Reading Philip k. Dick’s Futuristic Vision of Posthumanity in his cyberpunk novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?(1968)Through Jean Baudrillard’s Theory of Hyperreality

Abstract

This current dissertation seeks to read Philip K. Dick‟s vision of posthumanity through the lens of Baudrillad‟s theory of simulacra and simulation in his cyberpunk novel; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968). Through the interplay of hyperreality and posthumanity, we assume that Dick attempts to offer a different futuristic vision about life that is accentuated and dominated by a technological revolution. Dick‟s vision, also, perceives of science fiction as a privileged site for understanding his critical insights into the future of humanity which unfolds a hyperreal posthuman condition in which humans are replaced by cyborgs and find themselves lost in a world of simulations. However, what seems interesting about Dick‟s novel is its reconsideration of the future of humanity. Actually, his fictional exploration involves more than a plain depiction of the technological aspects of artificial life, but it also involves the exploration of human nature and the value of life. So, we seek to do an analytical approach that includes describing and analyzing the novel through the main critical lenses: Psthumanism and Hyperreality, in order to make Dick‟s futuristic vision more understandable.