What was does Dick (1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?

What was does Dick (1995) himself theorise about the I Ching?

Philip K. Dick uses the I Ching method, which is also called ‘Book of Changes’ and the oldest ancient Chinese divination source, in his book, 'The Man in the High Castle'. The I Ching can be defined as fortune-telling. That is, it provides advice or solution about one`s current problem or question for people, who use the I Ching. Thus, many people use the I Ching as their decision maker. The I Ching is being used still these days commonly, in both Eastern and Western country people. Dick is known for the representative person as the I Ching user. Actually, Dick also truly depends on the I Ching. The I Ching plays an important role in The Man in the High Castle, because Dick believes that the I Ching can enrich not only the development of plot but also the development of storyline in the book. He is a close adherence about the I Ching. “How I can extricate myself from my morbid dependence on the book?” (Dick, 1995, p. 182). According to Dick`s theorise (1974), the I Ching provides advice beyond the particular, advice that transcends the immediate situation. What this means is that; the answers have an universal quality. Dick applies the I Ching not only his life but also his book. There are several both poles in the I Ching, such as ‘day and night’, ‘good and evil’, ‘good and bad luck’, generally speaking these can follow the positive and negative poles. However, Dick believes that the I Ching can improve any result in his book, whether the result come out optimistic or pessimistic, because if the outcome appears positive, the readers will feel a sense of relief, allowing them to satisfy. On the other hand, if the outcome appears negative, it is also relief to some degree, because readers can prepare and anticipate about the fears then understand justified it. Dick writes the book by using this method. He thinks that this technique go about improving the story of book. The book is created by pieces of this sort of I Ching method. Thus, readers can have the peace of mind and also interesting when they read it.

References

Cover, B. (1974). Vertex Interview with Philip K. Dick. Retrieved from http://www.philipkdickfans.com/literary-criticism/frank-views-archive/vertex-interview-with-philip-k-dick/

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