Overview

This book addresses the topic of personhood—who is a “person” or “human,” and what rights or dignities does that include—as it has been addressed through the lens of science fiction. Chapters include discussions of consciousness and the soul, artificial intelligence, dehumanization and othering, and free will. Classic and modern sci-fi texts are engaged, as well as film and television. This book argues that science fiction allows us to examine the profound question of personhood through its speculative and imaginative nature, highlighting issues that are already visible in our present world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Juli L. Gittinger
Publisher:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Imprint:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Edition:   1st ed. 2019
Weight:   0.462kg
ISBN:  

9783030300616

ISBN 10:   3030300617
Pages:   245
Publication Date:   11 November 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                                ·         Defining “science fiction” ·         Organization and method ·         Brain versus mind, thinking versus understanding ·         Consciousness ·         Soul ·         Chapter previews   Chapter 1        Defining personhood in a posthuman world                          ·         An introduction to Westworld ·         Personhood as social ·         Outward personhood ·         Inward personhood: religious and spiritual evolutions   Chapter 2        Dehumanization of the “non-human” being                          ·         Dehumanizing of the Other ·         Cylons, replicants, and clones ·         Empathy as uniquely human ·         Does a “person” require a “soul”? ·         Dehumanization as legitimation for extinction: the Borg   Chapter 3        Embodied and non-bodied selves                                                                              ·         The bicameral mind ·         Minds in bodies, ghosts in shells ·         Bodies without souls  ·         Mind without body ·         Computer brain, human brain   Chapter 4        Ethics of AI                                                                                        ·         Human-Robot relations ·         In whose image? ·         Ethics of creation ·         Purpose of AI ·         Asimov’s “Reason” ·         AI without ethics   Chapter 5        Artificial consciousness and synthetic souls                           ·         The android soul ·         Developing the soul ·         Memories and emotion ·         Souls, androids, and cyborgs ·         Redux: Does a “person” require a “soul”?   Chapter 6        The alien-other: monsters, mutants, and othered bodies                    ·         The racialized alien-other ·         Aliens and immigrants ·         Threats of extinction ·         Mutation ·         Eugenics as solution to “defective” humanity ·         The disabled Other   Chapter 7        Free Will?                                                        ·         Personhood, free will, and moral responsibility ·         Free Will: “Time to write my own fucking story” ·         Predestination: “God has a plan.” ·         Determinism: “Does all of this have to happen again?” ·         The player piano

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Author Information

Juli L. Gittinger is a Lecturer of South Asian religions and Program Coordinator for Religion at Georgia College, USA.  Her areas of personal research interest include Hindu nationalism, religion in media, and religion/pop culture. 

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