Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? (Popular Culture and Philosophy (63))

Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) is the giant imagination behind so much recent popular culture--both movies directly based on his writings, such as __Blade Runner__ (based on the novel __Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?__), __Total Recall__, __Minority Report__, and __The Adjustment Bureau__ plus cult favorites such as __A Scanner Darkly__, __Imposter__, __Next__, __Screamers__, and __Paycheck__ and works revealing his powerful influence, such as __The Matrix__ and __Inception__. With the much anticipated forthcoming publication in 2011 of volume 1 of __Exegesis__, his journal of spiritual visions and paranoic investigations, Dick is fast becoming a major influence in the world of popular spirituality and occult thinking.In __Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids have Kindred Spirits?__, thirty-four Dick fans and professional thinkers confront the fascinating and frightening ideas raised by Dick's mind-blowing fantasies. Is there an alien world behind the everyday reality we experience? If androids can pass as human, should they be given the same consideration as humans? Do psychotics have insights into a mystical reality? Would knowledge of the future free us or enslave us? This volume also includes two Dick short stories: "Beyond Lies the Wub," and "The Eyes Have It."__Philip K. Dick and Philosophy__ explores the ideas of Philip K. Dick in the same way that he did: with an earnest desire to understand the truth of the world, but without falsely equating earnestness with a dry seriousness. Dick's work was replete with whimsical and absurdist presentations of the greatest challenges to reason and to humanity--paradox, futility, paranoia, and failure--and even at his darkest times he was able to keep some perspective and humor, as for example in choosing to name himself 'Horselover Fat' in VALIS at the same time as he relates his personal religious epiphanies, crises, and delusions. With the same earnest whimsy, we approach Philip K. Dick as a philosopher like ourselves--one who wrote almost entirely in thought-experiments and semi-fictional world-building, but who engaged with many of the greatest questions of philosophy throughout the Euro-American tradition.__Philip K. Dick and Philosophy__ has much to offer for both serious fans who have read many of his novels and stories, and for those who may have just recently learned his name and realized that his work has been the inspiration for several well-known and thought-provoking films. Most chapters start with one or more of the movies based on Dick's writing. From here, the authors delve deeper into the issues by bringing in philosophers' perspectives and by bringing in Dick's written work. The book invites the reader with a casual familiarity with Dick to get to know his work, and invites the reader with little familiarity with philosophy to learn more. At the same time, we have new perspectives and challenging connections and interpretations for even the most hard-core Dick fans, even though we never speak to "insiders" only.The book prominently addresses the most widely-known films: __Blade Runner__, __Total Recall__, __Minority Report__, __A Scanner Darkly__, and __The Adjustment Bureau__. Along with these "big five" films, a few chapters address his last novels, especially VALIS, which have a significant cult following of their own. There are also chapters which address short stories and novels which are currently planned for adaptation: __Radio Free Albemuth__ (film completed, awaiting distribution), __The Man in the High Castle__ (in development by Ridley Scott for BBC mini-series), and "King of the Elves" (Disney, planned for release in 2013). Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) is the giant imagination behind so much recent popular culture—both movies directly based on his writings, such as Blade Runner (based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ), Total Recall , Minority Report , and The Adjustment Bureau plus cult favorites such as A Scanner Darkly , Imposter , Next , Screamers , and Paycheck and works revealing his powerful influence, such as The Matrix and Inception . With the publication in 2011 of volume 1 of Exegesis , his journal of spiritual visions and paranoic investigations, Dick is fast becoming a major influence in the world of popular spirituality and occult thinking. In Philip K. Dick and Philosophy thirty Dick fans and professional thinkers confront the fascinating and frightening ideas raised by Dick’s mind-blowing fantasies. Is there an alien world behind the everyday reality we experience? If androids can pass as human, should they be given the same consideration as humans? Do psychotics have insights into a mystical reality? Would knowledge of the future free us or enslave us? This volume will also include Dick's short story "Adjustment Team," on which The Adjustment Bureau is based. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy explores the ideas of Philip K. Dick in the same way that he did: with an earnest desire to understand the truth of the world, but without falsely equating earnestness with a dry seriousness. Dick’s work was replete with whimsical and absurdist presentations of the greatest challenges to reason and to humanity—paradox, futility, paranoia, and failure—and even at his darkest times he was able to keep some perspective and humor, as for example in choosing to name himself ‘Horselover Fat’ in VALIS at the same time as he relates his personal religious epiphanies, crises, and delusions. With the same earnest whimsy, we approach Philip K. Dick as a philosopher like ourselves—one who wrote almost entirely in thought-experiments and semi-fictional world-building, but who engaged with many of the greatest questions of philosophy throughout the Euro-American tradition. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy has much to offer for both serious fans and those who have recently learned his name, and realized that his work has been the inspiration for several well-known and thought-provoking films. Most chapters start with one or more of the movies based on Dick’s writing. From here, the authors delve deeper into the issues by bringing in philosophers' perspectives and by bringing in Dick’s written work. The book invites the reader with a casual familiarity with Dick to get to know his work, and invites the reader with little familiarity with philosophy to learn more. New perspectives and challenging connections and interpretations for even the most hard-core Dick fans are also offered. To maximize public interest, the book prominently addresses the most widely-known films, as well as those with the most significant fan followings: Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , A Scanner Darkly , and The Adjustment Bureau . Along with these “big five” films, a few chapters address his last novels, especially VALIS, which have a significant cult following of their own. There are also chapters which address short stories and novels which are currently planned for adaptation: Radio Free Albemuth (film completed, awaiting distribution), The Man in the High Castle (in development by Ridley Scott for BBC mini-series), and “King of the Elves” (Disney, planned for release in 2012). About the Author D. E. Wittkower is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Old Dominion University, where he teaches philosophy of technology and computer ethics. He also edited Facebook and Philosophy , Mr. Monk and Philosophy , and iPod and Philosophy . Social Science,Science Fiction & Fantasy,Popular Culture,Philosophy,Fiction,Science Fiction,Literary Criticism,Essays,General,Short Stories Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (19281982) is the giant imagination behind so much recent popular cultureboth movies directly based on his writings, such as Blade Runner (based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ), Total Recall , Minority Report , and The Adjustment Bureau plus cult favorites such as A Scanner Darkly , Imposter , Next , Screamers , and Paycheck and works revealing his powerful influence, such as The Matrix and Inception . With the much anticipated forthcoming publication in 2011 of volume 1 of Exegesis , his journal of spiritual visions and paranoic investigations, Dick is fast becoming a major influence in the world of popular spirituality and occult thinking. In Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Who Adjusts the Adjustment Bureau? , twenty Dick fans and professional thinkers confront the fascinating and frightening ideas raised by Dicks mind-blowing fantasies. Is there an alien world behind the everyday reality we experience? If androids can pass as human, should they be given the same consideration as humans? Do psychotics have insights into a mystical reality? Would knowledge of the future free us or enslave us? This volume will also include Dick's short story "Adjustment Team," on which The Adjustment Bureau is based. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy explores the ideas of Philip K. Dick in the same way that he did: with an earnest desire to understand the truth of the world, but without falsely equating earnestness with a dry seriousness. Dicks work was replete with whimsical and absurdist presentations of the greatest challenges to reason and to humanityparadox, futility, paranoia, and failureand even at his darkest times he was able to keep some perspective and humor, as for example in choosing to name himself Horselover Fat in VALIS at the same time as he relates his personal religious epiphanies, crises, and delusions. With the same earnest whimsy, we approach Philip K. Dick as a philosopher like ourselvesone who wrote almost entirely in thought-experiments and semi-fictional world-building, but who engaged with many of the greatest questions of philosophy throughout the Euro-American tradition. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy has much to offer for both serious fans who have read many of his novels and stories, and for those who may have just recently learned his name, and realized that his work has been the inspiration for several well-known and thought-provoking films. Most chapters start with one or more of the movies based on Dicks writing. From here, the authors delve deeper into the issues by bringing in philosophers' perspectives and by bringing in Dicks written work. The book invites the reader with a casual familiarity with Dick to get to know his work, and invites the reader with little familiarity with philosophy to learn more. At the same time, we have new perspectives and challenging connections and interpretations for even the most hard-core Dick fans, even though we never speak to insiders only. To maximize public interest, the book prominently addresses the most widely-known films, as well as those with the most significant fan followings: Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , A Scanner Darkly , and The Adjustment Bureau . Along with these big five films, a few chapters address his last novels, especially VALIS, which have a significant cult following of their own. There are also chapters which address short stories and novels which are currently planned for adaptation: Radio Free Albemuth (film completed, awaiting distribution), The Man in the High Castle (in development by Ridley Scott for BBC mini-series), and King of the Elves (Disney, planned for release in 2012). Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) is the giant imagination behind so much recent popular culture--both movies directly based on his writings, such as Blade Runner (based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ), Total Recall , Minority Report , and The Adjustment Bureau plus cult favorites such as A Scanner Darkly , Imposter , Next , Screamers , and Paycheck and works revealing his powerful influence, such as The Matrix and Inception . With the much anticipated forthcoming publication in 2011 of volume 1 of Exegesis , his journal of spiritual visions and paranoic investigations, Dick is fast becoming a major influence in the world of popular spirituality and occult thinking. In Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids have Kindred Spirits? , thirty-four Dick fans and professional thinkers confront the fascinating and frightening ideas raised by Dick's mind-blowing fantasies. Is there an alien world behind the everyday reality we experience? If androids can pass as human, should they be given the same consideration as humans? Do psychotics have insights into a mystical reality? Would knowledge of the future free us or enslave us? This volume also includes two Dick short stories: "Beyond Lies the Wub," and "The Eyes Have It." Philip K. Dick and Philosophy explores the ideas of Philip K. Dick in the same way that he did: with an earnest desire to understand the truth of the world, but without falsely equating earnestness with a dry seriousness. Dick's work was replete with whimsical and absurdist presentations of the greatest challenges to reason and to humanity--paradox, futility, paranoia, and failure--and even at his darkest times he was able to keep some perspective and humor, as for example in choosing to name himself 'Horselover Fat' in VALIS at the same time as he relates his personal religious epiphanies, crises, and delusions. With the same earnest whimsy, we approach Philip K. Dick as a philosopher like ourselves--one who wrote almost entirely in thought-experiments and semi-fictional world-building, but who engaged with many of the greatest questions of philosophy throughout the Euro-American tradition. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy has much to offer for both serious fans who have read many of his novels and stories, and for those who may have just recently learned his name and realized that his work has been the inspiration for several well-known and thought-provoking films. Most chapters start with one or more of the movies based on Dick's writing. From here, the authors delve deeper into the issues by bringing in philosophers' perspectives and by bringing in Dick's written work. The book invites the reader with a casual familiarity with Dick to get to know his work, and invites the reader with little familiarity with philosophy to learn more. At the same time, we have new perspectives and challenging connections and interpretations for even the most hard-core Dick fans, even though we never speak to "insiders" only. The book prominently addresses the most widely-known films: Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , A Scanner Darkly , and The Adjustment Bureau . Along with these "big five" films, a few chapters address his last novels, especially VALIS, which have a significant cult following of their own. There are also chapters which address short stories and novels which are currently planned for adaptation: Radio Free Albemuth (film completed, awaiting distribution), The Man in the High Castle (in development by Ridley Scott for BBC mini-series), and "King of the Elves" (Disney, planned for release in 2013). Through A Screen Darkly. Hollywood Doesn't Know Dick / Ethan Mills -- A Quintessence Of Dust / Ross Barham -- Dick Doesn't Do Heroes / Dennis Weiss And Justin Nicholas -- Ewe, Robot / Alf Seegert -- Identity Crises. Just Who And How Many Do You Think You Are? / Richard Feist -- Will You Survive A Trip To Rekall, Inc.? / G.c. Goddu -- Scan Thyself / Jesse W. Butler -- Human Or Machine, Does It Mind Or Matter? / George Teschner And Patrick Grace -- Soul Against The Archons. Matt Damon Is A Vast Sinister Conspiracy / D.e. Wittkower -- How To Build A Democracy That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Hundred Years Later / Ben Saunders -- We Can Manipulate You Wholesale / Louis Melançon -- Grow, My Dears, The Eugenicist Said / Richard Visković -- The World Is Fake. Things Are Seldom What They Seem / Gerard Casey -- Trauma Of The Real / Paul M. Livingston -- Lies, Incorporated / Don Fallis -- The Blob Necessitates / Matthew Mccall -- The Gnosis Of 2-3-74 / Ronald S. Green -- Ay, There's The Wub. Replicating Morality / John Sullins -- Public Relations Guide For New Precrime Officers / Peter Murphy -- If The Universe Isn't Real, How Should We Treat People? / Andrew M. Butler -- Puppets And Precogs. Knowing Tomorrow While Choosing Today / Sara Worley -- Total Recall's Total Rethink / Benjamin Huff -- Lonely Wolves / Travis Paterson Futurity Doctored. I Know What You Did Next Summer / Paul Atkinson -- Untimely Speculations / Heath Massey -- The Day Roosevelt Was Assassinated / Peter Simons -- Time In Unfixed Are You / D.e. Wittkower -- Briefings. Autofac / Dan Dinello -- King Of The Elves / Michelle D. Gallagher -- The Golden Man / Jeremy Pierce -- Piper In The Woods / David Svolba -- The Exit Door Leads In / Eric Beck -- The Gun / Benjamin Stevens -- The Master's Own Voice. Beyond Lies The Wub / Philip K. Dick -- The Eyes Have It / Philip K. Dick. Edited By D.e. Wittkower. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Science-fiction writer Philip K Dick (1928-1982) is the giant imagination behind popular culture - hit movies based directly on his writings, such as "Blade Runner", "Total Recall", "Minority Report", and cult favorites such as "A Scanner Darkly" and "Paycheck". This title confronts the fascinating and frightening ideas raised by his fantasies.