Comments on: Philosophy in Science Fiction

By: evilbunnytoo

evilbunnytoo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:20:04 +0000

Also who can forget Nancy Kress’ novela “Beggars in Spain” which address the question of what those of us in society who are productive owe those who are not (the beggars in spain question).

By: evilbunnytoo

evilbunnytoo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:03:26 +0000

I guess this is a short fiction list, but i have to say, Terry Pratchett (would not be sci-fi, but fantasy I guess) explores lots and lots of philosophical questions and is well known for exploring human nature and the nature of evil.

In the sci-fi section, the book “The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse” explores the nature of religious identity and religious conflict in America. In particular, it explores religious tolerance and what precursors are necessary for religious tolerance in a democratic society.

By: barb665

barb665 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:59:24 +0000

Ursula LeGuin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” on utilitarianism. First fifteen pages of Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis,” on same body theory of personal identity. There are already a few anthologies on the subject: Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, Susan Schneider (Editor). Philosophy Through Science Fiction: A Coursebook with Readings by Ryan Nichols, Nicholas D. Smith, Fred Miller.

By: hhype

hhype — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:47:25 +0000

The question is almost trolling as I am certain that the more intelligent readers of Neatorama have opinions about philosophy and science fiction and perhsp have there own “list” and can easily Google or search Amazon to find that this has been done before.

Tell me how this question from this particular eye-hurting blog is neater than something else that could have filled this space?

By: Chad Cloman

Chad Cloman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:27:06 +0000

That blog hurt my eyes.

By: Tara Wheeler

Tara Wheeler — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:12:44 +0000

Doctor Who for it’s ‘mankind survives’ philosophy.

As the Ninth Doctor said in ‘The End of the World’:

You lot. You spend all your time thinking about dying, like you’re going to get killed by eggs, or beef, or global warming, or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible: that maybe you survive.

By: ted

ted — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:41:02 +0000

Science Fiction has always been speculative, so it’s no wonder that philosophy plays a large role in many of the stories.

Not sure what his intention is to categorize it. Seems a little pedantic. Have we run out of ideas for dissertations?

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:21:32 +0000

Foundation was a philosophical mind trip.

By: KiloTango

KiloTango — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:43:46 +0000

Grant Morrison’s comic book ‘The Invisibles’ has a lot of interesting stuff in it, as does Jeff Noon’s ‘Vurt’ and ‘Pollen’ novels.

By: pwscott

pwscott — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:36:30 +0000

I’m going to have to research this topic more before I can add anything to it. I’ve got a few source materials that need rereading. :^P