Beam me up, Plato!
Science Fiction will be the subject of the Philosophy Department's upcoming symposium.
By: Joshua Burton
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News
Plato and Star Trek join forces this Thursday and Friday during the annual philosophy symposium at Cal State Fullerton. The speakers invited by the philosophy department will delve into many of the philosophical questions pondered within the subject of science fiction in its many mediums.
Professors from many schools including UC Irvine, UCLA and USC, will be presenting essays on various subjects revolving around a variety of topics. Writers will read essays that explore the fundamental questions of human reality and culture.
Attendees will be invited to discuss the continuity between body and soul, time travel and feminism. There will also be an essay delivered addressing the combined subjects of climate change, advanced technology and the search for extraterrestrial life.
The symposium will not be just a cleverly-disguised sci-fi convention. The organizers argue that this will be an event for academics and creative people alike.
"Science fiction opens up our minds to things that might be," CSUF philosophy professor Ryan Nichols said. "It is a disciplined form of literature about human possibilities."
Nichols, along with the campus Philosophy Club and the Alumni Philosophy Club, spearheaded the project, wanting to unify a wide range of disciplines under one general subject.
The process has been long and difficult but the turnout is expected to be in the hundreds, he said.
This year's symposium is expected to be the most accessible of its kind because of the popular subject matter and more accessible topics, Nichols said.
Themes in the past have been on more stern philosophical matters such as emotions, ethics and torture.
"Everyone wants to talk about time travel," Nichols said. "Science fiction is so compelling and so prevalent in our culture. No movie theater on any given week is without a movie that addresses these subjects."
The writings presented during the two days will examine the possibility of the human existence being a computer simulation, the gender biases in scientific thought and the differences in rational thought between different species.
Professors from many schools including UC Irvine, UCLA and USC, will be presenting essays on various subjects revolving around a variety of topics. Writers will read essays that explore the fundamental questions of human reality and culture.
Attendees will be invited to discuss the continuity between body and soul, time travel and feminism. There will also be an essay delivered addressing the combined subjects of climate change, advanced technology and the search for extraterrestrial life.
The symposium will not be just a cleverly-disguised sci-fi convention. The organizers argue that this will be an event for academics and creative people alike.
"Science fiction opens up our minds to things that might be," CSUF philosophy professor Ryan Nichols said. "It is a disciplined form of literature about human possibilities."
Nichols, along with the campus Philosophy Club and the Alumni Philosophy Club, spearheaded the project, wanting to unify a wide range of disciplines under one general subject.
The process has been long and difficult but the turnout is expected to be in the hundreds, he said.
This year's symposium is expected to be the most accessible of its kind because of the popular subject matter and more accessible topics, Nichols said.
Themes in the past have been on more stern philosophical matters such as emotions, ethics and torture.
"Everyone wants to talk about time travel," Nichols said. "Science fiction is so compelling and so prevalent in our culture. No movie theater on any given week is without a movie that addresses these subjects."
The writings presented during the two days will examine the possibility of the human existence being a computer simulation, the gender biases in scientific thought and the differences in rational thought between different species.
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