--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The core of my writing is not art but…" description: "\"The core of my writing is not art but truth.\" — Philip K. Dick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/philip-k-dick-502_art_the-core-of-my-writing-is-not-art-but-tr_1640524.jpg" --- # The core of my writing is not art but truth. ![“The core of my writing is not art but truth.” quote by Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/philip-k-dick-502_art_the-core-of-my-writing-is-not-art-but-tr_1640524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/philip-k-dick-502_art_the-core-of-my-writing-is-not-art-but-tr_1640524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/philip-k-dick-502_art_the-core-of-my-writing-is-not-art-but-tr_1640524.jpg) > “The core of my writing is not art but truth.” [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. My writing prioritizes truth over artistic flair. **In simple terms:** Truth over art. Key Takeaway Seek authenticity. Themes truth authenticity literature Mood introspective serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - journalism - fiction - personal essays Key Concepts philosophy creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance truth with readability? - What truth do you feel compelled to share? A Different Perspective Truth can be uncomfortable for audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“As much as possible, I am trying to create agency in my young writers. Students who have acquired agency don’t need the teacher to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-gallagher/as-much-as-possible-i-am-trying-to-create-agency-in-my-young-writers/) [Kelly Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-gallagher/) > [At its heartmeat core, writing is about exploring the questions of your heart on the assumption that what intrigues you, what inflames or amuses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/at-its-heartmeat-core-writing-is-about-exploring-the-questions-of/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [Very early in my life I took the question of the relation of art to truth seriously: even now I stand in holy dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/very-early-in-my-life-i-took-the-question-of-the-relation-of-art-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Beauty in art is truth bathed in an impression received from nature. I am struck upon seeing a certain place. While I strive for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/beauty-in-art-is-truth-bathed-in-an-impression-received-from-nature-i/) [Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-camille-corot/) > [“Cheers to all the Rebels out there who care way too much about Art and Truth and Magic to fall in line with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/cheers-to-all-the-rebels-out-there-who-care-way-too-much-about-art/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize-2/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [the challenge of nonfiction is to marry art and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-rose/the-challenge-of-nonfiction-is-to-marry-art-and-truth/) [Phyllis Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-rose/) > [We now know that Art is not the truth... but rather a way of approaching the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-now-know-that-art-is-not-the-truth-but-rather-a-way-of-approaching/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Art is not truth; art is the lie which makes us see the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-not-truth-art-is-the-lie-which-makes-us-see-the-truth/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Love is art, not truth. It's like painting a scenery.' These are the things one takes from mothers. Once they die, of course, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/love-is-art-not-truth-it-s-like-painting-a-scenery-these-are-the/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Art should be truth; and truth, unadorned, unsentimentalized, is beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-borton-de-trevino/art-should-be-truth-and-truth-unadorned-unsentimentalized-is-beauty/) [Elizabeth Borton de Trevino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-borton-de-trevino/) > [“To call a story a true story is an insult to both art and truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/to-call-a-story-a-true-story-is-an-insult-to-both-art-and-truth/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Love is art, not truth. It’s like painting scenery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/love-is-art-not-truth-it-s-like-painting-scenery/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [The basis of art is truth, both in matter and in mode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-basis-of-art-is-truth-both-in-matter-and-in-mode/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Philip K. Dick > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“That is not how you do it; you do not solve one problem with another, greater problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/that-is-not-how-you-do-it-you-do-not-solve-one-problem-with-another/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [For each person there is a sentence—a series of words—which has the power to destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/for-each-person-there-is-a-sentence-a-series-of-words-which-has-the/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-want-to-write-about-people-i-love-and-put-them-into-a-fictional/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Why does a man cry? he wondered. Not like a woman; not for that. Not for sentiment. A man cries over the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/why-does-a-man-cry-he-wondered-not-like-a-woman-not-for-that-not-for/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The church of my choice is the free, open world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-church-of-my-choice-is-the-free-open-world/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“I see,' Rick said. He felt numb. Completely. Throughout his entire body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-see-rick-said-he-felt-numb-completely-throughout-his-entire-body/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“What is identity? he asked himself. Where does the act end? Nobody knows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-is-identity-he-asked-himself-where-does-the-act-end-nobody-knows/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [You're killing yourself with cynicism. Your idols got taken away from you one by one and now you have nothing to give your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/you-re-killing-yourself-with-cynicism-your-idols-got-taken-away-from/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [What scared me the most was when my father would put on the gasmask. His face would disappear... This was not a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-scared-me-the-most-was-when-my-father-would-put-on-the-gasmask/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“A man is an angel that has become deranged, Joe Fernwright thought. Once they – all of them – had been genuine angels, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-man-is-an-angel-that-has-become-deranged-joe-fernwright-thought/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/when-do-i-see-a-photograph-when-a-reflection/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [My major preoccupation is the question, 'What is reality?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/my-major-preoccupation-is-the-question-what-is-reality/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) [Explore all 489 Philip K. Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The core of my writing is not art but truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip K. 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