Death Quote by Philip K. Dick
““It is—their unconsciousness. Their lack of knowledge about others. Their not being aware of what they do to others, the destruction they have caused and are causing. [...] Do they ignore parts of reality? Yes. But it is more. It is their plans. Yes, their plans. The conquering of the planets. Something frenzied and demented, as was their conquering of Africa, and before that, Europe and Asia. Their view; it is cosmic. Not of a man here, a child there, but an abstraction: race, land. Volk. Land. Blut. Ehre. Not of honorable men but of Ehre itself, honor; the abstract is real, the actual is invisible to them. Die Güte, but not good men, this good man. It is their sense of space and time. They see through the here, the now, into the vast black deep beyond, the unchanging. And that is fatal to life. Because eventually there will be no life; there was once only the dust particles in space, the hot hydrogen gases, nothing more, and it will come again. This is an interval, ein Augenblick. The cosmic process is hurrying on, crushing life back into the granite and methane; the wheel turns for all life. It is all temporary. And they—these madmen—respond to the granite, the dust, the longing of the inanimate; they want to aid Natur. […] They want to be the agents, not the victims, of history.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: VALIS by Philip K. Dick, 1981
He critiques humanity’s blind, ideological drive that abstracts people into concepts like race and land, leading to destructive conquest and a fatal neglect of individual life.
In simple terms: Blind ideology dehumanizes and destroys.
Recognize people as individuals, not abstractions.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- political analysis
- historical study
- personal reflection
- education
- activism
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we prevent abstract ideologies from justifying violence?
- What personal actions can counteract collective blindness?
Such grand narratives can also inspire solidarity and resistance, not just destruction.