Question: What does Dick(1995) himself theorize about the I Ching?
Answer: The I Ching or the book of changes, maybe the oldest book in our human history. Although its primary function is to provide knowledge about our past, present and future situation, the simplest way to extract your answer is to throw three coins six times, what you think of the question and record the result. According to Samuel (1974), the I Ching consists of 64 hexagrams(gua) and each gua contains a text. Through throwing coins each time, you will be given either positive (unbroken) or negative (broken) line. Overall, there are 64 possible combinations. As Samuel (1974) illustrates, I ching is dissimilar from a conventional book and it has acquired the status of a book of wisdom. Samuel (1974) stats that the hexagrams reflect our current situation and it will point out whether we are in harmony or not. Furthermore, if the forecoming issues will threaten our inner equilibrium, the hexagrams show us warnings to help us avoid tragedy. Phillip K Dick is considered as the first sci-fi author who discovers the I Ching far ahead of most people in US. He primary got involved in this book after he read a Chinese translator’s work on 1960. According to Dick(1995), he did make use of the I Ching at storyline junctures for his characters in one of his masterpiece ‘The man in the high castle’. However, in the end, Dick(1995) found I Ching was unreliable and the problems of those characters still unresolved. As Dick(1995) stats, the information that I Ching provides will initially giving you what you expect to hear. Once you have given your faith to it, the results would in contrast to the previous ones and it frustrating people. On one hand, Dick(1995) admit that I Ching may clearly lead the path and does help to access to success in some cases. On the other hand, he has recommended people not to make significant decisions on the basis of it.
Reference
Dick, P.K. (1995). Schizophrenia and the I Ching. In Sutin, L. (Ed.), The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (pp.175-182). New York: Vintage.
Reifler, Samuel. (1974). "I Ching: A New Interpretation for Modern Times". Bantam New Age Books.
Hi Doris, great answer that shows you have a good understanding of the readings you've done. However, you'll need to provide specific examples from the book to show that you have actually read it!
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DeleteTurning to a typical character in the book,Mr.Tagomi. Tacomi is introduced in the second chapter and he is the high official with the Trade Mission of the Pacific that Robert Childan spoke to in the previous chapter. Tacomi is expecting an important client to arrive and wants to present him a gift, as is Japanese custom. Tacomi is intent on pleasing this man, even as he finds himself wondering if the client is not who he says he is. He consults the oracle and believes through the results of the oracle that the client is coming on business other than to speak about injection molds.
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ReplyDeleteYes, do you agree that the problems of the characters remain unresolved at the end? Be specific in your answer.
ReplyDeleteHi Doris you have many good facts and references used here, the only thing is I think you can say some more things about the actual book in your own words and your opinions. Other than that your posting is fine. There have been some good researching done here!
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