Being and becoming : the flux worlds of Philip K. Dick

Abstract

This thesis examines the fiction of Philip K. Dick, arguing that the representation of being and becoming, and their relationship, is central to many of his literary works. The terms 'being' and 'becoming' are borrowed from philosophical parlance, and the thesis focuses to a large degree on the philosophical character of Dick's fiction. More specifically, this thesis claims that there are significant parallels between his fiction and process philosophy, and that by reading Dick's fiction in conjunction with certain works by process philosophers it is possible to gain a better understanding of both. In its broadest sense, 'process philosophy' refers to a tendency in philosophy that understands becoming (or change) to be as important, or even more important, than being (or permanence). The principal focus of the thesis, however, is to make an original contribution to the field of Philip K. Dick scholarship rather than break new ground in the area of process philosophy. The thesis is thus first and foremost a work of literary criticism. One of the primary aims is to engage with different ideas from process philosophers in order to analyse Dick's representations of being and becoming in a conceptually sophisticated manner. This thesis will also explore problems that Dick poses for the philosophical perspectives in question. There is extant scholarship on Dick's fiction that examines representations of being and becoming and their implications, but none that does so specifically through the lens of process philosophy. Despite the significance of both being and becoming in Dick, it is the latter that predominates and does so in both a descriptive and normative sense. Dick's fiction generally represents the world as constantly changing while also implying that the world ought to be changing. Furthermore, the form of many of his literary works reinforces the sense of flux that the content evokes. In general, being has negative connotations while becoming has positive ones in Dick. Being is usually connected to, or synonymous with, stasis, stagnation, death, despair, paralysis, imprisonment, and alienation. In contrast, becoming is usually linked to, or synonymous with, vitality, possibility, freedom, and hope. However, Dick's fictions occasionally suggest the desirability of being over becoming, with being sometimes implying stability, transcendence, and respite. Becoming is sometimes dangerous, disorienting, and alienating in its own way. Therefore, this thesis concludes that the overall representation of being and becoming in Dick's fiction is dialectical in nature: the two opposites exist in a dynamic unity.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English