How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
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). (1.10)
Ten paragraphs in, and the novel is already letting us know that humans are not separate but a part of the natural world. A couple chemicals here, a dash of stimulant here, and presto: Rick's entire mental state changes.
Quote #2
The alleged sheep contained an oat-tropic circuit; at the sight of such cereals it would scramble up convincingly and amble over. (1.34)
So the electric sheep is not a real sheep on account that it was born on a factory assembly line. But … isn't an oat-tropic circuit kind of the same thing as a hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls hunger? Both send signals to the body at the sight of food that say, "Baa-ba-baa" (Sheepy translation: Eat up).
Quote #3
Perhaps, deformed as it was, Earth remained familiar, to be clung to. Or possibly the non-emigrant imagined that the tent of dust would deplete itself finally. In any case thousands of individuals remained, most of them constellated in urban areas where they could physically see one another, take heart at their mutual presence. (2.5)
Mankind is a social animal because the conditions on Earth made it advantageous for us. Consider: Without eyes in the back of our heads, it's nice to have someone with us to say, "Dude, is that a lion following us?" With that kind of legacy, it's only natural that future us would want to stick together even in a future of space colonies and nuclear dust storms.