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School of Philosophy · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, science fiction films, books and short stories have long been used to explore alternative possibilities and futures for ourselves, our societies and our planet. This unit exploits this body of work to explore various key philosophical issues, such as time travel, the mind-body problem, personal identity, bioethics and global justice, through various works of science fiction. In addition, our enquiry extends beyond the works themselves to the meta-philosophical question of the epistemic role of fictions, thought experiments, imaginings and models in philosophy and other disciplines such as biology, economics and physics. What, if anything, can thinking about alternative possibilities tell us about the world? Why?
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of workshop and workshop-like activities. b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.