The Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy is a peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that aims to foster the appreciation of science fiction as a medium for philosophical reflection. It focuses on the analysis of philosophical themes in science fiction in all formats, and on their use for the discussion, teaching, and narrative modeling of philosophical ideas.
The journal invites submissions from any discipline in philosophy, including both analytic and continental approaches. It aims both to serve as a medium for academic dialogue and to attract and introduce a non-academic public to philosophical discussions.
Current Issue
Vol 3 (2020): The Blue Pill Dilemma: Is Knowledge a Blessing or a Curse?

The question about choosing between harsh truths or willful ignorance is as old as Plato’s Cave; older perhaps, down to the Tree of Good and Evil. Science Fiction writers can be as illuminating as they can be ambiguous. In the original Matrix Neo took the Red Pill, choosing Truth – and got himself into a world of trouble. Wouldn’t the Blue Pill (of “Ignorance is Bliss”) have served him better? This volume examines the double-edged quality of knowledge, as explored in a variety of SF scenarios. Can a truth cause more harm than a lie? Can we live in self-deception? Is there a danger of knowing too much? Is knowledge something inherently good, worth seeking for its own sake, is it just a neutral tool, or is it, perhaps, something better left alone?
Published: 2020-03-31
Editorial Notes
Editor’s Notes: The Blue Pill Dilemma
Alfredo Mac Laughlin
Yearly Theme
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Memory Erasure, and the Problem of Personal Identity
Giorgina Samira Paiella
Towards a Biological Explanation of Sin in Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz
Christopher Ketcham
Solving the Contact Paradox: Rational Belief in the Teeth of the Evidence
Thomas Vinci
Subversion and the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis in Contemporary Science Fiction
Can Koparan
General Articles
Ursula K. Le Guin’s Science Fictional Feminist Daoism
Ethan Mills
Book Reviews
Planet of the Apes and Philosophy: Great Apes Think Alike. (Open Court, 2013)
Stefano Bigliardi
Dune and Philosophy: Weirding the Way of the Mentat. (Open Court, 2011)
Brittany Caroline Speller
Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016)
Stefano Bigliardi
Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy – ISSN: 2573-881X