Science Fiction and Philosophy

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What are consciousness and free will? Will artificial beings have them? Do we? And do we owe an ethical debt to future generations, even if they wear quite different bodies, or minds? These, and countless other questions first raised by a century's worth of canonical science fiction, are now ambitiously appraised by Susan Schneider in a volume that explores our philosophical frontier." David Brin, astrophysicist and Times best-selling author of The Postman and Earth "Susan Schneider has assembled an incredibly wide range of stimulating and accessible thoughts in these pages. The second edition of Science Fiction and Philosophy will fascinate anyone who enjoys thinking 'outside of the box' - though it might leave their minds in a whirl!" Martin Rees, UK Astronomer Royal Thought experiments inspired by science fiction have been firing the philosophical imagination for centuries, offering meaningful insights into ethical quandaries, the notion of free will, and the very nature of our existence. Highly acclaimed upon its initial release, this second edition of Science Fiction and Philosophy presents an updated collection of readings that utilize concepts developed from science fiction to explore a variety of classic and contemporary philosophical issues - from the nature of minds and puzzles about virtual reality to the possibility of time travel and the unforeseen consequences of artificial intelligence. Featuring numerous updates, it also includes provocative new readings that address cutting-edge issues such as transhumanism and the so-called technological singularity, the hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence. Meaningful philosophical questions are raised while drawing on the genre's most intriguing stories, novels, and films - everything from Brave New World and Blade Runner to The Matrix and The Hunger Games. As the convergence of science fiction with modern technology draws ever closer, Science Fiction and Philosophy, Second Edition offers invaluable insights into both classic philosophical ideas and the future of humanity itself. Susan Schneider is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at the University of Connecticut, USA, and a faculty member in the Technology and Ethics Group at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. She is the author of The Language of Thought: A New Philosophical Direction (2011) and the co-editor of The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness (with Max Vellmans, 2006).