Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence by Susan Schneider (PDF)

Description

Featuring numerous updates and enhancements, Science Fiction and Philosophy, 2nd Edition, presents a collection of readings that utilize concepts developed from science fiction to explore a variety of classic and contemporary philosophical issues. Uses science fiction to address a series of classic and contemporary philosophical issues, including many raised by recent scientific developmentsExplores questions relating to transhumanism, brain enhancement, time travel, the nature of the self, and the ethics of artificial intelligenceFeatures numerous updates to the popular and highly acclaimed first edition, including new chapters addressing the cutting-edge topic of the technological singularityDraws on a broad range of science fiction’s more familiar novels, films, and TV series, including I, Robot, The Hunger Games, The Matrix, Star Trek, Blade Runner, and Brave New WorldProvides a gateway into classic philosophical puzzles and topics informed by the latest technology

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐El libro llegó en buenas condiciones, no estaba maltratado y llegó rápido a mi casa.Not easy reading but fascinating concepts. Bought it for a college philosophy class. Gave it to the professor at the end of the course to give to a poor student next semester.

⭐I bought this for my philosophy class and although it’s a really hard read, it’s good and covers all the topics I’ve been studying.

⭐This is a really stellar collection of essays, both new and old. Definitely a good book to have on the shelf if you’re at all interested in emerging technology and the future of humanity.

⭐El libro es excelente, con referencias sobre grandes películas del género y algunos escritos. Se observa un trabajo realizado con mucho detenimiento. Lamentablemente, el libro llegó muy maltratado y lleno de manchas en la carátula.I come at this book as a philosopher with an interest in science fiction, though I suspect that its real purpose is to introduce sci-fi fans to philosophy. It should be said, however, that this is not simply another ‘popular philosophy’ designed to tie-in with popular culture, such as

⭐The “Matrix” and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (Popular Culture & Philosophy)

⭐or

⭐Philip K. Dick and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

⭐.While there are a few selections from philosophical classics (Plato and Descartes), and a couple of pieces by Isaac Asimov, the majority are from current or recent philosophers, including some very prominent names, such as Derek Parfit, David Chalmers, Daniel Dennett, David Lewis, and Nick Bostrom. Nonetheless, the pieces in question, even where reproduced from academic journals, have seemingly been chosen carefully for their accessibility – and seemingly because many of them specifically mention or engage with examples from science fiction. (It’s worth noting one strange inclusion though – Eric Olson’s entry on personal identity from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – which is an odd choice, not only because it’s an encyclopaedia entry, but also because it’s freely available online anyway.)Philosophers often use thought experiments in the course of their arguments, and these are sometimes drawn from history or literature and sometimes involving science fiction-like elements, such as teleporters or cloning. Conversely, much science fiction raises, at least implicitly, questions of a philosophical nature, such as whether robots can be conscious, whether humans have free will, or whether one could alter the past. It’s therefore not so surprising that the two disciplines can be brought into dialogue in this way. It is perhaps an interesting question whether literature merely illustrates philosophical ideas that could be presented directly, or whether there’s something about literature that could not be expressed in other words, though this question is only mentioned, not answered, here (p. 393).I have to say that the selection of topics is not what I’d have chosen. Personally, I’d have liked more on moral and political questions often raised in science fiction, particularly of a utopian or dystopian kind, but this simply reflects my own existing philosophical interests. I can hardly deny that issues of personal identity, free will, whether we might be in a computer simulation, or the possibility of time travel are entirely appropriate topics raised by many fiction works (from books and TV/film). It’s perhaps a shame that there’s no representation from philosophical aesthetics, though arguably many of the questions there would be questions about science fiction as literature, rather than the questions raised in the science fiction itself.Aside from the philosophical essays contained herein, one feature I found particularly interesting was the appendix, which reports works of science fiction recommended by a panel of philosophers. This looks pretty useful if, like me, you’re seeking to broaden your literary horizons – especially because it includes a brief guide to the questions raised by each piece.I’m not entirely sure what kind of audience this book would suit. The editor’s introduction (why, by the way, helpfully summarises most of the contents) mentions the possibility of instructors using this for their courses (p. 4). I suppose the broad sweep, and relatively accessible nature of most of the content, could make this appropriate for an introductory philosophy course, but I imagine that the focus on science fiction could put some people off. Perhaps it could find a home in certain ‘general education’ courses, most likely in American universities, but it certainly isn’t a standard textbook.

⭐The critic Chuck Klosterman once claimed that ‘Science fiction is philosophy for stupid people’ , and he was right. There are exceptions, but the majority of SF films and books barely scrape the surface of their purported philosophical aspects. It would be interesting, then, to read a book which dug into SF to find deeper meaning, but that isn’t what this book is. Rather, it’s a collection of essays about both classical philosophical notions and new areas for thought such as the singularity, which use pop SF films and books as jumping off points but mainly aren’t about the films and books themselves.As it’s an academic text, I imagine the idea is that students absorb the suggested reading/viewing material before using it as a basis for discussion, but casual readers will get a lot out of these essays too. The only criticisms I have is that some of the films seem very loosely tied to the discussion at hand. For instance, is ‘Back To The Future’ really a film that has anything incisive to say about philosophical issues raised by the idea of of time travel?

⭐This is a collection of Sci-Fi inspired essays/thought experiments/fiction that is divided into 5 main sections which can roughly be headlined 1/ the worlds of computer simulation 2/ What are persons and can they have free will? 3/ Cyborgs, robots and superintelligence 4/ What are the ethical and political issues and 5/The physics of time travelIt’s a dense reading experience with a host of different voices – although of course there is some repetition as the same subjects are being dealt with by different people who at times build on some of the same ideas. Also the difficulty level varies, and, whereas some of the reflections might be interesting for the general reader –whether they are mainly interested in Sci-Fi or philosophy –reading the whole book is likely more for those with a keen interest in both subjects.It took me a while to get into the book and I have to admit to skimming some of the more dry parts, but overall an interesting read.

⭐Some people, albeit not many, when they use the term SF define it as speculative fiction rather than science fiction and that is where this book finds its niche; in speculation and not science. Equally there isn’t much philosophy here either. What is here is science fiction used as a tool to prompt debate and most of those debates have more to do with society and science rather than philosophy and science fiction. So this is good when it is discussing concepts such as the singularity, not so good when discussing science such as the grandfather paradox but when it comes to a discussion of philosophy it is really treading only lightly over well trodden ground.Is it a worthwhile book? Yes, but read selectively from the articles.

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