Science Fiction and Political Philosophy

doi:10.5771/9781498586443

Science Fiction and Political Philosophy

From Bacon to Black Mirror

1. Edition 2020

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doi.org/10.5771/9781498586443
ISBN print: 978-1-4985-8643-6
ISBN online: 978-1-4985-8644-3
Lexington, Lanham Lexington, Lanham

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Abstract

Sometimes called the “literature of ideas,” science fiction is a natural medium for normative political philosophy. Science fiction’s focus on technology, space and time travel, non-human lifeforms, and parallel universes cannot help but invoke the perennial questions of political life, including the nature of a just social order and who should rule; freedom, free will, and autonomy; and the advantages and disadvantages of progress. Rather than offering a reading of a work inspired by a particular thinker or tradition, each chapter presents a careful reading of a classic or contemporary work in the genre (a novel, short story, film, or television series) to illustrate and explore the themes and concepts of political philosophy.

Schlagworte

Political philosophy English political science political theory popular culture literary studies literature science fiction higher education

Chapter Expand | CollapsePage
Preface
- Contents
1–14 An Introduction to Science Fiction and Political Philosophy 1–14
15–36 1 Fiction and the Science of Self-Reflection 15–36
37–62 2 Utopianism and Realism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest 37–62
63–86 3 Frankenstein and the Ugliness of Enlightenment 63–86
87–100 4 Technology and Anxiety in Melville’s “Lightning-Rod Man” 87–100
101–120 5 The Head, the Hands, and the Heart 101–120
121–138 6 Technology and Human Nature in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World 121–138
139–156 7 An Exhortation to Secure Humanity against the Buggers 139–156
157–174 8 Seeing and Being Seen in the Kingdom of Ends 157–174
175–190 9 Knowledge of Death in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go 175–190
191–210 10 Founding a Posthuman Political Order in M. R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts 191–210
211–230 11 Bacon, Transhumanism, and Reflections from the Black Mirror 211–230
231–238 Index 231–238
239–241 About the Contributors 239–241

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