The Huge Entity: <i>A Scanner Darkly</i> Exegesis

A Scanner Darkly Exegesis

Thursday, February 16, 2006 → by Danieru

The Book: Know : Encounter : Own

"My books and stories are intellectual and conceptual mazes. I am in an intellectual maze in trying to figure out our situation (who we are and how we look into the world, and world as illusion, etc.), because the situation is itself a maze."

- Philip K. Dick, Exegesis

The Man: Explore : Endure : Applaude

"But I have never had too high a regard for what is generally called "reality." Reality, to me, is not so much something that you perceive, but something you make. You create it more rapidly than it creates you."

- Philip K. Dick, The Android and the Human in Philip K. Dick : Electric Shepherd, ed. Bruce Gillespie

The Movie: SOMA : Schizoid : Trailer ^(QT)

"If two people dream the same dream it ceases to be an illusion; the basic test that distinguishes reality from hallucination is the consensus gentium, that one other or several others see it too..."

- Philip K. Dick, The True Stories of the Three Stigmas of the Five Break-Ins of Philip K. Dick by Paul Williams

Categories: Sci-Fi, Weird, Reality, Quotes, Books, Movies, Film, News, Links, Philip-K-Dick, Reality, Culture

posted by Danieru at 9:17 AM

Anonymous said...

Interesting quote from Phil K Dick on dreams. Only a day ago an old friend who works as a mental health carer told me that he had a dream about one of his clients, who is deaf and dumb. In his realistic dream the old deaf and dumb man was talking to him about the nature of reality. He shared this vivid dream with other collegues and was astounded when they dreamt the same scenario on exactly the same night. To verify the dream details, each person was able to relate the same setting and what was said in great detail. Does this infer that both this world and the dream world are real? Or were they merely dreaming that they were dreaming? An illusion based on illusion, which would then by logic make it not an illusion. A fake fake as Philip K Dick would probably say.

February 26, 2006 5:21 PM

Danieru said...

Sounds like a case of your friend and his colleagues forming their dreams as thay talked about them. Perhaps an event that each one of them experienced had caused them to dream about their patient in a similar context and then when they combined their dreams they actively altered their interpretations to fit each others.

Who knows though. Dream realities definitely lend to facination. I find it difficult to remember my dreams these days. When I wake up they fade away almost instantly, unretrievable to me within a few moments. Does this mean, in partial response to your interpretation, that my illusionary reality creates me? That maybe its slipping away is just the rebound of a conscious reflection as it brings 'my' self into being each morning? How about people who dream more vividly, lucidly even? Is it the case that they consciously create themselves more readily?

Phil would have had an opinion on this, as for myself I fail to believe that the entire universe and everything it represents could be formed by one unconsciousness ticking away in an illusionary night time which vanishes at daylight. Dream on...

February 27, 2006 9:20 AM