Philosophical Models of Immortality in Science Fiction

(transl. Sylwia Wilczewska, Marcin Iwanicki)

  • John Martin Fischer University of California, Riverside
  • Ruth Curl University of California, Riverside
Keywords: immortality; philosophical models of immortality; science fiction

Abstract

Science fiction is often described as a literary genre well suited to philosophical speculation. SF and philosophy share a common interest in the question of immortality, and comparisons and contrasts can be made regarding their respective treatments of the theme. We propose here a sketch of a taxonomy of different models or pictures of immortality offered by philosophers and SF writers. After noting important difference in these models, we suggest that some problems and concerns expressed by philosophers and SF writers alike are the result of conflating different models. It is our hope that these comparisons provide a preliminary sense of the way SF can be said to function as philosophical discourse.

References

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Published
2020-06-15
Section
Translations