Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Great Courses (2018), 24 lectures, 30 minutes each, 312 page guidebook
Description
Join award-winning professor on a philosophical journey into the realm of science fiction.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Nodosaurus
This is a lecture series by The Great Courses. It uses science fiction, specifically science fiction movies, to illustrate philosophical concepts. In 24 lectures, he discusses science fiction movies and how the relate to ideas in philosophy.
In each lecture, Dr. Johnson asks you to watch a movie.
The movies selected are enjoyable for the most part and offer interesting ideas to consider. These include Inception, The Matrix, The Adjustment Bureau, Arrival and such. He also covers Star Trek and Doctor Who. He ends with 2001 and a discussion of Nietzche, comparing the star child at the end to the idea of the übermensch.
In each lecture, Dr. Johnson asks you to watch a movie.
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Then in the next lecture he discusses the movie and ties it in to philosophy.The movies selected are enjoyable for the most part and offer interesting ideas to consider. These include Inception, The Matrix, The Adjustment Bureau, Arrival and such. He also covers Star Trek and Doctor Who. He ends with 2001 and a discussion of Nietzche, comparing the star child at the end to the idea of the übermensch.
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LibraryThing member datrappert
Johnson is knowledgeable about a lot of things here--science fiction, philosophy, science, and religion to name just a few. After a few episodes, despite a smooth (though very emphatic) delivery style, his lectures get to be a bit old, too opinionated, and seem to stray away from the combination of
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sci-fi and philosophy that is supposed to be the course's focus. Still, I learned a few things. Also, he is an interesting dresser. Amazing, though, given some of his opinions, that he teaches at a Catholic University in Wilkes-Barre! Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
312 p.
Local notes
[1] Inception and the Interpretation of Art [2] The Matrix and the Value of Knowledge [3] The Matrix Sequels and Human Free Will [4] The Adjustment Bureau, the Force, and Fate [5] Contact] Science versus Religion [6] Arrival] Aliens and Radical Translation [7] Interstellar: Is Time Travel Possible? [8] Doctor Who and Time Travel Paradoxes [9] Star Trek: TNG and Alternate Worlds [10] Dark City, Dollhouse, and Personal Identity [11] Westworld and A.I. Artificial Intelligence [12] Transcendence and the Dangers of AI [13] The Thirteenth Floor: Are We Simulated? [14] The Orville, Orwell, and the "Black Mirror" [15] Star Wars: Good versus Evil [16] Firefly, Blake’s 7, and Political Rebellion [17] Starship Troopers, Doctor Who, and Just War [18] The Prime Directive and Postcolonialism [19] Capitalism in Metropolis, Elysium, and Panem [20] Snowpiercer and Climate Change [21] Soylent Green: Overpopulation and Euthanasia [22] Gattaca and the Ethics of Reproduction [23] The Handmaid’s Tale: Feminism and Religion [24] Kubrick’s 2001 and Nietzsche’s Ubermensch