In Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", the concept of empathy is explored through a unique lens. The protagonist contemplates the nature of empathy, suggesting that it should only extend to herbivores or those omnivores capable of avoiding a meat-based diet. This distinction reflects a moral stance on who deserves empathy and raises questions about the inherent nature of predator and prey dynamics.

Furthermore, the protagonist believes that unregulated empathy can obscure the lines between the hunter and the hunted, as well as between the victors and the vanquished. This idea emphasizes the complexity of moral relationships and the potential dangers of empathy when it leads to a loss of identity or purpose, underscoring a philosophical inquiry into the ethical implications of human relationships in a dystopian world.