A Post-Decartes Future

I thought one of the most interesting moments in Blade Runner was when the replicant Pris ironically states Decartes’ famous formulation, “I think therefore I am.” The irony lies in the “I am,” because “I am human” is the implied complete phrase. With the invention of artificial intelligence, however, rational thought no longer is the determining factor of an entity’s humanity. It is this philosophical problem that necessitated new postmodern metaphysical formulations, such as those of Baudrillard.

Baudrillard’s theory of the hyperreal accounts for the existence of copies, which paradoxically are not reproductions of original (real) things, but can exist in their own right—not as a copy of the real but as a part of the hyperreal. These are called simulacra. Baudrillard once claimed that New York will soon cease to be a city (real), but will in fact be a New York-themed amusement park (hyperreal).

The replicants are a good example of simulacra—they seem to be copies of humans but have surpassed being mere reproductions and have become “more human than human.”

As for the unicorn, it appears in Deckard’s dream and then at the end when Edward James Olmos’ character gives him the origami figure. The small figures that Olmos’ character gives him throughout the film seem to indicate that he knows more about Deckard than Deckard knows about himself…the unicorn at the end indicates that he knew Deckard had a dream about a unicorn. Perhaps, then, it is an implanted memory, and Deckard is a replicant. However, a more interesting clue, I think, is the stick figure man (with a penis? Is that just my imagination?) Olmos’ character gives him. The figure of the man is a copy, a replica, perhaps indicating that Deckard is in fact a simulacrum.

And for anyone else who is as much of a Sci Fi nerd as I am, I highly recommend...