Philosophy in Fiction
Feb 07, 2010Philosophers think a lot about fiction. But do novelists think about philosophy? Do philosophers make good fictional characters?
In 1964, The Twilight Zone, aired its last episode, "The Bewitchin' Pool," on CBS. Some argue that the major themes of The Twilight Zone still resonate with modern audiences. What are these themes then, and how are they philosophically driven?
As J.W. McCormack writes in The New York Review of Books, the show's most prevalent themes distill to the following: "'you are not what you took yourself to be,' 'you are not where you thought you were,' and 'beneath the façade of mundane American society lurks a cavalcade of monsters, clones, and robots.'”
The Twilight Zone is well-known for its twist endings but, for this, he writes, we should not mistake it as espousing a chaotic vision of the world. Rather, the show explores issues of the human condition and even lives by a kind of ethos — of "cosmic order," "social justice," and "benevolent irony." In each episode, these elements often deliver "truths," in new lights, about the world that the protagonists live in.
If you have not seen The Twilight Zone, take caution as this review spoils the endings of a few key episodes; however, if you are familiar with the show, take delight. This review beautifully articulates the historical context from which The Twilight Zone arose and sheds light on how different episodes commented on the nature of American political and social life at the time. You won't regret reading it.
Read here:
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/02/18/the-twilight-zone-from-a-to-z/
Philosophers think a lot about fiction. But do novelists think about philosophy? Do philosophers make good fictional characters?
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Philosophers think a lot about fiction. But do novelists think about philosophy? Do philosophers make good fictional characters?
Are there levels of reality, with each level emerging from the other in a way that provides a truly new aspect of reality?
Descartes considered the mind to be fully self-transparent; that is, he thought that we need only introspect to know what goes on inside our own minds.
Quantum mechanics is an astoundly successful, mathematically elegant, explanatorily deep, even beautiful scientific theory.
Self-deception sounds like a contradiction: intentionally convincing yourself of something you know to be untrue.
Quantum physics is regarded by many as the most powerful predictive theory science has produced.
Time is the most familiar thing in the world, and yet philosophically one of the most puzzling. Is the present what's left when you sub...
Why do some people have a strange desire to do weird things for no (good) reason? There's something fascinating about kids who eat laundry soap as part of a “challenge,” or people who deliberately... Read more
Making a better world would be a great thing—but do we need philosophers to help us do that? Famously (or infamously), not all philosophers have been such great people. So are they the folks we... Read more
In her time—the 4th century CE—Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied and taught mathematics,... Read more
Mexican philosophy is full of fascinating ideas, from Mexica ("Aztec") and Mayan thought to Sor Juana’s feminism and Emilio Uranga’s existentialism... Read more
Your friendly neighborhood Senior Prodcuer here, once again stepping out from behind the mixing board to bring you some bonus content from this week's 17th (!) annual Summer Reading special.... Read more
Gender is a controversial topic these days. To some, gender is an oppressive system designed to keep women down: people go around saying "girls are made of sugar and spice and boys are made of... Read more
Fascism is on the rise, new infectious diseases keep cropping up, and we’re on the verge of environmental collapse: how on earth could art possibly save us? The arts are may be nice distraction,... Read more
Some say the world is full of contradictions, like “parting is such sweet sorrow.” Parting is sweet, but parting is also sad; and sweetness and sadness are opposites. But logicians would say that... Read more
Our minds are amazing prediction machines—and sometimes they can even make their predictions come true!
Does reading that strike you as something out of The Secret—like if you... Read more
Derek Parfit was a really interesting thinker when it came to identity and the self. He had a particularly cool thought experiment involving tele-transportation.
Suppose you’re on your... Read more
When philosophers talk about perception, they tend to focus on what we see and hear, and rarely on what we smell. But olfaction is a strange sense that deserves greater philosophical scrutiny. For... Read more
A caller in this week's episode nominated "Women Talking" for a Dionysus Award. Guest co-host Jeremy Sabol takes that as a springboard to blog about movies and... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Cancel Culture, which some consider a real problem: people losing their jobs, being harassed online, their home addresses being shared—all because they said... Read more
This week we’re asking why we should trust science—which may sound like a weird question. After all, why would we doubt the method that helps us build bridges and skyscrapers, formulate life... Read more
Following up on last year's not-so-new experiment, here's a little behind-the-scenes look into the brief audio montages (produced... Read more
This week we’re asking what it’s... Read more
This essay also appears at the website of Oxford University Press, publisher of Josh's new book,
"The World According to Proust."
... Read more
This week we’re thinking about how to create a world in which our leaders are not just effective legislators, but also good people.
Some might think there are not enough leaders like that... Read more
This week we're thinking about the British Liberal tradition and its relationship to colonialism and self-government. Classical Liberal thinkers, like John Locke and John Stuart Mill, held that... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Collective Action and Climate Change. With floods and fires getting more frequent and intense, and with the summer just ended shattering heat records around the... Read more
This week we’re thinking about cultural appropriation and asking who owns culture—which may be a weird way of thinking about it. It's easy to see how somebody can own the rights to a song they... Read more
This week we’re questioning Effective Altruism. That’s Peter Singer’s idea that you should do the most good you can, and you should figure out what that is by doing your homework and choosing the... Read more
This week we're asking what Political Inequality is. Sounds easy to define, right? That’s when some people don’t get an equal voice in society, because they’re not represented in government, or... Read more
This week we're asking whether it's rational to be optimistic—which seems like bit of a crazy question if you've been reading the news lately. After all, what could possibly justify the belief... Read more
This week we're thinking about the Changing Face of Antisemitism—a program recorded last month at the Stanford Humanities Center for our first live, in-person event in 2-1/2 years.
... Read more
Comments (1)
Harold G. Neuman
Friday, May 18, 2018 -- 12:48 PM
True Story:True Story:
When my brother attended Ohio State University, in the 1960s, he lived near the campus for a time. The home in which he had a room was owned by an elderly lady by the name of Caldwell. One spring (or summer, I don't remember which), he came into the house and saw a visitor whom he had never met. The gentleman looked eerily familiar, yet Larry could not quite place him with any memory. Later, all became clear, when my brother learned that the stranger was the grandson of his landlady---a man name of Rod Serling.