Table of Contents
Praise
Popular Culture and Philosophy Series Editor: George A. Reisch
Title Page
Through a Screen Darkly
Chapter 01 - Hollywood Doesn’t Know Dick
We Can Conceive It for Ourselves Wholesale
Free Will at the Box Office
Determinism’s Bounty on Free Will
Skepticism for Fun and Profit
What’s So Bad about Determinism?
What’s So Bad about Skepticism?
A Happy Ending?
Chapter 02 - A Quintessence of Dust
Show Me What You’re Made Of
Have You Ever Retired a Human by Mistake?
The Lung-less, All-Penetrating Masterful World-Silence
Do You Think Androids Have Souls?
The Cardinal Mystery of Creation
Chapter 03 - Dick Doesn’t Do Heroes
You’ve Been Adjusted
We Can Endorse That for You Wholesale
Nagging Spouses and Robotic Home-Wreckers
Scott versus Linklater
Deckard versus Arctor
From Hover Cars to Substance D
Through a Screen, Darkly
Chapter 04 - Ewe, Robot
How Animals Make Us Human
Narcissism in a “More Human than Human” World
Empathy in a “More Human than Human” World
The Shock of Being Alive
The Lives of Electric Others
Identity Crises
Chapter 05 - Just Who and How Many Do You Think You Are?
The User Illusion
In a Mirror, Darkly
You Don’t Always Get Along
The Outer Workings of the Mind
The Scanner-Self
The Valuable Self
Chapter 06 - Will You Survive a Trip to Rekall, Inc.?
Follow the Psyche
The Perils of Rekall, Inc.
Gotta Have Soul?
Future Selves and Imposters
Selfless?
Is It Live or Is It Memorex?
Chapter 07 - Scan Thyself
How Do You Know You’re Not an Android?
The Art of Knowing Arctor
What Does A Scanner See?
Phil Chews the Fat
Chapter 08 - Human or Machine, Does It Mind or Matter?
Don’t Think about It
. . . You Ever Take That Test Yourself?
I Love You, My Artificial Construct
. . . Because My Furnace Believed the House Was Cold
Shaky Theological Foundations
The Right Stuff
Soul Against the Archons
Chapter 09 - Matt Damon Is a Vast Sinister Conspiracy
A Variety of Free Will Worth Having
Terrible Freedom
Pre-Crime and Pre-Punishment
Freedom and Madness
Chapter 10 - How to Build a Democracy that Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Hundred Years Later
Rule of the Wise
Spinning a Bottle
Throwing the Rascals Out
Checks and Challenges
How Can Random Machinery Be Rational?
Giving and Selling
Chapter 11 - We Can Manipulate You Wholesale
Sure I Deceived You, but What about Me?
Finding a Lever for Manipulation
Categorically, We Have an Imperative Problem
Utilitarian Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Coveralls
Only Remembered as the Blonde Shot in the Head
Like People, Like Organizations
Chapter 12 - Grow, My Dears, the Eugenicist Said
The Bad
The Good
The Ugly
And the Next Step
The World Is Fake
Chapter 13 - Things Are Seldom What They Seem
How Are Things in Glocca Morra—or Anywhere Else, for That Matter?
Ma or Machine?
What’s Really Real?
Alternate Realities?
Back to Earth
Chapter 14 - Trauma of the Real
Breakthrough to the Real
Reality Is Not Real
Procession of Dummies
Remembrance of Being, Passed
Chapter 15 - Lies, Incorporated
The Epistemology of Deception
How Do We Get Deceived?
Who Deceives Us?
Circles within Circles
Self-Deception
How Can We Detect Deception?
Chapter 16 - The Blob Necessitates
Of Blob
The Nature and Origin of the “Mind”
The Origin and Nature of Affective Disorder
Of Plasmatic Bondage
The Power of the Intellect, or of Fat’s Emotional Liberation
Chapter 17 - The Gnosis of 2-3-74
Dick’s Gnosis about Gnostics
Dick’s Twins
Results of the Primordial Rape
Pink Light
Ay, There’s the Wub
Chapter 18 - Replicating Morality
Beyond Lies the Other
How to Tell if You Are Really Just a Robot
Can a Blade Runner Love a Robot?
How to Build a Moral Robot
PUBLIC RELATIONS GUIDE FOR NEW OFFICERS DIVISION OF PRECRIME
01. Don’t We Arrest Innocent People?
02. But Is It Really Inappropriate to Punish Pre-criminals?
03. What Evidence Establishes Guilt?
04. What about Leaks?
Chapter 20 - If the Universe Isn’t Real, How Should We Treat Other People?
To Be or Not To Be—Is That the Question?
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Other
Fifty Ways to Love Your Other
Puppets and Precogs
Chapter 21 - Knowing Tomorrow While Choosing Today
Freedom and Prediction
Outside of Time?
Prediction, or Sight?
Perfect or Probabilistic?
Chapter 22 - Total Recall’s Total Rethink
Memory and the Brain-Butchers
Owning Your Actions, Owning Your Past
Inpsychation and Chains of Will
Quaid’s Problem—Mucky Origins
Freedom Without Origins
Chapter 23 - Lonely Wolves
Society’s a Bad Hit (If You’re Banging Up, Cranking, or Popping)
Cultural Minority Report
The Problem with Drugs
It’s the Nausea
Wolves Finish Last
Futurity Doctored
Chapter 24 - I Know What You Did Next Summer
Pay Now, Live Later
I Can Predict What You (Don’t) Do Next Summer
Living in the Time of the Crime
Always Invest in the Future
Summarizing the Future
The Future as Predictive Text
Chapter 25 - Untimely Speculations
Human, All Too Human
Preparatory Human Beings
On the Advantage and Disadvantage of Eternity for Life
Chapter 26 - The Day Roosevelt Was Assassinated
The Story
Reality
Determinism
Time in the One Real World
Precog a Are You
Chapter 27 - Time in Unfixed Are You
Time through Travel You
Blur a Are You
Briefings
Chapter 28 - “Autofac”
Chapter 29 - “King of the Elves”
Chapter 30 - “The Golden Man”
Chapter 31 - “Piper in the Woods”
Chapter 32 - “The Exit Door Leads In�
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Chapter 33 - “The Gun”
The Master’s Own Voice
Chapter 34 - Beyond Lies the Wub
Chapter 35 - The Eyes Have It
Skin-Jobs
Index
Copyright Page
Praise for Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits?
“Life sometimes imitates art, and we’re heading toward many of the technologies and scenarios imagined by Philip Dick, one of the most iconic and philosophical writers in science fiction. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? is a nice, accessible guide to many metaphysical and ethical issues waiting in our future.”
—PATRICK LIN, co-editor of Robot Ethics and co-author of What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter?
“Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? is an intelligent, exciting, and highly entertaining read that will be valued by all thoughtful Dick fans as well as philosophers. The original and thought-provoking chapters assembled by Dylan Wittkower explore a vast range of philosophical topics and display the breadth and depth of Dick’s writing with great style.”
—MARYA SCHECHTMAN, author of The Constitution of Selves
“Philip K. Dick was one of the twentieth century’s most penetrating writers concerned with the human condition. Mortality and self-knowledge obsessed him, and his work on these topics is some of the most thoughtful we have seen. Amazingly, Dylan Wittkower has managed to assemble a collection of thinkers who not only understand Dick but whose explanations will help the rest of us understand him better.”
—JOSEPH C. PITT, author of Thinking About Technology
“For anyone who’s ever wondered if they might be a replicant, Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? is required reading. As these writers show, some of the deepest questions that we confront—questions about identity, free will, and our place in the universe—are perfectly illustrated by the memorable characters populating Dick’s fictional worlds, from the Nexus-6 androids, to the Precogs, to the customers of Rekal, Inc.”
—AMY KIND, contributor to Star Trek and Philosophy and Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy
“Some minds reflect this age, others incubate the next. Humanity is about to stumble into a new, perhaps terrifying age. Thanks to the incisive chapters Dylan Wittkower has assembled in Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Hve Kindred Spirits?, we may not do so blindly.”
—R. SCOTT BAKKER, author of The White-Luck Warrior, Disciple of the Dog, and Neuropath
“An advanced degree in Dick-ology, an essential book for anyone wishing to discover the shocking depth of Philip K Dick’s ideas.”
—DAVID GILL, publisher, Total Dick-Head blog
“Dylan Wittkower has assembled a fantastic collection of chapters analyzing the deep themes of Dick’s stories, including the elusiveness of free will, the ambiguous nature of personhood, and the uncertain reliability of knowledge. Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? is a real treat for fans of both Dick’s stories and the movie adaptations.”
—ERIC J. SILVERMAN, author of The Prudence of Love
“Nexus-6 Metaphysical-A Models—graduate, undergraduate , post-doctoral, professorial—have gathered together as a Vast Active Living Intelligence System for the purposes of pursuing the philosophical strands of Popular-Culture and Speculative-Fiction icon Philip Kindred Dick in Dylan Wittkower’s Philip K Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? This is precisely the kind of book to capture the various strands—at once utterly archaic, unnervingly current and ultimately prognostic—of PKD’s labyrinthine loom.”
—NANDITA BISWAS MELLAMPHY, author of The Three Stigmata of Friedrich Nietzsche: Political Physiology in the Age of Nihilism
“The fortunate readers of Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? will turn—or return—to both philosophy and the writings of Philip K. Dick with new insight, and be further rewarded in both domains as a result. Philosophy and science fiction have never been more exquisitely or fruitfully married than in the works of Philip K. Dick. These accessible and insightful chapters deftly succeed in their task of clearly articulating broader philosophical matters along with their fine details and nuances as explored in Dick’s worlds.”
—CHARLES ESS, author of Digital Media Ethics
Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch
VOLUME 1
Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000)
VOLUME 2
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer (2001)
VOLUME 3
The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002)
VOLUME 4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003)
VOLUME 5
The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All (2003)
VOLUME 9
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004)
VOLUME 12
Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (2005)
VOLUME 13
Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005)
VOLUME 17
Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking) (2006)
VOLUME 19
Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006)
VOLUME 24
Bullshit and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time (2006)
VOLUME 25
The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think that Can’t Be Thunk (2006)
VOLUME 26
South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating (2007) Edited by Richard Hanley
VOLUME 28
The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded about Love and Haight (2007) Edited by Steven Gimbel
VOLUME 30
Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007) Edited by George A. Reisch
VOLUME 31
Johnny Cash and Philosophy: The Burning Ring of Truth (2008) Edited by John Huss and David Werther
VOLUME 32
Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy: Darkness on the Edge of Truth (2008) Edited by Randall E. Auxier and Doug Anderson
VOLUME 33
Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished or Mission Frakked Up? (2008) Edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin
VOLUME 34 iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
VOLUME 35
Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008) Edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker
VOLUME 36
The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (2008) Edited by Luke Cuddy
VOLUME 37
The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008) Edited by Randall E. Auxier and Phillip S. Seng
VOLUME 38
Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive (2009) Edited by Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch
VOLUME 39
Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life (2009) Edited by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt
VOLUME 40
Transformers and Philosophy (2009) Edited by John Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan
VOLUME 41
Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You!) (2009) Edited by Aaron Allen Schiller
VOLUME 42
Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009) Edited by Ben Dyer
VOLUME 43
The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust (2009) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison
VOLUME 44
Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009) Edited by Scott Calef
VOLUME 45
World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Phi
losopher King (2009) Edited by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger
Volume 46
Mr. Monk and Philosophy: The Curious Case of the Defective Detective (2010) Edited by D.E. Wittkower
Philip K. Dick and Philosophy Page 1