Philip K Dick ...

[Dom P]

The following may not make sense to some of you ... but I like it and it fits with my own personal mythologies: From PKD's book called Shifting Realities, which he wrote after having a protracted breakdown/catharthis/gnostic illumination in 1974....(for "Urgrund" read godhead, for "artifact" read reality illusion, or Veil or some such thing)

"The ultimate lesson learned comes when the teaching machine (or the teacher) is denied, is repudiated. Until that moment comes (if for some of us it ever does) we remain enslaved by the teaching machine -- without even being aware of it, having known no other condition.
Therefore the series of lessons by the artifact are intended to lead to a revolt against the tyranny of the artifact itself, a paradox. It is serving the Urgrund by ultimately bringing us to the Urgrund. This is what is called in theological terminology "the secret partnership," which is found in the religions of Egypt and India. Gods who appear to combat each other are, on the transmundane plane, colluding for the same goal. I believe this to be the case here. The artifact enslaves us, but on the other hand it is attempting to teach us to throw off its enslavement. It will never tell us to disobey it. You cannot order someone to disobey you; that is both semantically and functionally impossible.

"1. We must recognize the existence of the artifact.
2. We must recognize the spuriousness of the empirical world, generated by the artifact.
3. We must grasp the fact that the artifact has by its world-projecting power enslaved us.
4. We must recognize the fact that the artifact, although enslaving us in a counterfeit world, is teaching us.
5. We must finally come to the point where we disobey our teacher -- perhaps the most difficult moment in life, inasmuch as that teacher says, "I will destroy you if you disobey me, and I would be morally right to do so, since I am your Creator."

"In essence, we not only disobey our teacher, we in fact deny its reality (in relation to a higher reality that does not disclose itself until that denial takes place).
This is a complex game for ultimate stakes: freedom and a return to our source of being. And each of us must do this alone."

[C r a s s !]

Christ! Do you need to do another PDF for some cartharsis! Or Janov's subprimal therapy!

Too complex for me...

[Organ Grinder]

"If we read the new masterpiece of a man of genius, we are delighted to find in it those reflections of ours that we despised, joys and sorrows which we had repressed, a whole world of feeling we had scorned, and whose value the book in which we discover them suddenly reaches us."

Proust.

[theraven1979]

You said Dick!! haha!!!!

Jim

[Bag Lady]

You said Dick!! haha!!!!

Jim

Stay behind for dictation, young man

[Bag Lady]

I like the quote, Dom. It takes a few reads to get the reality of it! But's worth the effort.

I felt I needed some words to go with Philip K Ridiculous so I read a couple of Philip K Dick's books recently. I read 'Flow my tears, The Policeman said' and 'A scanner darkly' as these were available in the library. Both are more related to drugs rather than being strictly sci fi. There's plenty of good writing in both plus good stories. I was concerned that neither was going to provide satisfactory endings as they gradually become more complex. Neither cops out though and both come to logical, reasonable conclusions.

I'll definitely read more of his work. Has anyone got any particular recommendations?


"Death exists, not as the opposite but as part of life" Murakami

[Dom P]

Yeah... it's difficult to get in isolation from what he said before, but if you're on quest for 'truth' or 'enlightment' it's quite interesting. I haven't read any of his stuff yet, this came from a larger extract I found on the net, which came from his later autobiographical writings... I want to read more of all his stuff...

[richinblack]

I'll definitely read more of his work. Has anyone got any particular recommendations?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is probably his best known work or you could try a compilation of short stories called Minority Report, which has the very different shorts that became Minority Report, Total Recall and Impostor (a little known film starring Gary Sinise). Some of Dick's stuff is trippy but his 'are you who you think you are' stuff is brilliant.

[pigeon]

Is it as good as weres wolly?. Ifs its not i ain't intreasted

[Bag Lady]

Pigeon, you should try something with words in soon. I'd recommend someone reads you the Dirty Bertie series:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h ... rty+bertie

I'm afraid they might not be dirty enough for you but they do deal with all the important issues like pants and bogeys.

They are excellent for 5-7 year old boys