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Fiction for philosophers

westprog

Philosopher
westprog
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
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I'm about two thirds through Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. It is a well-written story that attempts to cover many of the issues of science, philosophy and religion dealt with in threads on this forum. If you enjoy stories where people have obscure arguments for page after page (I do) then it's worth looking at.

Somebody has mentioned it already, but I thought it would be worth having a thread where fictional works addressed philosophical issues, such as Permutation City and Sophie's World.
 
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Anathem was an okay read; I liked the alternate universe he sets up, but ultimately found the climax and resolution to be a little too contrived and unsatisfying (the part you're about to read; sorry...) IMHO Stephenson has good ideas but is only a so-so writer.

I loved Sophie's World; I like to read it every couple of years. I've not heard of Permutation City, I'll have to look into it.

A book I'd add to the discussion is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - it was a good read, and while I didn't completely buy his thesis about 'Quality', I found much of what he said to be thought-provoking and useful. I'd be interested in hearing what others thought.
 
Vox Humana said:
Anathem was an okay read; I liked the alternate universe he sets up, but ultimately found the climax and resolution to be a little too contrived and unsatisfying (the part you're about to read; sorry...) IMHO Stephenson has good ideas but is only a so-so writer.

I loved Sophie's World; I like to read it every couple of years. I've not heard of Permutation City, I'll have to look into it.

A book I'd add to the discussion is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - it was a good read, and while I didn't completely buy his thesis about 'Quality', I found much of what he said to be thought-provoking and useful. I'd be interested in hearing what others thought.
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I have read several of his books and just finished Anathem. One thing that I have notice is that while you enjoy the ride and the richness of the storytelling sometimes the ended just isn't satisfactory and elements of that last few scenes seem rushed especially compared to the story.
 
Off the top of my head :

Ursula Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" and "The Ones who walked away from Omelas" for political and ethical philosophy respectively.

Philip K Dick's "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" and others

Camus' "L'Etranger", "La Peste" and others, as well as Sartre's "Nausea" and "Road to Freedom" trilogy.
 
Another thought-provoking book which I really like is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Good stuff.
 
Waterman said:
I have read several of his books and just finished Anathem. One thing that I have notice is that while you enjoy the ride and the richness of the storytelling sometimes the ended just isn't satisfactory and elements of that last few scenes seem rushed especially compared to the story.
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I think that part of the problem is that Stephenson goes in for very, very big ideas, and it's just not possible to come to a satisfactory conclusion. I want to know if Raz gets the girl - but I also want the fundamental questions of human existence resolved like he promised. I get the feeling that one will be answered and the other not - which will leave some slight disappointment.
 
For an interesting take on personality copying- Kiln People by David Brin, for what it might be like to be an "artificial" conciousness - Saturn's Children by Charles Stross.
 
Darat said:
For an interesting take on personality copying- Kiln People by David Brin, for what it might be like to be an "artificial" conciousness - Saturn's Children by Charles Stross.
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Ken McEwan is another Scottish writer who has looked into Strong AI. He's also thought deeply about politics.
 
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