PKD and the I Ching

PKD and the I Ching

In his 2006 conference speech Dr Mountfort (2006) identified the I Ching as an organisational and character illumination device in The Man in the High Castle of Philip K. Dick (2001; 1962). He enlists all of the ten “readings” (i.e. consultations of the oracle) as being instrumental in the development of the narrative and thus in the portrayal of the main protagonists.

According to PKD’s 1965 essay where he rambles on about concepts such as the koinos kosmos and the idios kosmos, synchronicity and acausality, mostly redigesting Jung’s (and Pauli’s) constructs without explicitly mentioning or let alone referencing them, he asserts the I Ching being “a device by which synchronicity can be handled.” (p.176). Jung’s influence is clear, since “Traces of the I Ching can be found in Jung’s own work with archetypes, the universally understood symbols that illuminate the collective unconscious.” (Jahan, 2012, p. 9)

Dick’s affection for Eastern schools of thought- strongly influenced by studying Carl Jung,- could be interpreted as an expression of Orientalism, however the exploration of this notion is beyond the limitations of this post.

On the other hand, a cynical critic could state that the readings conveniently support PKD’s premeditated storyline, character development and ultimate message about totalitarianism in general, and Naziism [PKD spelling] in particular.(P. K. Dick, 1995) One could argue, that the cybertextual creation of the novel –“The Oracle […] told me to write this piece” (p.181) – interpreted by Dr Mountfort as “HOW to write this piece”, as in PKD taking the ten mentioned readings himself to decide on how to proceed – could be PKD’s trick only on the audience to gain absolution of any repercussions he was sure to expect. We may take his statements of “morbid dependence on the book”( p.182) at face value, but the only person who could prove their absolute verity is the –alas - late PKD.

References

Dick, P. K. (1995). Naziism and the High Castle [1964]. In L. Sutin (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 112-117). New York: Vintage.

Dick, P. K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. [1965]. In L. Sutin (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp. 175-182). New York: Vintage.

Dick, P. K. (2001; 1962). The Man in the High Castle. London: Penguin.

Jahan, N. (2012). The Celestial Dragon I Ching. London: Watkins Publishing.

Mountfort, P. (2006). Oracle-text/Cybertext in Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. presented at the meeting of the Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association annual joint conference, Atlanta.