Philosophy, Fantasy, & Science Fiction: An Introduction | Worlds of Speculative Fiction (lecture 1)

This is the first session in a new series of monthly lectures and discussions, spanning the year 2016 and hosted by the Brookfield Public Library. This year the series focuses on philosophical themes in the works and world of selected classic and contemporary fantasy and science fiction authors.
We begin the series by examining the genres of science fiction and fantasy. We then discuss central fields in philosophy and how they can illuminate key themes in literature. After that, we turn to main elements of narrative, and focus in on the worlds that successful narrative works create. I also provide an overview of the series as a whole.
4:55 - motivations for creating this series
8:00 - the genres of science fiction and fantasy
23:12 - introducing philosophy to the conversation
39:21 - elements of narrative, the issue of world-building, and philosophical themes
59:56 - Q&A and wrapping up
Authors we have covered in the series so far are J.R..R. Tolkein, A.E. Van Vogt, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Madeline L'Engle, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Iain Banks, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, C.L. Moore, Octavia Butler, Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Andre Norton, Arthur Clarke, Robert Howard, Gene Wolfe, C. J. Cherryh, Jack Vance, Edgar Allan Poe, G.K. Chesterton, Lewis Carroll, Tanith Lee, Gordon Dickson, August Derleth, Karl Edward Wagner, Aldous Huxley, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, China Mieville, Walter Miller, Cordwainer Smith, Liu Cixin, R. Scott Bakker, Stanislaw Lem, Neal Stephenson's, Philip Pullman, Olaf Stapledon, Veronica Roth, J.G. Ballard, Dan Simmons, Andrzej Sapkowski, Kim Stanley Robinson, N. K. Jemisin, Terry Pratchett, and Steven Erickson
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#Philosophy #Worldbuilding #SpeculativeFiction #Literature #Analysis #Books #Fantasy #ScienceFiction

[@simonsays2677]

Great discovery, this lecture series deserves way more exposure, very precious and extensively wealthy in information which is hard to find and dig “diamonds”

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@simonsays2677]

@@GregoryBSadler enioyment would underestimate the wealth of these lectures Its more about enriching my mind and my soul 😁😁😁

[@ranmore30]

extremely interesting. I don't know how you have time to do all this stuff. Your work-ethic must be pretty strong.

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Lewis Hughes Glad you enjoyed it. As far as work-ethic, I would say it's strong, but not particularly strong. There's more that doesn't get done than does

[@dimdharma]

Fantastic! Really enjoyed this session, looking forward to the rest of the series. Stumbled upon your channel not long ago in a happy accident, thank you for bringing content of this quality to KZbin.

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Dim Dharma You're very welcome! Glad you're enjoying the videos

[@sligiseesi5393]

cant wait for your gormenghast/peake talk. enjoying all these.please keep it up

[@mattgilbert7347]

"I did try to smuggle Lovecraft into the series.." (chuckle). Speculative fiction can be, at its best, like extended thought-experiments. Great fun!

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Matt Gilbert Indeed!

[@mindseyelynx9738]

Wasn't expecting this from you, this is awesome. :D Cheers mate

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Mindseye Lynx Thanks!

[@augustineriley5582]

Dr Sadler, I just stumbled onto your site this evening, I'm in England BTW, and this series jumped out - thoroughly enjoyed the first lecture, just finished it as I write you, - excellent, both in content, vision and presentation, many thanks from the UK, Regards Gus Riley.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you enjoyed the talk!

[@RoundRobin0]

So a very simple way to phrase the difference between theme and plot is that basically the theme is the general concept and plot is the fine details.

[@GregoryBSadler]

I wouldn't construe it that way myself, but if you want to do that, I suppose you can

[@randalburris665]

I just started viewing this. Tolkien is my favorite author, so I am really looking forward to the series. Have you considered looking at Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Each year, when the series is renewed, I start thinking about who I might do for that next year

[@kamilziemian995]

I really appreciate and enjoy this series, but one thing very important of missing. Many talks of doctor Sadler, public comments and discussion shows rightly how many philosophical themes are considered in speculative fiction, but answers which this literature propose is very rarely touched. Both my experience and works of literature scholar show that almost every writer, put answer to this questions to his work. Mostly not in form of the speech of one character, more often but they actions, ways that story goes and resolve and so one. I should ad that message of the story should not be in accord with stated convictions of author. They often are opposite to them (which is another philosophical problem). This is important topic to me, because in one way or the other readers absorbs this answers reading this works. As such this answer need to be identified and evaluated. This is of course old problem, Plato and Aristotle knew about it (I often think they knew all important problem), that fiction can be deceptive, because of it beauty or attractive ugliness. And people will believe in some solution not because it is good one, but because is bad and at the same time show in attractive way. By attractive ugliness I mean that something like desperation of warrior that in gruesome details kill his enemies and is attractive to reader as exhibiting of power. This is all my complaining, keep going doctor Sadler :).

[@helium73]

I think you were about to talk about a form of science fiction that doesn't have faster than light travel. I've been thinking about what such stories would be like. There is also time dilation. However many light years you go while you may not have aged the people on earth would have. So going to a planet 50 light years away even if you got there at the speed of light you would return 50 years in the future. Maybe that's what you were going to discuss. I think I read a novel like that called the death of sleep. You could do the same thing with cryogenics which would take you even further in the future. It seems to me if we are able to master hyperspace and get to a star 100 light years away and arrive home in time for dinner we would also have mastered time travel.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Some of the authors we've discussed in the series - Ursula K LeGuin, Cordwainer Smith, among others do talk about less-than-FTL civilization

[@stuartwray6175]

Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion, by Rosemary Jackson... It's one of my favourite reads. Can you recommend a few other books on the subject?

[@GregoryBSadler]

I spend very little time with secondary literature

[@stuartwray6175]

@@GregoryBSadler ok, nevermind. Although now I'm left wondering why...haha.

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@stuartwray6175 Think about how many videos and other resources discussing primary texts I produce in an average month. . . Then think about whether I have any more time in a day than you do

[@stuartwray6175]

@@GregoryBSadler I fully appreciate that and it did cross my mind.