on the way from place to place. This is not a redefinition of the term but a revision, a change in the way that we look at the concept as we accept and explore newer genres.