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E-book Transparent Minds in Science Fiction : An Introduction to Alien, AI and Post-Human Consciousness

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Penilaian

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It should be more widely appreciated that literature is a kind of scientific tool that can be used to shed light on consciousness. The argument is that the richest description of the phenomenon of human experience come from our finest writers, who are capable of capturing moments in time in exquisite detail from multiple perspectives. In this view, there is no need to argue that either science or the humanities represent true knowledge, but that the two can complement one another productively, the latter unveiling a personalised view that science—with its third person fixation—cannot achieve.2Science Fiction (SF) authors are often well versed in neuroscience and philosophy and see their literature as thought experiments or models of problems on far off, but feasible, technological horizons. As Swirsky notes, SF is a model in multidisciplinary alignment: ‘literature, philosophy and science are, in my opinion, inseparable manifestations of the same creative instinct that has operated throughout the ages. My thesis is that science fiction with a psycho-emotional flavour can provide new insight into both current human consciousness and also possible future states of consciousness in both ourselves and the machines we create. The reciprocal move is that inspiration for the artistic portrayal of these states can come from the science of our own world, which is still only gradually revealing causes for sentience in humans and other animals.In the following pages, we will see examples of how SF authors approach this multidisciplinary alignment in their works. It is first worth introducing the narrative and literary theories that can help to explain both the authors’ art and the readers’ experience. Literature that includes characters’ mental states has been around since as far back as the eighteenth century but reached a peak of sophistication in the early twentieth. The use of techniques such as psychonarration and monologue—where the viewpoint enters the characters’ minds—powered the modernist approach to literature and enabled highly psychological writing. Authors such as Proust, Austen, Joyce and Woolf have been celebrated for their powerful insights into the experience of memory, emotion, motivation and consciousness. A large part of their innovation and craft was to move from the classic (external) narrative voice which could be intrusive and domineering, to ways of telling a story where the writer merges with the character so closely that they almost disappear. As Nelles suggests in his study of Jane Austen, in this way the novelist ‘creates the impression that the reader has more or less direct access to the character’s mind rather than through a firewall of narrative commentary.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

006.3 MAT t

Penerbit

London : Open Book Publishers., 2023

Deskripsi Fisik

146 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781805110484

Klasifikasi

006.3

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Artificial Intelligence

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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