“Odd that the brain could function on its own, without acquainting him with its purposes, its reasons. But the brain was an organ, like the spleen, heart, kidneys. And they went about their private activities. So why not the brain?”

— Philip K. Dick , book The Man Who Japed

The Man Who Japed (1956)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Odd that the brain could function on its own, without acquainting him with its purposes, its reasons. But the brain was…" by Philip K. Dick?

Philip K. Dick 278

American author 1928–1982

Related quotes

“When the organism dies, the brain dies, too, with all its lifetime accumulations. But the mind reproduces itself by transmitting its symbols to other intermediaries, human and mechanical, than the particular brain that first assembled them.”

Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic

"The Mindfulness of Man", p. 424
Interpretations and Forecasts 1922-1972 (1973)
Context: The relation between psyche and soma, mind and brain, are peculiarly intimate; but, as in marriage, the partners are not inseparable: indeed their divorce was one of the conditions for the mind's independent history and its cumulative achievements.
But the human mind possesses a special advantage over the brain: for once it has created impressive symbols and has stored significant memories, it can transfer its characteristic activities to materials like to stone and paper that outlast the original brain's brief life-span. When the organism dies, the brain dies, too, with all its lifetime accumulations. But the mind reproduces itself by transmitting its symbols to other intermediaries, human and mechanical, than the particular brain that first assembled them.

“Learning and wisdom are superfluities, the surface glitter merely, but it is the heart that is the seat of all power. It is not in the brain but in the heart that the Atman, possessed of knowledge, power, and activity, has its seat.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu monk and phylosopher

Pearls of Wisdom

“You don't know, perhaps, but I will tell you; the brain is the palest of all the internal organs, and the heart the reddest. Whatever comes from the brain carries the hue of the place it came from, and whatever comes from the heart carries the heat and color of its birthplace.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

Source: The Professor at the Breakfast Table (1859), Ch. VI.

“Sensory stimulation is like a a nutrient—without it the brain does not develop or function normally.”

James W. Prescott (1930) American psychologist

"Before Ethics and Morality" (1972)
Context: The brain is highly immature at birth and is dependent upon sensory stimulation for normal growth, development, and function. Sensory stimulation is like a a nutrient—without it the brain does not develop or function normally.

“Our Sages refer to Prayer as "Service of the Heart". But the heart cannot work properly unless the brain functions to stimulate and control its operation. In the physiology of Prayer, too, the mind plays as vital a role as the heart.”

Immanuel Jakobovits (1921–1999) British rabbi

Foreword, p. ix to "Following the Synagogue Service" by Jeffrey Cohen, Gnesia Publications, 1997, .

“No brain is stronger than its weakest think.”

Thomas Lansing Masson (1866–1934) American journalist

Thomas L. Masson, Laughs (1926), p. 167.

“MIND, n. A mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavour to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with.”

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

“The brain does not create consciousness, but conciousness created the brain, the most complex physical form on earth, for its expression.”

Eckhart Tolle (1948) German writer

Source: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

“The human brain has left and right brain symmetry with its own nature and can process information which initially appears to have no pattern or order. However, the brain has the ability to process visual information much more efficiently.”

Tony Buzan (1942–2019) British psychologist

The Mind Map Book, Buzan and Buzan (1991)

“Call him not old whose visionary brain
Holds o’er the post its undivided reign”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

"The Old Player" (1861), in Songs in Many Keys (1862).
Context: Call him not old whose visionary brain
Holds o’er the post its undivided reign,
For him in vain the envious seasons roll,
Who bears eternal summer in this soul.

“Odd that the brain could function on its own, without acquainting him with its purposes, its reasons. But the brain was an organ, like the spleen, heart, kidneys. And they went about their private activities. So why not the brain?”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Philip K. Dick 278

Related quotes

Related topics