Philosophical Science Fiction (and Fantasy) You Should Read
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
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Philosophy, science fiction, and fantasy - three of my favorite things. In this video, I give some recommendations for philosophical science fiction and fantasy. Recommendations include space opera, wizard schools, epic fantasy spanning thousands of years, and time-traveling romances.
Check out my other videos on philosophical science fiction (where I talk about Le Guin, Ishiguro, Wolfe, Lem, Butler, and many more) : • Philosophical Science ...
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00:00 - Start
01:06 - Sun Eater
03:55 - Babel-17
05:58 - A Wizard of Earthsea
08:54 - Nord VPN
10:10 - This Is How You Lose the Time War
11:33 - Ender's Game
15:59 - Malazan
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Just wanted to say, I got hospitalized a couple months back due to a condition and after I finally got out I found your channel and it has totally helped me in trying to find life again after that experience! I hadn’t realized how much I truly love reading, philosophy, journaling and the sorts! Thank you so much for giving genuinely good guidance and suggestions for so many of us!
He definitely got me hooked on Ursula K LeQuien since watching his videos
I love Leguinnnn too.She is my favorite and he made me know more about her @@masonkieninger3978
@@masonkieninger3978I’m also totally convinced to try her stuff out. She’s in my next book batch that I’m gonna buy after I finish my current for December :)
When Jared is talking about having empathy for other conscious entities there is a book series that is terrific in that and it is the favourite Sci-fi of mine and it is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Also if any of you like Children of Time and it's series there is another work by the same author that you might like The Doors of Eden, it explores the same type of thing in a different way.
Borges and Marquez wrote some of my favorite short stories, The Garden of Forking Paths and A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, respectively.
Would love to see a video on these authors and/or magical realism.
I'm absolutely bursting with excitement at all the talk around Sun Eater from multiple channels. Hell, even Daniel Greene is going to be binging the series and cranking out reviews so hopefully it's going to spread the word about the series.
Right. It feels surreal how it's becoming so popular. But it's well deserved. It's one of the best series ever
Long overdue
A series that recently grabbed my attention in a similar way is Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer. A fantastic look at a world that feels like it could genuinely be in our future, what brought about those changes and how those changes now shape the present for our protagonists. There are multiple philosophical themes brought about by Sci-fi and Fantasy elements, including what life might look like if you can travel the world in 2 hours, what might gender roles become if we tried to just erase them, how could the world change if a god incarnate actually visited us. On top of all this is the wonderful writing style which is a journal specifically written because the people in power recognise that the events unfolding need to be documented for future posterity. This has allowed Palmer to include characters having lengthy conversations about those topics because they are aware of them and wonder what effect they might have on themselves and on the future.
Yes, this is a great series! Still haven't finished it, but happy to hear it talked about.
I am only 2 books into Malazan but I noticed those themes as well, and especially another one that ties into all of them; illusion of control. Lorn in GOTM, Laseen and Coltaine in Deadhouse Gates. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves becoming the very chains of our perspective and clarity of vision, safely filling the unknowable gaps with comforting, often deceiving conclusions for the sake of sanity and stability. I feel like Erikson accepts the idea of a chaotic universe and observes many different ways humanity copes with that fact, desperately clinging onto some form of imposed order such as Bridgeburner's loyalty to the abstract idea of the Malazan Empire. And I feel like he does it so well, it feels meaty and nuanced and I cannot stop thinking about these books.
Very much agree on the philosophical value in Sun Eater, Malazan, and Earthsea-sounds like I definitely need to give Babel-17 a try as someone who’s studied a bit of linguistics!
If you're looking for philosophical fantasy, R.Scott Bakker's "The Prince of Nothing" series is all about free will, predestination, etc. A whole host of philosophical trappings are used to bring about "cants", magical utterances, used to describe the interplay between need & want in human interactions, and how a philosophy of pure truth can be used as a powerful manipulation tool of individuals and to also subjugate entire peoples. Gorgeous prose that depict some very adult scenes of violence and sex. Can be quite profound in its insights at times.
Bakker is the great companion piece to Malazan. If anyone who's read Malazan needs something to scratch that itch, Bakker is a must.
@dobo666 fully agree 👍
These are the first books I thought of when I saw the title. I was surprised to not see them mentioned.
The Earthsea series is absolutely one of my all time favorites!! Loved hearing you speak on them. Great video!
I remember reading Speaking for the Dead and being absolutely blown away. I dug Ender's Game, but man that sequel just hits different. Easily Orson Scott Card's best work.
Jared, I have really been enjoying this channel since finding it 3 or so months ago. It has fueled a reading renaissance for me, and I’ve read more voluminously and more joyfully recently than ever before. Thank you! Particularly from your suggestions I’ve enjoyed shop class as soul craft (and MC’s others), and how to read a book by Adler.
Kazuo Ishiguro is very good at exploring ideas about memory and ethics within different genres. I particularly enjoyed his only 'fantasy' "The Buried Giant", it has been very divisive but I found it to be prolific and creative in its exploration of memory of individuals and collective memory of a society
Buried Giant is so so good
Thanks
Suggestion: Solaris - Stanislaw Lem
He spoke about Solaris in the previous video about Philosophical SciFI.
So, an important point to remember about Card's work is that Ender's Game was originally writtent (and published) as shorter work, maybe a Novella, or shorter... but when he had the idea for Speaker for the Dead, I believe his wife suggested expantding the original work as a prequel. I read the third novel when it first came out but was disappointed in it, and have never given it another look... perferring the first too books which I will reread every decade or so.
I would also recommend China Mieville's Bas-Lag novel series. It's kind of a mix between steampunk and cosmic horror with interesting themes around class conflict, stateless societies, multiculturalism as well as mad science and alchemy. Some of the imagery can get pretty twisted tho so be aware.
Great series. The man has command of the English language
i really appreciate your videos of thoughtful scifi fantasy, It's quite wonderful when a fictional story teaches you real lessons
Ah, just seeing Malazan being covered and given its due ... fantastic. :)
Thanks for the video. I finally started reading Ursula K. Le Guin on your recommendation.
I was so happy to see Ender's Game on this this. I find the philosophical component rarely talked about, but I feel as soon as you read the rest of the books in the series, the philosophical side is teased out quite well.
Excellent points and wonderful endorsements for these books. Thanks Jared!
I know Jimmy and Joanna have brought it up, but alongside Malazan in epic fantasy, we greatly look forward to your thoughts on Bakker's Second Apocalypse. Loving the inclusion of more fantasy. :)
Jared, I've just discovered this channel and I love it: It's great. I would like you to dedicate a video exclusively to magical realism which, without a doubt, has a philosophical character. For example, in Marquez' books there is a unique vision of man, life and society.
Great video! Can't wait to explore Sun Eater.
Jared, I need you to answer a very serious philosophical question, how to you complete reading all these books, without any compromises to its shape, they look band new, untouched, unread.
I totally agree with you about Enders game
Love the cat in the background during your discussion of the shadow self. 😆
Great way to start the morning, will be checking out those books!
Great content! Some of my favorite philosophical SF are: God Emperor of Dune (4th Dune novel) - Frank Herbert, Hyperion - Dan Simons, Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell.
Daniel Abraham wrote The Long Price Quartet, the philosophical questions orbit around the conceit of the Andat: gods created by human poets that are a concept made flesh. Each poet conceives of an idea and speaks the andat into being: if the process fails, the poet dies a horrific death as a warning to other. Andat can be passed to other poets as each andat can only be invoked once. The kicker is that andat are bound to the humans that bound them, and do not want to exist. The poet has complete control of the andat’s power, but the andat is in every way a sentient and conscious being with an independent will that does not want to exist.
The conceit is the andat creation process is basically defending a dissertation, the safer invocations are often the most useless. An andat was called “Moss Growing Under Lichens” that embodied the idea of moss growing under lichens.
I'm very excited to see you continue Malazan Book of the Fallen. I'm a huge fan of the series and have always been blown away by it. Would love to hear more of your thoughts on it.
would be interesting to hear your take on the history of philosophy. Like the big ideas that made ancient, medieval, modern, anad contemporary philosophy unique. Just am idea for a video series? Anyway love the videos and have loved some of the books you’ve recommended, keep up the good work👍
Parable of the Sower + Parable of the Talents
definitely do a magical realism video. please and thank you!
Great video. Although the section on "Speaker for the Dead" was brief, I think I got more out of this review than I have out of a lot of the longer ones I've seen on UA-cam.
The book that I would most like Jared to review is "Be Water My Friend" by Shannon Lee. She is the daughter of Bruce Lee, and although many people know that he is a famous actor from martial arts movies, few people know that he was a philosophy major at the University of Washington who owned something like (shooting from the hip here) 700-900 books about philosophy before reaching the age of 30. As he tragically passed away at a relatively young age, Bruce never got the chance to write a book about philosophy, and the books about him that exist focus more on how forms of martial arts should work and how martial arts should be taught than his thoughts on philosophy. But Bruce did jot down a lot of notes about philosophy during his lifetime, and Shannon was able to use them to write this book.
As far as the book itself, I would say that it is about how people encounter problems in their lives, and then have pre-conceived bias regarding how they can potentially solve them. It's not a self-help book per se, but focuses more on what people can do to expand their thinking regarding potential solutions to the problems that they encounter. She uses a lot of examples from Bruce's career to explain things, and highlights the fact that Bruce really strived to combine the best elements of Eastern and Western thought in his thinking. It's easily one of the best books that I've ever read, and I do hope that Jared will consider tackling it. :)
The Sun Eater series is one of my favorites. Definitely worth checking out!
Great recs, I can't wait to get to Sun Eater, and oh man just wait till you get to the final books of Malazan. That series changed my life and perspective on reading. Not to be dramatic or anything...
Have read and absolutely loved them all, will definitely add 17 to my list
I would recommend The Book Of The New Sun, an extraordinary science fantasy series, mind-boggling
Some more recommendations:
- vernor vinge’s zones of consciousness series explores the struggles of various forms of intelligent life under the hypothesis that both technology and levels of intelligences have lower upper limits the closer you get to the center of the galaxy. There’s one book in particular that centers on a society where individuals consist of multiple intelligent bodies, so identities shift and absorb each other when those bodies move around.
- vernor vinge’s marooned in realtime explores time travel in the only possible sense: that of moving forward in time.
- Peter watt’s fireball series explores the concept of intelligence without sentience, and what that could mean in a first contact situation.
I’ll definitely be checking out the comment section for more suggestions. Great video!
Just talking about this video with my wife...and here you are, making a video for just me. Thank you!
Found your channel a couple of weeks ago and been watching all your videos. Would love to see a video on magical realism.
Always love fantasy and science fiction showing up here.
Great Vid Jared. Im starting Suneater next month!
I have a suggestion for scif-fi. It's called Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's hard Sci-Fi first contact with the main theme being consciousness, and he gets deep into it. I think you'd really enjoy it.
Oh man!! I loved Blindsight.
Even though I'm not into horror the most horrified I have ever been is by this book and the weird thing is it was through linguistics.
There's one thing that I always remember about this book, a sentence
Imagine you are Siri Keeton.
After all, Siri Keeton does.
@@AnuragSharma-pi4yr I saved that sentence on my kindle as well! The whole experience of them going onto the Rorschach for the first time was horrifying. In the best of ways.
Haha I just recommended it too. I found the plot drags on a bit too much, but the width of knowledge Watt draws upon and his excellent writing style are impressive and make the read worth it.
Wow, what an amazing exploration of philosophical themes in science fiction and fantasy! Your insights into each book are spot-on, and I love how you delve into the deeper layers of these narratives. The way you connect the philosophical dots in the Sun Eater series and the exploration of the shadow self in A Wizard of Earthsea is truly fascinating.
And speaking of diving into otherworldly realms, have you ever considered the mesmerizing synergy between philosophical ponderings and synthwave vibes? 🎶✨ I'm actually putting final touches on a scifi synthwave album set to release in early 2024, and I can't help but feel that the cosmic contemplations discussed in your video are perfectly complemented with the sounds and lyrical storytelling in my upcoming album "Parallax". I'm a bit of a scifi nerd, haha.
Can't wait to see more incredible content from you (insta-subbed), and if you or your awesome community have a penchant for ethereal beats and futuristic soundscapes, keep an ear out for my album drop next year! #SciFiSynthwaveAdventures #PhilosophicalJourneys
When he talks about Babel-17 and mentions not being able to talk about yourself because your language lacks that word, it reminded me of the book Anthem by Ayn Rand. Which is a book I loved in high school
Definitely check out, “The Buried Giant” by Akashi Ishiguro if you haven’t . I see it mentioned in literary circles but less so in fantasy circles. It mostly deals with memory, how our memory defines us, is forgetting a valuable tool to cope with trauma, can remembering be bad, etc.
Book of the Fallen got into Glen Cook’s Black Company series. Great read.
I’m curious if you’ve read short stories by Ted Chiang. I’m new(ish) to the idea of philosophical scifi, but he’s the first name that comes to mind. At least of what I’ve read.
I’ve read a bit. I just don’t read much short fiction, so it is hard to include him.
Ted chaing is absolutely a must read for op and anyone interested in this theme !
Speaker of the Dead was so profound to me that I put the book down and never read another in the series (yet, ofc). I like it much more than Ender's Game and I felt like a raving lunatic about that book. Speaker is deep, tragic, and is personal to me.
If I ever read another Ender's series book, I'll probably read the book on Peter.
I’m curious, did you stop doing the Classical Mind podcast? And if so, why? I went to start listening to it just now and was so disappointed to not hear your voice. I appreciate so much the content you are creating for people like me who are seeking the intellectual life, especially those of us doing it on our own outside of school as adults. Thank you for all you have contributed so far.
Your channel is a hidden gem,
Excellent video! I'm a big fan of LeGuin's SF novels, but have neglected to read her works of fantasy; I think I've mistakenly assumed them to be... childish?
Regarding Ender, I wonder if Blindsight by Peter Watts is not a better examination of an alien consciousness, or the need for consciousness at all. Thanks for making this type of content.
I read Xenocide before Enders Game for a high school book report and loved it. I think the first three build on one another but I agree Speaker for the Dead is an amazing work.
Great video!
Great video as always, a lot of these books are on my TBR and I'm looking forward to pick them up.
I was wondering: do you guys know scifi/fantasy books with the philosophical theme of Stoicism? I recently read Oathbringer in the Stormlight Archive and I loved Dalinar plot that has some obvius reference to Stoicism.I would like to read something the same theme in the scifi genra (but other fantasy books are welcome too)
In Sun Eater, a group called the Scholiasts repeated maxims to themselves in order to control their emotions and respond rightly. There’s heavy overlap with Stoicism.
❤Carl young and Pauli. I been doing research on these two. Paul was quantum physicist which Carl young helped him to find 137. Wow, the 137 is great.
Surprised “The Darkness That Comes Before” By R. Scott Bakker isn’t here. Read the first book on a suggestion and was VERY impressed. It was very philosophical, but still action packed!
caught my attention, gonna give it a read
Because of you I will probrably read Sun Eater after I finish Malazan in Christmas
Always an immense pleasure to read!
Becky Chambers' series - Wayfarers
I've been seeing a lot of Delaney lately. I suppose it's time to start Babel-17.
Btw love the book videos
Need to pick up Sun Eater as also a fan of Herbert and Wolfe.
Erickson runs the gamut of themes in MBotF. History, empire, motherhood, brotherhood, grief, etc. They are often addressed multiple times from multiple perspectives.
The first book really shows the influence of Herbert and Wolfe. But over time the series takes on a life of its own in a really pleasing way.
Another speculative fiction book that deals with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is Genocidal Organ by Project Itoh (Itoh Keikaku). It is more dystopian than SF, maybe, or more like near-future SF. He also wrote Harmony, which is more firmly footed in SF.
Pls do the magic realism episode!
Also I would consider works of China Mieville as philosophical. Yes, he is more concerned with politics and societal structure (Marx) and with the language semantics more than epistemology but I think he is worth talking about!
More fantasy pls. It's my favourite of the two
My favorite book of the year 2023 is Weyward by Emilia Hart. Beautiful book Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.Love the channel
The best science fiction of this year is "The Cyber AI of the Law". By far.
-Hello, writer!- said the western book shop. -Do you have any books to sell?
-I do. I'm from the east, though, is that a problem? - responded the writer.
- How east are you from? - said the shop. - We only take east asia.
I have not seen any books from the middle east or the eastern Europe during my trip to Edinburgh. What I'm trying to say is that Stanisław Lem wrote some really nice philosophical SF and nobody talks about it.
Glad to see somebody spend a whole video chapter on the philosophical and literary merit of Nord VPN
Two more books Jared might consider under the rubric of "philosophical" magical realist fiction: Invisible Cities by Calvino and Einstein's Dreams by Lightman. The premise of the first book is that Marco Polo is giving a sort of field report to Kublai Khan of some very strange places. The premise of the second book is that while Einstein is writing the paper on special relativity he has a series of dreams of places where the laws of physics work rather differently.
Hello, Jared! Sorry for off topic question...
What kind of glasses do you wear?
I'd love to hear your thoughts about A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers!
Malazan seems (to me) like [(Gene Wolfe's Urth saga + Norman's Gor)/2]
2 Other great philosophical fantasy series are Manifest Delusions by Michael Fletcher and Second Apocalypse by R. Scott Bakker (:
Hey, have you read Brandon Sanderson works, especially storm light archive. Like to know your thoughts on his works.
"Ender's Game" was a revelation when I was a kid. It made me think a lot about violence and tied in some thoughts about "Alien" and how this might suggest that we all ought to take a page from Doctor Who and talk to the monster, who might not be as monstrous or that the ones we talk to might be the most monstrous, like Ender's brother Peter. I am trying to find a foothold in Ursla LeGuinn, but it has been kind of hard....Will try this as an option! Thanks! Love your videos, keept up the good work sir! You will ultimately assist in making me poor, for all the books I must read! 🤓
Sun eater is my favorite science fiction series of books.
(Yes I did read Dune)
Ace Levy:
Sir, I don't understand. What good's a knife in a [magic] fight? All you have to do is [speak some words and wave your hands], sir.
Career Sergeant Zim:
Put your hand on that wall trooper. PUT YOUR HAND ON THAT WALL! (Pins hand to wall with knife)
Career Sergeant Zim:
The enemy can not use [magic]... if you have disabled his mouth or hands. Medic!
PLEASE do a magical realism video. It'd be interesting to make it a bit less about specific books, but maybe more about the genre and philosophy as a whole. Why are the authors not writing full fantasy? What does the surreal and dreamlike add to a story that realism is incapable of? Why is it normally formally formerly colonized people that end up writing magical realism? Why is magical realism so prominent in 20th century latin america when the rest of the world was so obsessed with modernism?
Basically I’d just love to see a more formal literary criticism video from you :)
Here's a question, where can I publish an essay about science fiction and philosophy?
If you are into audiobooks, this series has phenomenal voice acting, and book 1, 1.5, and book 2 are on the plus catalogue so no need to use a credit on audible
Maybe you could do a video on kids' books with philosophical themes?
Have you ever read Cixin Lui books...The Body Problem, The Dark Forest, Death's End?
Thank you so much. When I started watching the video I thought you were going to recommend the same books that everyone recommends. 1984. Neuromancer. Ubik. Etc etc etc
I highly recommend giving Xenocide another try, if you liked Speaker for the Dead. Xenocide brings in themes of Dystopia, control vs. freedom vs. religion/tradition, and the nature of the soul. The final book (Children of the Mind) goes a bit nutty and leans into the issue about the soul and also about the nature and fabric of reality itself.
I definitely should. It has been years since I tried.
Just in time for coffee.
To take Ender's Game to a more practical philosophical point is to address the issue of the psychological manipulation of children. Of course the EG universe presents an extreme case but less extreme cases exist in the real world constantly.
My mother sent me to a Catholic grammar school. In 8th grade a nun told me, "You will get into a good high school but you won't do well." She was mad because I refused to be a patrol boy.
However the Jesuits have a saying, "Give me a child until he is 7 years old and he is mine for life." The world today is the result of a global culture war affecting the minds of children. I find it amazing that Orson Scott Card takes Mormonism seriously.
What do you recommend from the "soft science fiction" category?
Some of these are going straight on the Christmas list.
On a side note: could you please leave out the clicking sounds in future lists - think fingernails on chalkboards. Thanks!
I don’t remember if I’ve commented and, looking, I don’t see one from me, BUT!
YES PLEASE RE: MAGICAL REALISM!!!
What do you think about the Thomas Covenant Chronicles?
I disagree on you on Ender's Games. I felt Ender's Game wase Orson Scott Card's masterpiece novel, where he exceeded his normal limits. Speaker for the Dead was ok, but it felt like it was tacked on. Ender's Game was a beautiful look at the Ender's mind and truly surprising and original twist.
If you think it could count as sci-fi, Gravity’s rainbow also deserves a mention!
Great video. Make other discussion based videos.
Every circle begins with its end.
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
"Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind's journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul's fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope's strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe's endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again."
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
--Diamond Dragons (Armageddon's Ballad)
Do you think "The Arrival" movie demonstrates concepts you describe in Babel 17?
It has some philosophy and some fantasy but I guess you would call it spiritual fiction. And that is the Don Juan books by Carlos Castaneda A truly wonderful writer....of fiction. But a really unusual genre, spiritual fiction.
I like these types of videos! I want to read more fiction I'm more of a Christian theology reader
Please cover magical realism and explore Japanese author, Haruki Murakami.
The audible ticks coinciding with visual cuts are frustrating and distracting. Please consider leaving those out or maybe using a kess harsh audio cue.
Keep it up