What unique characteristic is it that makes all of us “human”?  This is the question that the movie Blade Runner is asking throughout its two hours of storytelling.  While you can write off certain parts of the story as mere fantasy if it suits you, it is impossible to ignore that simple yet eternally important question.  It is a question that philosophers have been trying to answer since the beginning of human consciousness.  Blade Runner raises this perplexing question in a novel way: having a group of almost identical human cyborgs that challenge a viewer’s perception of what is a human and what right do humans have to force intelligent beings to do work for the humans.  However, maybe an even more important issue Blade Runner raises is the impact that continued advancements in genetic research could have on the world we know.  These topics of what a human is and how genetic research could change humanity are the two most important issues that can be drawn from Blade Runner.

    “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”  This is the original question that Phillip K. Dick posed to readers when he released the short story upon which the movie Blade Runner is based.  Could an Android think and feel just like other living organisms?  Humanity tends to view the world around it from a self-centered point of view.  Humans see themselves at the top of the pecking order in this world, looking down on the other “lesser” inhabitants of this planet.  Almost everyone, at least in the western world, thinks that the life of a human is more important than the life of an ordinary animal.  While it is true that humans are certainly amazing creatures that are capable of all sorts of amazing things, there are already organisms that are similar to us.  There has been research done teach Gorillas how to speak using sign language while other research has shown that animals can have unique feelings too.  It seems somewhat arrogant to think that humans are superior to everything else just because of our intellectual dominance.  Most people feel that we are superior to the co-inhabitors of this planet. However, there is no “civilized” country in the world that eliminates intellectually deficient humans or uses them to ease their own lives.  This is how humanity has come to use the other inhabitants of this world.
    Cows, chickens, and other animals are slaughtered to provide food for the masses of humanity while other animals are used for their strength to do manual labor.  Most people would think that having I Q tests where those who failed would be slaughtered or enslaved would be totally abhorrent, but in a way that is exactly what humanity is doing; preying on the weak, the dumb, and the defenseless of the animal kingdom to provide for our own needs.  This somewhat warped logic is taken to the next level in Blade Runner as humans are imposing their superiority over the replicants based solely on the fact that humans created the replicants.  The replicants can think for themselves, are physically able, and can express feelings and emotions.  There is no real difference between a human and a replicant other than the fact that humans created replicants.  It is this double standard that is perplexing.  Most humans follow the law of nature, survival of the fittest, and use it to justify their actions.  However, most humans also would never think of applying it to themselves.  It seems amazing that humans can rationalize the slaughter of millions of “lesser beings” while finding the death of one human totally unacceptable.  In doing this we are coming more and more in line with ideals that most people find totally abhorrent.  This is somewhat similar to what the Nazis attempted to do during the Second World War.  In the form of concentration camps, the Nazis were eliminating millions of people that they thought were inferior to the rest of humanity.  The problem with this is who make the decision of who is superior and who is inferior. Humans have taken it upon themselves to be the judge and jury for the entire world; sentencing those that do not qualify as good enough to be forever damned as inferior.  How do we determine what the qualities that are needed to be an equal to a human are?  As Priss quoted Rene Descartes in the movie, “I think therefore I am.”  What right do we all, as humans have to refute this logic?  How can we stand in judgment over something that is so similar to ourselves?

    This use of science to improve our own lives poses several potential problems.  As technology becomes more and more advanced, society will be faced with a multitude of new questions that will tear at the moral fabric of our world.  Genetic testing will allow people to know what their child will be like before they are born.  This alone will cause grave enough problems with mass abortions of “unfit” babies all across the world.  This already happens in places like China where the number of births is limited; farmers will kill their daughters so that they can try again to have a son.  The thought of predicting genetic defects and other problems will pose significant problems to us in the long run.  How can anyone tell what a person will become?  What if Stephen Hawking’s parents had known the severe problems he would have and had opted to abort him.  The entire world would have lost something very special.  Another even scarier possibility is genetic manipulation.  This idea comes with good intentions.  Right now there are large amounts of genetic research being done to correct genetic diseases that have no other possible cure.  However, once that is possible, I’m sure someone will figure out how to manipulate the genes of humans to provide designer babies.  In the past, fads with kids have always involved everyone going nuts over certain names.  I can imagine a fad of blonde haired, blue-eyed kids filling classrooms across the country. Or even worse, the next Hitler getting a hold of the technology and creating a genetically engineered army with which to conquer the world.  These are some of the horrible things that could come form this kind of unchecked advancement of genetic research.

    While I may seem a bit harsh on our society, it not because I’ve reached some sort of epiphany and decided to become a pacifist vegetarian; I merely want to point out the how hypocritical our generalized opinions can be.  It is always important to try and view life from different viewpoints in order to obtain as much understanding of life as possible.  If life is only viewed from your own personal perspective, then it is impossible to reach a full understanding of a concept.  That is why when I watch Blade Runner, I always come back to Dick’s original question: “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”  I think he is asking just what is it that makes us all human and what separates us from the rest of the billions of other forms of life on Earth.  Maybe that is the question we must all find an answer to better understand ourselves so that we might be able to better understand each other and the world around us.  So from now on, before you make a sudden rash judgement, take the time to look at it from another point of view.