Probe the scientific and philosophical background of popular science-fiction stories with this revealing two-course set. First, in How Science Shapes Science Fiction, a noted physicist and science fiction fan reveals the true scientific principles that inspire and support everything from rocket science to time travel to alien encounters. Then, embark on a 24-lecture exploration of the final frontiers of philosophy across several decades of science fiction in film and television in Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy.
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View scientific knowledge through the lens of fiction in and explore theories, concepts, and formulas that may seem daunting in more academic settings. How Science Shapes Science Fiction showcases the ways fiction has an amazing capacity to teach us about ourselves and the nature of the world we live in.
In Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy David Kyle Johnson, of King’s College, takes you on a 24-lecture exploration of the final frontiers of philosophy across several decades of science fiction in film and television. See how science fiction allows us to consider immense, vital—and sometimes controversial—ideas with a rare combination of engagement and critical distance.
Science fiction can take us places in time and space where no other art can. It has motivated cutting-edge scientific research, inspired new technologies, and changed how we view everyday life—and its themes and questions permeate popular culture. Take an unparalleled look at the influence, history, and greatest works of science fiction with illuminating insights and fascinating facts about this wide-ranging genre.
In this course you will explore ideas that-when society has been willing to pursue them-have helped form the foundation of modern life. You'll discover there is no sharp distinction between ideas that are classified as scientific and those that are classified as philosophical or mathematical, or even between scientific ideas and political, religious, or aesthetic ideas. In each lecture, you also will examine the content of a single idea that is fundamental for science, how that idea arose, and what its impact has been throughout the centuries.
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