* If this is your first time reading Thinkers to Think About, check out this intro article *
Philip K. Dick was a science fiction writer born in Chicago who lived in the San Fransisco Valley. Dick used the genre of speculative fiction to play with various philosophical and religious beliefs. Much of his work is set in the far future to a time where life is much more integrated with technology (at least for when it was written) and much more psychedelic. This techno-psychedelia lends it self to certain moral ambiguities that Dick is able to then tackle. If you haven't heard of him as a writer, you’ve most likely heard of the many movies that his books have garnered: Blade Runner (and its sequel), Total Recall, Minority Report, and television series “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams. Through his work I have found an insight to the mind of a man tortured by reality: stark naked, raw and filthy. Novels like the semi-autobiographical VALIS let us explore his experiences and give context to his beliefs and the work he produces while novels such as A Scanner Darkly show us experiences that give clarity surrounding his mannerisms and world view. Dick was a deeply visceral writer that pulls no punches for the reader. His style is rugged and cerebral. He was a master of subverting reality and through imagination alone was able rewrite the rules of what the reader holds true all in order to provoke thoughts only he himself could originally think. His books will always have a place on my shelves.
* Artists Credit: Joanne K. Michel *
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