People use science fiction to illustrate philosophy all the time. From ethical quandaries to the very nature of existence, science fiction’s most famous texts are tailor-made for exploring philosophical ideas. In fact, many college campuses now offer courses in the philosophy of science fiction.
But science fiction doesn’t just illuminate philosophy — in fact, the genre grew out of philosophy, and the earliest works of science fiction were philosophical texts. Here’s why science fiction has its roots in philosophy, and why it’s the genre of thought experiments about the universe.
So it’s not just that science fiction happens somehow to be an ideal literature for exploring ideas about the nature of reality, ethics and humanity — these ideas are built into the core of the genre, because they’re where science fiction came from. We first needed stories about artificial life and going to the Moon to explore questions about who we are and how to lead a good life, going back to the earliest myths and fables. And without these questions, we wouldn’t have science fiction, as we know it.
An interesting look at the role and evolution of science fiction ideas in literature and philosophy. If you can’t get past the label “science fiction”, just call it “speculative fiction” instead.