VALIS discussion

I mean, I know he's an alternate persona Dick created to deal with his issues. But is he a physical manifestation or does he exist entirely within Dick's head?

he IS dick, the first half of that book is essentially autobiography, see his exegesis for proof.

Philip
From the Greek name Φιλιππος (Philippos) which means "friend of horses", composed of the elements φιλος (philos) "friend, lover" and ‘ιππος (hippos) "horse".

= Horselover

Dick
German word meaning "thick" or "fat"

= Fat

So did all that stuff actually happen to Dick? I know the story is supposedly based on his real experiences but I don't know how much.

according to Dicks subjective outlook on his experiences, yes it did. (for the first half atleast)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Interesting. It really makes you wonder about the world.

PKD was a paranoid schizophrenic Horselover was a projection of his fractured psyche, but asking if this 'really' happened is to miss the point of PKD's universe...of those that are 'crazy' and run across the truth, but are generally unable to deal with this 'truth' effectively.

There is a cynical hopelessness when it comes to the corporatization of the universe.

Damn good stories though.

Agreed. PKD is someone who will never be duplicated.