Research Article
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Year 2022, Issue: 57, 27 - 51, 14.06.2023

Abstract

References

  • Anscombe, Elizabeth. “Modern Moral Philosophy.” Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 128, 1958, pp. 1-19. JSTOR, www.jstor.com/ stable/3749051. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
  • Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated and edited by Roger Crisp, Cambridge UP, 2004.
  • Asimov, Isaac. “A Literature of Ideas.” Today and Tomorrow and…, Doubleday & Company, 1973, pp. 307-315.
  • Blackford, Russell. “Introduction: Science and the Rise of Science Fiction.” Science Fiction and the Moral Imagination: Visions, Minds, Ethics, Springer, 2017, pp. 1-19.
  • ---. “Engaging with Ethical Theories.” Science Fiction and the Moral Imagination: Visions, Minds, Ethics, Springer, 2017, pp. 75-77.
  • Bostrom, Nick. “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence.” nickbostrom.com, 2003, nickbostrom.com/ethics/ai.html. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.
  • Center for the Study of Technology and Society. “The Dust Bites Another One: From Michael Crichton’s Prey to the Department of Nanotechnology,” The New Atlantis, vol. 1, 2003, pp. 142.
  • JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43152867. Accessed 14 Jan. 2021. Crichton, Michael. “Artificial Evolution in the Twenty-first Century.” Prey, Harper Collins, 2002, pp. ix – xv.
  • ---. “Could Tiny Machines Rule the World?” Parade, 24 Nov. 2002. The Official Site of Michael Crichton, www.michaelcrichton. com/prey/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
  • ---. Prey. Harper Collins, 2002.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dolan, Timothy. “Science Fiction as Moral Allegory.” Journal of Futures Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, 2020, pp. 105–112.
  • Driver, Julia. “The History of Utilitarianism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 22 Sept. 2014, plato.stanford.edu/entries/ utilitarianism-history/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
  • Elgin, Catherine Z. “Fiction as Thought Experiment.” Perspectives on Science, vol. 22, no. 2, 2014, pp. 221-241.
  • Foot, Philippa. “Euthanasia.” 1977. Virtues, Vices, Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 33-61.
  • ---. “The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect.” 1967. Virtues, Vices, Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 19-32.
  • Gregory, Marshall. “Ethical Criticism: What It is and Why It Matters.” Ethics, Literature, Theory: An Introductory Reader, edited by Stephen K. George, A Sheed & Ward, 2005, pp. 56-86.
  • Hursthouse, Rosalind. On Virtue Ethics. 1999. Oxford UP, 2002. Kahn, Peter H., et.al. “What is a human? Toward Psychological Benchmarks in the Field of Human–Robot Interaction.”
  • Interaction Studies, vol. 8, no. 3, 2007, pp. 363-390.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Mach, Ernst. “On Thought Experiments.” Knowledge and Error: Sketches on the Psychology of Enquiry, translated by Thomas J. McCormack and Paul Foulkes, D. Reidel Publishing, pp. 134- 147.
  • Müller, Vincent C. “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 30 Apr. 2020, plato. stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ai/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2021.
  • Nussbaum, Martha C. Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership. Harvard UP, 2007.
  • Rachels, James. “Active and Passive Euthanasia.” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 292, no.2, 1975, pp. 78-80.
  • Schneider, Susan, editor. “Introduction: Thought Experiments: Science Fiction as a Window into Philosophical Puzzles.” Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, 2nd ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2016, pp. 1-16.
  • Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics. 1979. Cambridge, 2011. Wiltsche, Harald A. “The Forever War: Understanding, Science Fiction, and Thought Experiments.” Synthese, vol. 198, 2021, pp. 3675–3698.

Science Fiction Literature as Thought Experiment: An Ethical Analysis of Michael Crichton’s Prey

Year 2022, Issue: 57, 27 - 51, 14.06.2023

Abstract

Science fiction literature, a product of unlimited imagination,
often contains several philosophical issues related to ethics within
its narratives. Science fiction works, which sometimes function as a
thought experiment, provide examples of how humanity may react in
various situations with a controlled scenario. Michael Crichton’s novel
Prey (2002) is one of such works. Crichton’s novel, which warns the
reader about the probable dangers of irresponsible use of technology
with a striking scenario, essentially functions as a thought experiment.
This article aims to reveal the relationship and similarity between
philosophical thought experiments and science fiction literature. In
this context, Prey will be analyzed in terms of ethical theories, and
how ethics becomes the subject of science fiction literature will be
elaborated.

References

  • Anscombe, Elizabeth. “Modern Moral Philosophy.” Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 128, 1958, pp. 1-19. JSTOR, www.jstor.com/ stable/3749051. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
  • Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated and edited by Roger Crisp, Cambridge UP, 2004.
  • Asimov, Isaac. “A Literature of Ideas.” Today and Tomorrow and…, Doubleday & Company, 1973, pp. 307-315.
  • Blackford, Russell. “Introduction: Science and the Rise of Science Fiction.” Science Fiction and the Moral Imagination: Visions, Minds, Ethics, Springer, 2017, pp. 1-19.
  • ---. “Engaging with Ethical Theories.” Science Fiction and the Moral Imagination: Visions, Minds, Ethics, Springer, 2017, pp. 75-77.
  • Bostrom, Nick. “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence.” nickbostrom.com, 2003, nickbostrom.com/ethics/ai.html. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.
  • Center for the Study of Technology and Society. “The Dust Bites Another One: From Michael Crichton’s Prey to the Department of Nanotechnology,” The New Atlantis, vol. 1, 2003, pp. 142.
  • JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43152867. Accessed 14 Jan. 2021. Crichton, Michael. “Artificial Evolution in the Twenty-first Century.” Prey, Harper Collins, 2002, pp. ix – xv.
  • ---. “Could Tiny Machines Rule the World?” Parade, 24 Nov. 2002. The Official Site of Michael Crichton, www.michaelcrichton. com/prey/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
  • ---. Prey. Harper Collins, 2002.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dolan, Timothy. “Science Fiction as Moral Allegory.” Journal of Futures Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, 2020, pp. 105–112.
  • Driver, Julia. “The History of Utilitarianism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 22 Sept. 2014, plato.stanford.edu/entries/ utilitarianism-history/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.
  • Elgin, Catherine Z. “Fiction as Thought Experiment.” Perspectives on Science, vol. 22, no. 2, 2014, pp. 221-241.
  • Foot, Philippa. “Euthanasia.” 1977. Virtues, Vices, Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 33-61.
  • ---. “The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect.” 1967. Virtues, Vices, Other Essays in Moral Philosophy. Oxford UP, 2002, pp. 19-32.
  • Gregory, Marshall. “Ethical Criticism: What It is and Why It Matters.” Ethics, Literature, Theory: An Introductory Reader, edited by Stephen K. George, A Sheed & Ward, 2005, pp. 56-86.
  • Hursthouse, Rosalind. On Virtue Ethics. 1999. Oxford UP, 2002. Kahn, Peter H., et.al. “What is a human? Toward Psychological Benchmarks in the Field of Human–Robot Interaction.”
  • Interaction Studies, vol. 8, no. 3, 2007, pp. 363-390.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Mach, Ernst. “On Thought Experiments.” Knowledge and Error: Sketches on the Psychology of Enquiry, translated by Thomas J. McCormack and Paul Foulkes, D. Reidel Publishing, pp. 134- 147.
  • Müller, Vincent C. “Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 30 Apr. 2020, plato. stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ai/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2021.
  • Nussbaum, Martha C. Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership. Harvard UP, 2007.
  • Rachels, James. “Active and Passive Euthanasia.” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 292, no.2, 1975, pp. 78-80.
  • Schneider, Susan, editor. “Introduction: Thought Experiments: Science Fiction as a Window into Philosophical Puzzles.” Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, 2nd ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2016, pp. 1-16.
  • Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics. 1979. Cambridge, 2011. Wiltsche, Harald A. “The Forever War: Understanding, Science Fiction, and Thought Experiments.” Synthese, vol. 198, 2021, pp. 3675–3698.
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects North American Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Firuze Güzel

Publication Date June 14, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2022 Issue: 57

Cite

MLA Güzel, Firuze. “Science Fiction Literature As Thought Experiment: An Ethical Analysis of Michael Crichton’s Prey”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 57, 2023, pp. 27-51.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey