Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy

Description

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation is the most influential science-fiction epic of all time. Published as a series of books and short stories from the 1940s to the 1980s, the series has impacted most subsequent science fiction, and also influenced sciences like sociology, statistics, and psychology. The story has now been made into a highly acclaimed TV serial (Foundation), on Apple TV, the second season now shooting in Prague.
The story begins 45,000 years in the future, and spans centuries in which a vast and successful interstellar human empire is unknowingly headed for total collapse. Using an advanced mathematical technique called psycho-history, a brilliant scientist, Hari Seldon, predicts the collapse and establishes a “foundation” to bring about the resurrection of human civilization many generations in the future.
Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy is a collection of twenty-four chapter by philosophers exploring the philosophical issues and puzzles raised by this epic story. Topics include whether one individual can make a big difference in history, the ethics of manipulating large populations of people to bring about a desirable future result, the Dao of non-action, the impact of education on future generations, whether human affairs are governed by predictable cycles, whether attempts to plan for the future must be thwarted by free will, the futility of empire-building, the ethics of cloning human beings, and the use of logic in analyzing human behavior.
Joshua Heter, who teaches philosophy at Jefferson College, Missouri, is co-editor of Better Call Saul and Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam (2022).
Josef Thomas Simpson is an academic coach and part-time lecturer. He contributed chapters to Westworld and Philosophy: Mind Equals Blown (2019) and Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA (2016).

Sujets

• Essays
• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: Carus Books
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781637700310
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Pop Culture and Philosophy ®
General Editor: George A. Reisch
V OLUME 1 Dave Chappelle and Philosophy: When Keeping It Wrong Gets Real (2021) Edited by Mark Ralkowski
V OLUME 2 Neon Genesis Evangelion and Philosophy: That Syncing Feeling (2022) Edited by Christian Cotton and Andrew M. Winters
V OLUME 3 The Ultimate Supernatural and Philosophy: Saving People, Killing Things, the Family Business (2022) Edited by Richard Greene
V OLUME 4 Dark Souls and Philosophy (2023) Edited by Nicolas Michaud
V OLUME 5 Pokémon and Philosophy (2023) Edited by Nicolas Michaud
V OLUME 6 Queen and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind (2023) Edited by Jared Kemling and Randall E. Auxier
V OLUME 7 Punk Rock and Philosophy: Research and Destroy (2022) Edited by Richard Greene and Joshua Heter
V OLUME 8 Better Call Saul and Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam (2022) Edited by Joshua Heter and Brett Coppenger
V OLUME 9 Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy: Psychohistory and Its Discontents (2023) Edited by Joshua Heter and Josef Thomas Simpson
V OLUME 10 Warren Zevon and Philosophy (2023) Edited by John E. MacKinnon
V OLUME 11 The Godfather and Philosophy (2023) Edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene
V OLUME 12 Anthony Bourdain and Philosophy (2023) Edited by Scott Calef
V OLUME 13 Post-Punk and Philosophy (2024) Edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene
For full details of all Pop Culture and Philosophy ® books, and all Open Universe ® books, visit www .carusbooks .com
Pop Culture and Philosophy ®
Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy
Psychohistory and Its Discontents
Edited by
J OSHUA H ETER AND J OSEF T HOMAS S IMPSON
Volume 9 in the series, Pop Culture and Philosophy ® , edited by George A. Reisch
To find out more about Open Universe and Carus Books, visit our website at www .carusbooks .com .
Copyright © 2023 by Carus Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Carus Books, 315 Fifth Street, Peru, Illinois 61354.
Printed and bound in the United States of America. Printed on acid-free paper.
Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy: Psychohistory and Its Discontents
ISBN: 978-1-63770-030-3
This book is also available as an e-book (978-1-63770-031-0).
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941787
Contents In the Wrong Hands, It’s a Weapon—in the Right Hands, Deliverance I   Foundation and Reason “Curiosity isn’t a crime here.”   1. Is Rationality an Illusion? L EIB L ITMAN AND M ARK Z ELCER   2. Socrates’s City and Seldon’s Galaxy N ATHANIEL G OLDBERG   3. How Symbolic Logic Saved the Foundation J OSHUA T EPLEY II  Foundation and History “History is the ultimate weapon, because it harnesses time itself.”   4. Demons, Game Shows, and Baguettes S YLVIA W ENMACKERS   5. Psychohistory by Any Other Name C HRISTOPHER P ETERSEN   6. The Foundations of Psychohistory J OHN P. I RISH   7. History as Creativity E LAD M AGOMEDOV III  Foundation and Faith “The search for meaning is not always about the answer. It’s also the process of seeking that enlightens.”   8. Between Cynicism and Faith C ORA B UHLERT   9. Foundation’s Optimism T RIP M C C ROSSIN 10. The Dao of Psychohistory D ANIEL F RIED 11. An Interstellar Leap of Faith W ALTER B ARTA AND G RAHAM L EE IV  Foundation and Science “For it is the chief characteristic of the religion of science that it works.” 12. Raven Seldon Predicts Disaster D ANIEL M ALLOY 13. In Defense of Demerzel P ETAR N URKICĆ 14. Beyond Loyalty and Disloyalty L UIS F ELIPE B ARTOLO A LEGRE V  Foundation and Morality “Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” 15. Morality and Manipulation L EONARD K AHN 16. Psycho-historian or Psycho Historian? L ISA B ELLANTONI 17. Psychohistory’s Noble Lie M ARK S ILCOX VI  Foundation and Being “All things have a cycle. After destruction, rebirth.” 18. Foundation and Consciousness J ONATHAN P. L ANG AND A NDREW M. H AUN 19. Cleons and Cloning J OSHUA H ETER 20. The Mystery of Math W ALTER B ARTA AND G RAHAM L EE 21. A Foundation -al Lesson on Free Will and Determinism J OSEF T HOMAS S IMPSON Bibliography The Encyclopedists Index
In the Wrong Hands, It’s a Weapon—in the Right Hands, Deliverance
This book has been centuries in the making. Well, sort of.
The city of Rome was founded in the eighth century B.C . and over a number of years, transformed into a bustling metropolis, eventually becoming the seat of the most powerful and far-reaching empire the world had ever seen. The Roman Empire lasted until 476 A.D . when the final emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the non-Roman Odoacer who then declared himself the leader of Italy. The Byzantine Empire—the remnants of the Roman Empire in the East—didn’t fall until the fifteenth century A.D .
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fall of Rome has been a topic which has received seemingly immeasurable attention from historians and political theorists. One of the more noteworthy works to come out of this longstanding fascination—impressive in both its size and scope—is the six-volume The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by English historian Edward Gibbon, originally published from 1776 to 1789. Gibbon’s aim was not only to chronicle the events which led to Rome’s fall but also to explain why it happened and to raise the question of whether or not it could have been prevented.
In the early to mid-twentieth century, a young scientist and science-fiction writer would take Gibbon’s History as his inspiration for a handful of short stories which would eventually grow into a series of novels that would become some of the most important science fiction of its time. Indeed, what may be more impressive than the expansive universe Isaac Asimov brought to life in his Foundation series is the impact the series has had, not just among future science-fiction writers, but among a number of academics and influential thinkers.
This brings us to the early part of the twenty-first century when a couple of over-educated science fiction fans, inspired by Asimov’s books and a recently adapted television show, decided to put together a book analyzing the philosophical ideas and questions found within Foundation. After a bit of planning and preparation, the pair were fortunate enough to pull together a team of talented authors (made up of fellow over-educated philosophers and science fiction enthusiasts) to create the book you now hold in your hands.
Of course, thinking about this centuries-long chain of events invites us to consider at least two important philosophical questions central to Foundation via its most significant and unique world-building feature: psychohistory. Did the chain of events which began from the formation of a burgeoning me-tropolis in central Italy thousands of years ago and culminated with your reading of this book have to happen just as it did? Or, could things have turned out differently? And, given enough information at the genesis of this chain, how many of the subsequent events could have been predicted (with any substantial scientific rigor)?
In a roundabout way, this is simply to raise the question of whether or not all events are determined from the events which precede them. If they are, then it would seem to follow that the only thing hindering the accurate prediction of any particular event would be a lack of information on behalf of the predictor. But of course, if all events are determined, that would include any flawed predictions as well as any attempts to improve the prediction process in the future. And, if all events are determined, then our attempts to answer any of these questions (successful or not) will play out only in the way that they must.
As daunting as tackling these issues may be (not to mention the additional questions raised by some of the potential answers), they are hardly the only thoughtful philosophical questions raised by Foundation or addressed in this book. What obligations do we have to future generations (that do not yet exist!)? What is the proper way to think about the relationship between science and religion? Can science itself ever develop a religious quality? Under what conditions (if any) is lying or deception morally acceptable? What’s the ethical way to program a robot?
Our hope is that in raising these questions, this book both challenges and entertains you or that you have at least some similar, positive experience with it. After all, your reading of this book is the culmination of thousands of years of history; it would be a real shame if all of it led to nothing more than your disappointment. That said, it would be a glaring omission on our part if we didn’t also here include a word of caution for you moving forward with the book about raising (and attempting to answer) all of these philosophical questions. It’s a warning not dissimilar from one given by Asimov himself:
Philosophy is never just ideas. In the wrong hands, it’s a weapon. In the right hands, deliverance.
I Foundation and Reason
“Curiosity isn’t a crime here.”
1 Is Rationality an Illusion?
L EIB L ITMAN AND M ARK Z ELCER
Emotions, my dear Seldon, are a powerful engine of human action, far more powerful than human beings themselves realize, and you cannot know how much can be done with the merest touch …
—E TO D EMERZEL
As science fiction goes, the Foundation series strikes readers as generally plausible: interplanetary colonization, super-sophisticated mathematical sociology, and blaster weapons are all believable enough as technological advances for the distant future.
One thing, however, that stands out as glaringly strange to the modern ear is all that mental manipulation. The ability of a mind to target another and manipulate its individual emotions directly and precisely is humanly