PHILOSOPHY THROUGH SCIENCE FICTION
ID 196
Spring 2005
Professor
Amy Kind Office
Hours:
Roberts
North 214; x73782 T,
W, Th 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
amy.kind@claremontmckenna.edu or by appointment
http://phil-rlst.claremontmckenna.edu/akind
It is always hard to face up to a complex world, try to figure out what makes it tick, try to cope with it, survive and triumph over it. But this is precisely what science fiction strives toward … Through science fiction the human race can try experiments in imagination too critically dangerous to try in fact. – Robert Heinlein
The future. Space travel, or cosmology. Alternate universes. Time travel. Robots. Marvelous inventions. Immortality. Catastrophes. Aliens. Superman. Other dimensions. Inner space, or the psyche. These are the ideas that are essential to science fiction. The phenomena change, the basic ideas do not. These ideas are the same philosophical concepts that have intrigued mankind throughout history. – Kate Wilhelm
In
their essay on “The Philosophical Appeal of Science Fiction,” philosophers Fred
Miller and Nicholas Smith note that science fiction and philosophy share a
fundamental goal: “the discovery of what is essential and valuable in reality.” It is thus no surprise that philosophers
have long turned to the science fiction literature to help us bring into focus
the abstract ideas with which we deal.
In this class, we will use the works of such noted science fiction
authors as Asimov, Bradbury, Dick, Heinlein, Le Guin and Zelazny (among others)
to explore some of the most fundamental philosophical problems facing
humankind. Our inquiry will be
primarily metaphysical, that is, we
will be addressing issues about the nature of the world in which we live. And for this in particular, it is especially
fitting that we turn to science fiction.
As author Kate Wilhelm has noted, “Metaphysics attempts to discover the
ultimate nature of reality, and in this sense, the innerspace of science
fiction is metaphysical fiction.”
Every
student in the course must purchase the ID 196 course reader available for
purchase at Huntley bookstore. In
addition to the course reader, there are seven required texts for the course,
all of which are also available at the bookstore:
Additional
readings for this class are on electronic reserve through Honnold Library at
<http://eres.claremont.edu>. The
password for our course is “akind196” (note that it is case-sensitive). Whenever you access an article on electronic
reserve, please make sure you print out a copy for yourself.
Two Papers (20% each)
You
will have to write two philosophical papers, each approximately 6 - 8 pages in
length. These papers will be on
assigned topics distributed in class. Any papers suspected of violating the College’s policy on academic
integrity will be forwarded to the Academic Standards Committee for
review. Should you have any questions about
how the policy applies to philosophical writing, please come talk to me. The expected due dates for the papers are as
follows:
Paper #1 Monday, February 21
Paper #2 Monday, April 18
Paper Alternative
For
any one of the two philosophical
papers, you may submit an original SF short story instead. Your story should explore in some
interesting way the philosophical theme that would have been addressed by your
paper. If you want to write your short
story on a different philosophical theme, you must get permission from me. The story must be at least 6 - 8 pages in
length, but may be longer. The story is
due at the same time the paper would be due.
Term Paper (35%)
You
will also have to write a term paper of approximately 12-15 pages. You should choose one of the philosophical
themes discussed in this class and discuss it in connection with science
fiction literature and/or films. The
term paper is due Tuesday, May 10. [Note: Graduating seniors must submit the
term paper by Thursday, May 5.] Further
information about the term paper will be distributed after spring break.
Class Participation (10%)
Attendance
in class and the extracurricular events mentioned on the syllabus (e.g., the
Athenaeum speaker series; movie night) is required. Barring exceptional circumstances, you should not be absent from
class more than once over the course of the semester. However, it is not enough merely to attend; you must also come to
class having read and thought carefully about the assigned readings so that you
are prepared to take an active part in our discussions. Though I expect I will have plenty to say
(and those of you who know me will have no trouble believing that), I intend to
run this class seminar-style, i.e., to let the flow of conversation be guided
by your thoughts, interests, questions, etc.
In general, you should be consistently and thoughtfully participating in
our class discussions. By “thoughtful”
I mean to remind you that it is quality, and not mere quantity, that matters
when it comes to class participation.
Contributions to the Annotated
Bibliography of Philosophical Science Fiction (15%)
As
a class, we are going to be compiling an annotated bibliography of science
fiction works that take up philosophical themes. Each student will be expected to contribute to this project. More information will be provided on a separate
handout.
Students
in ID 196 are required to attend the four evening lectures in the “Philosophy
Through Science Fiction” Speaker Series at the Athenaeum. The reception for each speaker begins at
5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and then the talk at 6:45 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 26 Richard
Hanley, Professor of Philosophy, University of Delaware. Author of numerous works on philosophy and
science fiction, including Is Data Human?
The Metaphysics of Star Trek; “Send in the Clones” forthcoming in Star Wars and Philosophy; “Identity
Crisis: Time Travel and Metaphysics in the DC Multiverse” forthcoming in Superheroes and Philosophy; and two
online articles on The Matrix,
available at <www.whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com>.
Tues., Feb. 8 Brian
Greene, Professor of Physics, Columbia University. One of the world’s leading physicists,
widely regarded for his work in superstring theory. Author of The Elegant
Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos.
Wed., Feb. 23 Brannon
Braga, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Star Trek: Enterprise.
Previously served as Co-Executive Producer of Star Trek: Voyager. Has written over 108 Star Trek episodes,
including “All Good Things,” the finale of Star
Trek: The Next Generation (for which he won the Hugo Award for Excellence
in Science Fiction Writing).
Tues., Apr. 12 Kevin
Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading. One of the world’s leading experts on
cybernetics. Author of numerous books
and articles on robotics, including I,
Cyborg (in which he recounts his experiences of becoming the world’s first
cybernetic organism).
Students
in ID 196 are also required to attend the screening of “Gattaca” in Mary
Pickford Auditorium on Thursday, March 24 at 8 p.m.
All
readings should be completed by the date listed on the syllabus. Readings marked [CR] are available in the ID
196 Course Reader. Readings marked
[P&SF] are available in the Philips’ anthology, Philosophy and Science
Fiction. Readings marked [ER] are available
on electronic reserve at http://eres.claremont.edu.
Introduction to the course
January
19
Can a machine (or a robot or an android) have
intelligence? Can it think?
January
26 Philosophical
Reading
Turing,
“Computing Machinery and Intelligence” [CR]
Searle, “Minds, Brains
& Programs” [CR]
Hanley, Ch. 2
SF Reading
Asimov, “Evidence”
[CR]
Aldiss, “Who Can
Replace a Man?” [P&SF]
Can a machine (or a robot or an android) have
emotions? Can it be conscious?
February
2 Philosophical
Reading
Nagel, “What
Is It Like To Be a Bat? [CR]
Hanley, Ch. 3
SF
Reading
Vonnegut,
“Epicac” [CR]
Zelazny,
“For a Breath I Tarry” [CR]
Can a
machine (or a robot or an android) have moral status?
February
9 Philosophical
Reading
Hanley, Ch.
1
Warren, Chs. 1-4
**Also
Recommended: Warren, Chs. 5-6
SF
Reading
Asimov, “The
Bicentennial Man” [P&SF]
What makes me the person I am? What makes me the same person over
time?
February
16 Philosophical Reading
Hanley, Ch.
4
Thought
Probes, Ch. 5 [ER]
SF Reading
Egan, “The
Infinite Assassin” [CR]
Dick,
“Impostor” [P&SF]
February
23 Philosophical Reading
Hanley, Ch.
5
SF
Reading
Zelazny, “Permafrost”
[CR]
What is space?
March
2 Philosophical
Reading
Le Poidevin,
“A Box With No Sides” [CR]
Le Poidevin,
“Curves and Dimensions” [CR]
SF
Reading
Abbott, Flatland
What is time?
March
9 Philosophical
Reading
Le Poidevin,
“Does Time Pass?” [CR]
SF
Reading
Spinrad,
“The Weed of Time” [P&SF]
Is time travel possible?
March
23 Philosophical
Reading
Le Poidevin,
“Interfering With History” [CR]
Greene,
“Teleporters and Time Machines” [CR]
**Also Recommended:
Hanley, Ch. 6
SF Reading
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Heinlein, “All You
Zombies—“ [P&SF]
Bradbury, “A
Sound of Thunder” [CR]
Is genetic manipulation morally acceptable?
March
30 Philosophical
Reading
Sandel, “The
Case Against Perfection” [CR]
Pogge,
“Moral Constraints on Permissible Genetic Design” [handout]
SF
Reading
Huxley, Brave New World
Is cloning morally acceptable?
April
6 Philosophical
Reading
Brock, “Cloning Human
Beings: An Assessment of the Ethical Issues Pro and Con” [CR]
SF Reading
Le Guin,
“Nine Lives” [CR]
Brin, “What Continues,
What Fails” [ER]
What are the philosophical implications of our
increasing “cyborg-ization”?
April
13 Philosophical
Reading
Wired and Herald articles on Kevin Warwick [handouts]
Clark,
excerpt from Natural Born Cyborgs
[CR]
SF Reading
Crichton, The Terminal Man
How can we know we’re not dreaming?
April
20 Philosophical
Reading
Nagel, “How Do We Know
Anything?” [CR]
Lawrence, “Tumbling
Down the Rabbit Hole” [CR]
SF Reading
Heinlein,
“They” [P&SF]
Can we have free will?
April
27 Philosophical
Reading
Lawrence,
“Minority Report: The Problem of Free Will” [CR]
SF
Reading
Dick, “Minority
Report” [CR]
What are the philosophical implications of our
increasing reliance on technology?
May
4 Philosophical
Reading
Kuflik, “Computers in Control:
Rational Transfer or Irresponsible Abdication of Autonomy” [ER]
SF Reading
Monteleone,
“Breath’s a Ware That Cannot Keep” [P&SF]
Forster,
“The Machine Stops” [P&SF]