Strange New World: Philosophy and Science Fiction

Second Annual Symposium Call for Abstracts

August 24th-26th, 2023

London, England

Mission Statement:

The International Society for Philosophy in Film (ISPiF) promotes philosophical engagement with film by conceiving film as a form or expression of thought. Rather than a mere source of entertainment or collection of objects for aesthetic scrutiny, film expresses ideas and arguments worth engaging. From the perspective of ISPiF, to engage films philosophically means to think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study and teaching of philosophy into new regions through thoughtful engagement with film. 

Theme: Strange New World: Science Fiction and Philosophy

Abstract Deadline April 15th, 2023

(Completed papers due July 15th, 2023) 

The philosopher Susan Schneider describes philosophical thought experiments as follows:

“A philosophical thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in the ‘laboratory of the mind’ that depicts something that often exceeds the bounds of current technology or even is incompatible with the laws of nature, but that is supposed to reveal something philosophically enlightening.”[1]

On this view, science fiction can be construed as a collection of sustained thought experiments. Since it confronts us with realities that are uncannily similar to yet simultaneously at odds with our own, it invites us to critically reexamine our reality from novel perspectives, to rethink and anticipate the ways new and emerging technologies are shaping us and our world, and to imagine and pave the way for the kind of future we hope to collectively create. Unsurprisingly, then, as a genre or movement science fiction is uniquely suited to the exploration philosophically-significant topics and issues.

For its second annual conference, The Society for Philosophy in Film invites extended abstracts on the theme of science fiction. In line with ISPiF’s mission, papers should focus on developing the thought inherent in films (television and other related media), either individually or collectively, that fall under the category/genre/movement of science fiction film, broadly construed

[1] Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, 2nd edition. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell, 2016