Science Fiction and the Boundaries of Philosophy: Exploring the Neutral Zone with Plato, Kant, and H.G. Wells

Science Fiction and the Boundaries of Philosophy: Exploring the Neutral Zone with Plato, Kant, and H.G. Wells

Andrew Fiala

California State University, Fresno

Abstract

In this paper, I consider the difficulty of distinguishing between science fiction and philosophy. The boundary between these genres is somewhat vague. There is a “neutral zone” separating the genres. But this neutral zone is often transgressed. One key distinction considered here is that between entertainment and edification. Another crucial element is found in the importance of the author’s apparent self-consciousness of these distinctions. Philosophy seeks to edify, and philosophers are often deliberately focused on thinking about the question of the borders that distinguish genres. Science fiction is more interested in entertainment, and narrative authors tend to care less about policing the border. This distinction is a pragmatic one. And canonical authors often violate the boundary. I examine key authors to make this point, including Plato, Kant, and H.G. Wells. My discussion shows that these canonical authors wandered into the neutral zone in their own work, reminding us that the boundaries we draw around genres are arbitrary and subject to transgression.

About the Author

Andrew Fiala, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Founding Director of the Ethics Center at California State University, Fresno.  Recent books include: Can War be Justified? A Debate, with co-author Jennifer Kling (2023); Tyranny from Plato to Trump (2022); Seeking Common Ground: A Theist/Atheist Dialogue, with co-author Peter Admirand (2021); Nonviolence, A Quick Immersion (2020); and Transformative Pacifism (2018).  Fiala is co-author (with Barbara MacKinnon) of a widely-used textbook: Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, now in its 10th edition. Fiala is former editor of the journal Philosophy in the Contemporary World, past President of Concerned Philosophers for Peace, and is currently serving as the Director of Philosophy in the Contemporary World.

Website: https://andrewfiala.com/

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Published: 2023 – 06 – 23

Issue: Vol 6 (2023)

Section: General Articles

Copyright (c) 2023 Andrew Fiala

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