TTC / TGC – Sci-Phi – Science Fiction as Philosophy

One of the most engaging stories we use to think about technology and the shape of the future is the science fiction genre. Along the way, it has become one of the major questions we use to explore. It’s not like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it’s like it Hide the full description.

It is thought that the origins of science fiction can be traced to Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenweenie, a story that explores scientific, moral, and ethical questions that were of great concern in the 19th century. Although novels and short stories built the foundations of science fiction, film and television have emerged as equally powerful, experimental, and enjoyable ways to experience the genre. Science fiction has been used in films to explore many aspects of human experience as far back as the silent era.

InSci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy David Kyle Johnson of King’s College takes you on a 24 lecture exploration of the final frontiers of philosophy across several decades of science fiction in film and television. Professor Johnson finds food for thought in a wide range of stories, from big-budget blockbusters to television series featuring aliens in rubber masks. Science fiction allows us to consider huge, vital, and sometimes controversial ideas with a rare combination of engagement and critical distance.

The future is now.

Science fiction is often concerned with the future, being used as a tool of prediction, as well as one of extrapolation and interrogation, because humans are notoriously bad at predicting the future. Future visions of sci-fi TV, like Star Trek, Firefly, and even the animated comedy Futurama, offer compelling statements about humanity’s hopes, dreams, and fears, rather than simply asking what the future will look like. We can use fictional futures to better understand our world.

Setting a story in the future allows sci-fi creators to open up the realm of possibility beyond what our current world offers, while also looking at very real scientific possibilities. If contact with extraterrestrial life or time travel became part of our real-life experience, Professor Johnson highlights the kinds of issues worth considering. Even if these experiences are fiction, they still provide insight into important questions. Throughout the lectures ofSci-Phi, you will ponder many questions that have concerned philosophers for hundreds of years.

Do humans have free will? One day could machines be conscious? Is it possible to be sentient? Is it possible that we are actually living in a simulation world? How will humanity respond to diminished resources and technology? Is science and religion compatible? When is war justified? How do we know what to ignore and what to trust?

Exploring Reality through fiction.

Science fiction like time travel, alternate universes, and extraterrestrial life are fascinating ideas to explore. They can give us insights, but they may not be relevant to everyday life. The more mundane aspects of living can have little bearing on our conception of reality. Science fiction is a window into important discussions about ethics, power, religion, tolerance, social justice, politics, and the many practical dimensions of living in today’s world. sci-fi can remove biases and make us see issues in a different way by removing us from reality.

Professor Johnson makes clear that stories of simulation worlds and artificial intelligence can seem far-fetched, but they offer valuable insights into social and ethical issues that may be more immediate and relevant than they first appear. We can take a step back and see the bigger picture by looking at them through fiction. If we create artificial intelligence that reaches true sentience, how will we treat these man-made beings? We can either repeat the sins of the past by enslaving them or we can embrace them as our equals. If we are ever able to re-create a convincing version of the world via computers, do the lives lived in those simulations mean more than those in the real world? Given our ever-evolving technology, the answers to these questions may need to be given sooner rather than later.

Get it immediately. Sci-Phi is science fiction as philosophy.

You might be surprised to know that a science fiction story can trick you into thinking about questions you have never considered. Questions and issues are presented in shows like The Twilight Zone. While other films and television shows may focus more on the adventure and entertainment value of science fiction, they still have deep philosophical dimensions. Consider the British TV show Doctor Who. A beloved icon of science fiction, the show has always been framed as just the exciting weekly adventures of a time-traveling alien; yet, throughout its decades on television, it has explored issues of autonomy, sentience, pacifism, colonialism, racism, grief, and much.

There is a unique view of philosophy.

While each lecture ofSci-Phi focuses on a few key films or television episodes, you will also explore dozens of other movies and TV episodes along the way. Each philosophy you explore opens the door to further discovery. Through the ideas of great philosophers like Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Turing, Baudrillard, and many others, you will better understand the different ways philosophy examines the big questions.

Fans of the genre will find their experience enriched by layers of philosophical inquiry that reveal each story to be much more than just entertainment. Professor Johnson has a wide range of knowledge, as well as his deep and abiding love for both science fiction and philosophy. As you engage with philosophy by way of sci-fi stories for screens both large and small, it is important to keep in mind that Professor Johnson will not shy away from revealing key plot points in many of the stories he explores throughout the lectures; so, although it is not required, watching Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy is a philosophy course that is presented as a one-on-one conversation with fun visual references to many of the stories you will encounter.

Science fiction is an excellent source of intellectual and imaginative exploration. sci-fi stories include classics like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as a new wave of speculative tales like Transcendence, Snowpiercer, Westworld, and The Hunger Games. There is a search for truth in philosophy. The truth can be revealed through fiction.