Science Fiction and Philosophy From Time Travel to Superintelligence

A timely volume that uses science fiction as a springboard to meaningful philosophical discussions, especially at points of contact between science fiction and new scientific developments. Raises questions and examines timely themes concerning the nature of the mind, time travel, artificial intelligence, neural enhancement, free will, the nature of persons, transhumanism, virtual reality, and neuroethics Draws on a broad range of books, films and television series, including The Matrix, Star Trek, Blade Runner, Frankenstein, Brave New World, The Time Machine, and Back to the Future Considers the classic philosophical puzzles that appeal to the general reader, while also exploring new topics of interest to the more seasoned academic

Susan Schneider is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania, and a faculty member in Penn’s Neuroethics program, its Institute for Research in Cognitive Science, and its Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. She is also a fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. She is the author of numerous pieces in philosophy of mind, neuroethics, and metaphysics, and has co-edited The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007) with Max Velmans.