Talk:VALIS

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Contents 1 Unfinished Trilogy 2 James P. Blaylock 3 Merge from Black Iron Prison 4 Complex Metaphysical Concepts in VALIS

[edit] Unfinished Trilogy

If there are three books, and all of them are available, doesn't that imply that it is a completed trilogy? Or is it that of the three books listed as the VALIS trilogy one of them is not a true part of the trilogy?

[edit] James P. Blaylock

Where does James P. Blaylock appear in the book? Or rather, what character is influenced by him? --Viriditas | Talk 10:05, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Merge from Black Iron Prison

There was recently an AfD on Black Iron Prison (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Black Iron Prison), which reached a consensus to merge that article into this one. I usually perform such merges myself, but I thought that in this instance I ought to leave it up to someone more familiar with the subject at hand. --bainer (talk) 01:25, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• I have read VALIS many many (at least 20) times and would be happy to do a section. IMHO, VALIS actually contains within it a number of complex subjects that need thier own page. Of course, an easy way to do this would be through redirects, but a number of concepts in VALIS, such as the Black Iron Prison have gained wider common usage by people unfamiliar with the book..

--Infernal.magnet 16:03, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

• The BIP is an important gnostic concept and though it was originated by PKD it would be a shame if it is should be without its own article. Whether you believe in the VALIS or not the reality of BIP is very present and percievable.

--85.226.208.85 07:32, 22 July 2006 (UTC)Vallentin 09:43, 20 July 2006

• This should definitely be merged. - Rainwarrior 20:13, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Complex Metaphysical Concepts in VALIS

This is just a small list of concepts that I think could do with greater explaination.

• VALIS Actually happened. Many of the events written about in the book actually happened to Phillip K. Dick, such as being hit by a beam from 'space' and discovering his son's rare, but deadly medical condition. Much of the book is devoted to him trying to rationalise these experiences without going insane.

• Reincarnation Dick was a christian, and as such did not believe in reincarnation, but many of the things he describes make much more sense looked at from that angle. For instance, his speaking of ancient languages and the phenomena of living two lives seperate in time, yet superimposed.

• Gnosticism Although Dick was seemingly very into Gnosticism, his christian prejudices lead him to ignore a great many central gnostic concepts, such as re-incarnation, in favour of an obscure variation of Valentinian gnosticism which allowed him to keep many of his deeply held beliefs. It is quite possible that without this complex manouvering he would have gone insane.

• Black Iron Prison The true horror of the Black Iron Prison, from a gnostic point of view, is that it cannot be escaped by death, because it is actually, responsible for the phenomena of reincarnation. Thus, most humans are trapped on earth, recycled into body after body, repeating the same patterns over and over. There are tentative comments about this in VALIS (need reference) but IMHO, Dick shied away from the implications because of the effect it would have had on his sanity.

• VALIS Is supposedly a part of the benevolent deity, or Logos that has infiltrated this world, which is run by the malevolent deity, or Demiurge. This is a concept very old to gnosticism, usually expressed in the idea of the Sophia, who is the lowest emanation Logos and is usually credited with being responsible for creating the instability in the Pleroma which created the demiurge. The demiurge thinks it is alone and as such has gone insane, thus creating the world we see around us. VALIS is normally invisible, but will occassionally reveal itself to certain humans and alter thier perception of reality. The concept of something like VALIS goes back to the gnostics, who believed that the benevolent deity was attempting to free them from the prison of reincarnation. However, people could only be freed if first they were able to actually see the prison itself. Of course, the psychological effects of being shown such things on a rational person include amazement, mania, denial, messianic complex, amnesia and many other behaviours typically associated with religious dementia, but which many be equally caused by someone attempting to come to terms with an Outside Context Problem.

• VALIS is always seen by Dick as being wholly a force for good, however, I think this point deserves close scrutiny, especially given it's similarity to the gnostic concept of Sophia. Sophia traditionally brings enlightenment, but often at great personal cost. For instance, in the "Hypostasis of the Archons", it was Sophia who told Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge, regardless of the consequences that it would have on them. VALIS shows the truth (gnosis) but as the end of the book adequately illustrates, it does not hang around to help those who have been touched deal with the aftermath. One could argue that this kind of shock treatment is infact very dangerous to the human involved and that if VALIS were truly benign, it would help those it has touched to integrate thier experience, instead of leaving them to quietly lose thier mind.

Thus, it could be said that enlightenment by VALIS is an intensly bittersweet experience. Although Dick was shown many incredible things, these things also tormented him for the rest of his life as he tried to make what he had experienced fit within his pre-existing belief structure.

• Ok, I'll have to get some references, but that's basically it I think..

--Infernal.magnet 16:25, 5 July 2006 (UTC)