Issues of psychology, and mental illness specifically, can be found frequently in various science fiction works, from Star Wars to HeinleinÕs Strangers in a Strange Land (McMahon, 1989). One particular science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick, uses mental illness frequently in his works, and especially in his 1964 novel Martian Time-Slip (MTS). Collections of DickÕs essays, such as The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (1995), reveal Dick was quite interested in mental illness and the current theories on it during the time he was living and writing. This manuscript explores DickÕs portrayal of autism and connects the descriptions of autism in the novel to popular research done during and before DickÕs writing of MTS. The text focuses on Immanuel Kant and his theories and then ties early infantile autism and childhood schizophrenia into the ideas of Kant to explore the character Manfred from MTS.
This book ALSO includes an annotated bibliography with over 50 entries!