THE DIVINE MADNESS OF PHILIP K. DICK Photo by Tessa B. Dick. Used with permission. THE DIVINE MADNESS OF PHILIP K. DICK Kyle Arnold 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2016 First Edition published in 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Arnold, Kyle. The divine madness of Philip K. Dick / Kyle Arnold. pages cm. — (Inner Lives series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978– 0– 19– 974325– 4 (acid- free paper) 1. Dick, Philip K.— Psychology. 2. Dick, Philip K.— Family. 3. Science fiction, American— History and criticism. 4. Psychology and literature. I. Title. PS3554.I3Z545 2016 813ʹ.54— dc23 2015033239 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed by Sheridan, USA Inner Lives Series Editor William Todd Schultz Dan P. McAdams George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream: A Psychological Portrait William Todd Schultz Tiny Terror: Why Truman Capote (Almost) Wrote Answered Prayers Tim Kasser Lucy in the Mind of Lennon Kyle Arnold The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix 1. 2- 3- 74  1 2. Die Messages  9 3. Retreat Syndrome  31 4. Beetle Satori  41 5. Double  59 6. Counterfeit Burglary  91 7. The Pink Light  115 8. The Exegesis: Living Information  145 9. Aftermath: Null Metanoia  171 10. Divine Madness  211 Notes on Sources  219 Index  223 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks to William Todd Schultz for his unflagging and thoughtful encouragement throughout the writing of this book. Thanks to George Atwood, who taught me psychobiography and whose wise guidance helped me overcome several impasses. Thanks to Kathleen Savino for her writerly advice and support. Thanks to Amanda Lowe for further opening my perspective to transpersonal conceptions of madness that proved invaluable in fully grasping the subject matter of this book, and to the East Coast Waking Down in Mutuality group for providing ongo- ing learning in this area. I want to also thank Steve Cullen, Tessa Dick and Gregg Rickman for helpful advice along the way. ix