Exhibit 7.

1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ

The Penfield Mood Organ from, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick,
in Modern Society
By: Rob Converse

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
The book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick, begins by
mentioning the use of an advanced technological innovation referred to as the Penfield mood
organ. This technology allows people to control their emotional states at the turn of a dial, with
the range of numbers on the dial indicating a wide variety of emotional states and feelings of
emotion. Not only can people choose the state or feeling of emotion that they want, but they can
set this emotion to last over a certain period of time, or even schedule their emotions throughout
the day. The book mentions the ability to purchase the Penfield mood organ, allowing for the
ability for anyone who can afford it to acquire one. This would allow professional people in
society to gain extreme benefits regarding productivity because of the ability to set your mood to
a businesslike or creative attitude that can be set to be sustained all day, even if you dont want to
engage in work-related activities. Although this technology can be used beneficially, if it existed
in our society, it would create many ethical implications and risks, which would have a major
impact on the individuals using them and the surrounding individuals in their lives, as well as
threaten the existence of the device. Also, people could use the device in order to do harm or
perform criminal activities. In a time where Mercerism, or the idea of a shared consciousness and
empathy for all humans and animals, was the trending mode of thought, the Penfield mood organ
could work in society without criminal usage, however, in modern society, this device could, and
most likely would, be used in ways that can cause harm and be detrimental towards our society.
If the Penfield mood organ was invented and adopted into modern society, there are
certainly ways in which it could benefit the people using the device, as well as society as a
whole. In the book, Rick Deckard is a prime example of how the mood organ could be used to
benefit society on an individual level, as well as on a broader level too. The book constantly
mentions Ricks use of the mood organ in positive ways that encourage his ability and desire to

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
go to work and perform well, in contrast to his wifes use of the mood organ, which is often
depicted as being used for self-induced depression and despair. On his own console he dialed
for a creative and fresh attitude toward his job, although this he hardly needed; such was his
habitual, innate approach without recourse to Penfield artificial brain stimulation (Dick, P. K.,
7). Along with using the mood organ for a creative and fresh attitude, Rick also uses the mood
organ to set an alarm and incite a positive emotional state to start his day. A merry little surge of
electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick
Deckard (Dick, P. K., 3). Additionally, he tells his wife who did not want to wake up, If you set
the surge up high enough, youll be glad youre awake; thats the whole point. At setting C it
overcomes the threshold barring consciousness, as it does for me (Dick, P. K., 3). People like
Rick Deckard, whose habitual and innate approach to life is to work hard, be a good person and
contribute to society in a positive manner, would be able to use the mood organ for the benefit of
themselves and society as a whole. Since their intentionality upon life is to live in a way that is
considered, good, the mood organ would assist their capabilities in doing so, providing them
with the ability to use attitudes and emotions to achieve their goals. They can set the mood organ
to emotional states of higher functionality and at times when they might not be in the mood to
work, they can use it to bypass this mood. Additionally, in cases where the individual might not
want to perform a certain task because of the ethical implications or how they would feel about
performing the task, the mood organ can be set to make them do it anyways. In a job such as
bounty hunting or in modern society, one such as slaughtering animals, the mood organ can be
used to enable the individual to commit the act of killing the android or slaughtering the animal,
if they are unable to do so for ethical reasons. In the society portrayed in the book, fused with the
idea of Mercerism, along with those in modern day society that would use the Penfield mood

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
organ for positive reasons, the device could provide many benefits to individuals and society as a
whole.
For the business professional and everyday individual that would use the Penfield mood
organ for positive reasons, there would however, be many ethical implications that would arise as
people utilize the device. One of these ethical implications is when to use the mood organ, as
well as what dial setting to use in a given situation. As Rick and Iran argue about using the mood
organ in positive versus negative ways, Rick is faced with whether or not to use the mood organ,
as well as what setting is necessary at this point of the argument, if he were to dial any setting at
all. At his console, he hesitated between dialing for a thalamic suppressant (which would
abolish his mood of rage) or a thalamic stimulant (which would make him irked enough to win
the argument) (Dick, P. K., 4). As each successive day passes by and people are faced with new
situations in a given day, whether or not to use the mood organ, as well as what dial setting to use
would be a constant thought process. Instead of naturally feeling emotions and living in an
emotionally reactive way to the events occurring around them on a daily basis, the use of
artificially induced emotional states would impede on this way of life. Additionally another
ethical implication that would arise as the use of the mood organ becomes more normalized and
prevalent is that it would create a dependency upon the use of the device. Even without the
Penfield mood organ at hand his spirits brightened into optimism. And into hungry, gleeful
anticipation (Dick, P. K., 96). In this quote, Rick even states his dependency upon the mood
organ, relying upon it to experience positive emotions on a regular basis. If this device was used
in modern society, people would highly depend on its use in order to experience anything
positive throughout their daily lives. The use of the mood organ would create ethical implications
for those using the device and those surrounding them in their lives.

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
Along with people whom resemble Rick, the mood organ would also create ethical
implications for others such as the example provided with Ricks wife, Iran. While some would
use the mood organ in ways that Rick mostly uses it, others would question the everyday dredge
of artificially setting their emotional states. In the book, Iran shows the ethical implications of
messing around with negative emotions on the mood organ. My schedule for today lists of sixhour self-accusatory depression...And I finally found a setting for despair. Her dark, pert face
showed satisfaction, as if she had achieved something of worth (Dick, P. K., 5). When the ability
to artificially set ones emotions comes to mind, one would not think it would be used to put
oneself in negative emotional states or experience negative feelings. However, if the device were
used on an everyday basis, one could see the detrimental effect it would have on an individuals
mental health. Rick objects to Irans self-induced depression because of the innate values he
holds, as well as the way he uses the mood organ on a daily basis. Why did you schedule that?
It defeated the whole purpose of the mood organ...My first reaction consisted of being grateful
that we could afford a Penfield mood organ. But then I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing
the absence of life, not just in this building, but everywhere, and not reactingdo you see? I guess
you dont. But that used to be considered a sign of mental illness (Dick, P. K., 5). But a mood
like that, Rick said, youre apt to stay in it, not dial your way out. Despair like that, about total
reality, is self-perpetuating (Dick, P. K., 6). For an individual such as Rick, who values hard
work and positivity, they would not be able to understand why someone would use the mood
organ in this way. For others, especially those with mental aberrations or sicknesses, the use of
the mood organ the feel depression and despair could lead down a detrimental path towards their
well-being. They might want to experiment with the different emotions to feel certain, negative
emotions, or they might simply induce negative emotional states for long, enduring periods of

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
time that might leave them trapped in that state. For those that dont have the innate desire to feel
positive emotions or work hard to pursue an individual career or benefit society on a larger scale,
this ethical implication might not be prevalent, but for others, the ability to set different feelings
of negativity can have a detrimental impact on the duration of their lives.
If modern day society resembled that which is portrayed in the book, with the idea of
Mercerism, the mood organ might actually be a great idea, providing beneficial uses for many,
however, in modern society, people do not share the same feelings of empathy towards others
and people act on behalf of themselves in order to achieve self-subservient goals. Additionally,
these actions and goals include criminal activity. The Penfield mood organ can be used by
criminals in many ways, not only to influence their own emotions, but those of their victims as
well. In the book, the Nexus-6 androids which are staying with J. R. Isodore in the empty
building use the mood organ in order to set a trap for the possible intruding bounty hunter that
might come for them. This assembly...has a Penfield unit built into it. When the alarm has been
triggered, it radiates a mood of panic to theintruder...Enormous panic; I have the gain turned all
the way up. No human being can remain in the vicinity more than a matter of seconds (Dick, P.
K., 162). While this use of the organ for criminal intent is to prevent being caught, it could also
be used by intruding criminals as well if they are able to formulate a successful infiltration plan
that focuses on the use of the mood organ to negatively influence the emotions and attitudes of
the victims. Along with criminal intent, deviant individuals who have negative ulterior motives
could use the mood organ to trick people in many ways. In times of honest or emotionally
charged discussion, it would be tough to tell in any given situation whether or not people were
faking their emotions, or if they truly felt that way about what was said. People could lie far
more easily because often times, emotions are what give away the ability to lie. They would be

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
able to fake their emotions such as loving and caring for certain people or things as well. When
having an emotional discussion with a romantic relational partner, it would be hard to tell if they
genuinely felt the way they did about what they were saying or what was being said, or if the
mood organ was set to feel that way. Therefore, these ethical implications, as well as the ability
to negatively impact society through the achievement of self-subservient goals and criminal
activity show why the Penfield mood organ would be detrimental towards modern day society.
In Science fiction, often times, authors present highly advanced technological innovations
that go beyond the capabilities of modern day society. When thinking about the possibilities of
what these innovations could entail, it is interesting to think about the impact these innovations
could have on society, as well as the ethical implications they could present. The Penfield mood
organ presents a particularly interesting scenario because of the implications the device would
have on the experience of human emotion. Not only would humans have the ability to set their
emotional state to that of their choosing, they can also do so in a way that is subservient to their
own individual goals, or those of society as a whole. Many individuals, especially those who
already have innate predispositions to hard work and feelings of positivity, would use the mood
organ positively in a way that would benefit themselves as well as others around them and
possibly, society as a whole. However, there are other individuals in society who may suffer from
a lack of emotional strength or have a form of mental illness, as well as those whom are deviant
and maintain values that are not seen as those of a good person. These individuals might use the
mood organ for other reasons, such as inducing self-perpetuating, negative feelings and states of
emotions and for the achievement of criminal activities. Due to the potential risks outweighing
the potential gains, the Penfield mood organ would be harmful and detrimental towards modern
day society.

Exhibit 7.1 Film Genre Studies in Film Noir Paper #2, The Penfield Mood Organ
Reference List
Dick, Philip K. (1968) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Del Rey Books.