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Science Fiction and Philosophy : From Time Travel to Superintelligence

ISBN: 9781405149075 | 1405149078
Edition: 1st
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Pub. Date: 5/18/2009

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SummaryTable of ContentsAuthor Biography
A timely volume that uses the science fiction genre to provoke reflection and discussion on a variety of philosophical issues -from time travel and artificial intelligence to trans-humanism, virtual reality, and neuro-ethics.
Science fiction is more than mere entertainment. Historian H. Bruce Franklin defines it as "the literature which, growing with science and technology, evaluates it and relates it meaningfully to the rest of human existence. " Indeed, science fiction is increasingly converging with science fact.
Sources and Acknowledgmentsp. viii
Introduction Thought Experiments: Science Fiction as a Window into Philosophical Puzzlesp. 1
Could I be in a "Matrix" or Computer Simulation? Related Works: The Matrix; Permutation City; The 13th Floor; Vanilla Sky; Total Recall; Animatrixp. 15
Brain in a Vatp. 17
Are You In a Computer Simulation?p. 20
Excerpt from The Republicp. 24
Excerpt f... MOREp. 28
The Matrix as Metaphysicsp. 33
What Am I? Free Will and the Nature of Persons Related Works: Software; Star Trek, The Next Generation: Second Chances; Mindscan; The Matrix; Minority Reportp. 53
Where Am I?p. 55
Personal Identityp. 67
Divided Minds and the Nature of Personsp. 91
Who Am I? What Am I?p. 99
Free Will and Determinism in the World of Minority Reportp. 103
Excerpt from "The Book of Life: A Thought Experiment"p. 113
Mind: Natural, Artificial, Hybrid, and "Super" Related Works: 2001; Blade Runner; AI; Frankenstein; Terminator; I, Robotp. 115
Robot Dreamsp. 117
A Brain Speaksp. 122
The Mind as the Software of the Brainp. 126
Cyborgs Unpluggedp. 170
Consciousness in Human and Robot Mindsp. 186
Superintelligence and Singularityp. 201
Ethical and Political Issues Related Works: Brave New World; Gattaca; Terminator; White Plaguep. 225
The Man on the Moonp. 227
Mindscan: Transcending and Enhancing the Human Brainp. 241
The Doomsday Argumentp. 257
Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" and Machine Metaethicsp. 259
Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligencep. 277
Space and Time Related Works: Twelve Monkeys; Slaughterhouse Five; The Time Machine; Back to the Future; Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensionsp. 285
A Sound of Thunderp. 287
Timep. 297
The Paradoxes of Time Travelp. 310
The Quantum Physics of Time Travelp. 322
Miracles and Wonders: Science Fiction as Epistemologyp. 335
Indexp. 343
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.
Susan Schneider is an assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania, and a faculty member in Penn’s Neuroethics program, its Institute for Research in Cognitive Science, and its Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. She is also a fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. She is the author of numerous pieces in philosophy of mind, neuroethics and metaphysics and has co-edited The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007) with Max Velmans.


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