--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are served by organic ghosts, he…" description: "\"We are served by organic ghosts, he thought, who, speaking and writing, pass through this our new environment. Watching, wise, physical ghosts from the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/philip-k-dick-502_elements_we-are-served-by-organic-ghosts-he-thoug_2631734.jpg" --- # We are served by organic ghosts, he thought, who, speaking… ![“We are served by organic ghosts, he thought, who, speaking and writing, pass through this our new environment. Watching, wise, physical ghosts from the full-life world, elements of which have become for us invading but agreeable splinters of a substance that pulsates like a former heart.” quote by Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/philip-k-dick-502_elements_we-are-served-by-organic-ghosts-he-thoug_2631734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/philip-k-dick-502_elements_we-are-served-by-organic-ghosts-he-thoug_2631734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2da/philip-k-dick-502_elements_we-are-served-by-organic-ghosts-he-thoug_2631734.jpg) > “We are served by organic ghosts, he thought, who, speaking and writing, pass through this our new environment. Watching, wise, physical ghosts from the full-life world, elements of which have become for us invading but agreeable splinters of a substance that pulsates like a former heart.” [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. He describes intangible digital presences that inhabit modern life, likening them to ghosts. **In simple terms:** Digital entities as modern ghosts. Key Takeaway Recognize the unseen influence of technology. Themes technology existence perception Mood thoughtful speculative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - online communication - virtual reality - social media Key Concepts digital culture philosophy media theory Questions to Reflect On - How do we become aware of these digital 'ghosts'? - What responsibilities arise from this presence? A Different Perspective Ghost metaphor may oversimplify complex tech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Full life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-life/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Ghosts Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts-life-1812798/) [Ghosts Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts-thought-2195590/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Organic Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organic-ghosts-2195591/) [Physical Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-ghosts-2195592/) [Splinters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinters/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Am I afraid of ghosts? My life experience has taught me to be much more afraid of what a human is capable of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/am-i-afraid-of-ghosts-my-life-experience-has-taught-me-to-be-much/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [The person I am now, compared with the person in the dream, has been baffled and defeated and only supposes he enjoys a full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-person-i-am-now-compared-with-the-person-in-the-dream-has-been/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Two of the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are marriage and the family. Their lofty significance is underscored by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/two-of-the-vital-pillars-that-sustain-father-in-heaven-s-plan-of/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-splinter-in-your-eye-is-the-best-magnifying-glass-available/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let me twine Mine arms about that body, where against My grained ash an hundred times hath broke And scarr'd the moon with splinters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-me-twine-mine-arms-about-that-body-where-against-my-grained-ash/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Both described at the same time how it was always March there and always Monday, and then they understood that José Arcadio Buendía was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/both-described-at-the-same-time-how-it-was-always-march-there-and/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Words weren't a solace, but they focused one's emotions into something more tangible; they were splinters that could actually be pulled from the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/words-weren-t-a-solace-but-they-focused-one-s-emotions-into-something/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [You don't know a ladder has splinters until you slide down it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bum-phillips/you-don-t-know-a-ladder-has-splinters-until-you-slide-down-it/) [Bum Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bum-phillips/) > [There was once a bundle of matches, and they were frightfully proud because of their high origin. Their family tree, that is to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/there-was-once-a-bundle-of-matches-and-they-were-frightfully-proud/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [I yearn to live and love and burn, and yet so much of my time is spent faking and forgetting, faking and forgetting I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/i-yearn-to-live-and-love-and-burn-and-yet-so-much-of-my-time-is-spent/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [Burn shavings and splinters of pitch pine, and when they turn to charcoal, put them out, and pound them into mortar with size. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/burn-shavings-and-splinters-of-pitch-pine-and-when-they-turn-to/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [The bike went up in the air and landed on my back. It broke my neck, smashed my collarbone and splinters of bone severed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/the-bike-went-up-in-the-air-and-landed-on-my-back-it-broke-my-neck/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [The storm lashes us, out of the confusion of grey and yellow the hail of splinters whips forth the childlike cries of the wounded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-storm-lashes-us-out-of-the-confusion-of-grey-and-yellow-the-hail/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [I decided to go to school for advertising and graphic design. That was what I was gonna do but acting is that thing, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayo-okeniyi/i-decided-to-go-to-school-for-advertising-and-graphic-design-that-was/) [Dayo Okeniyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayo-okeniyi/) ## 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 Elements quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I find in working always the disturbing intrusion of elements not a part of my most interested vision, and the inevitable obliteration and replacement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/i-find-in-working-always-the-disturbing-intrusion-of-elements-not-a/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) > [Music and language are a vital element. We, as actors and directors, offer it to people who want to experience it. Sometimes the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/music-and-language-are-a-vital-element-we-as-actors-and-directors/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I don't think that writing, real writing, has much to do with affirming belief--if anything it causes rifts and gaps in belief which make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-think-that-writing-real-writing-has-much-to-do-with-affirming/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [To me, the most important elements in a theatre are the actors and the texts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseeruddin-shah/to-me-the-most-important-elements-in-a-theatre-are-the-actors-and-the/) [Naseeruddin Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseeruddin-shah/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [In America there is not one single element of civilization that is not made to depend, in the end, upon public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/in-america-there-is-not-one-single-element-of-civilization-that-is/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) [Browse all 3,647 Elements quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are served by organic ghosts, he thought, who, speaking and writing, pass through this our new environment. Watching, wise, physical ghosts from the full-life world, elements of which have become for us invading but agreeable splinters of a substance that pulsates like a former heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip K. 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