Dick's book more intriguing then movie which is really good

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2005)

I am a long time fan of Blade Runner. As a result of my fascination with the movie, and in order to find out if Rick Deckard was really an android, I decided to go to the source material - Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
The book was more complex then the movie. While the movie addresses several of the themes of the book, it does not, in my opinion address the distinguishing feature between humans and androids: empathy (which in the movie and book can be tested by the Voigt/Kampff scale used by bounty hunters).
In the novel, Dick creates a religion called Mercerism which is based on humans collectively sharing their empathy. Only by understanding the concept of Mercerism can the reader begin to understand the real differences between humans and androids. Mercerism provides an analytical framework which the reader can use to classify similarities and differences. However, once the reader thinks she understands the similarities and differences, they are turned up-side down and rearranged. The focus remains constant throughout: what does it mean to be human?
I wish that Scott had incorporated the concept of Mercerism into the movie because it would have given the movie direction on the issue of what it means to be human.