Analyzing the Human Condition
In the second chapter of What if? Religious Themes in Science Fiction, Mike Alsford introduces the idea that science fiction is much more than the futuristic technologies that many people have defined the genre by, but is more about the human condition and what defines us as humans. When viewing science fiction through this lens, the futuristic technologies are little more than a literary device, and the focus shifts to the deeper elements of the plot. In the second chapter, Alsford looks at different historical opinions of what the essential ingredient of humanity is and applies them to Chistianity and the science fiction genre.
Before Alsford can go on to answer the question “What are we?” he must first establish the basis of the question. He does this by showing that, like theology, the basis of the genre is self- identification and the human condition. By using futuristic technology to change the limitations of what humans can and cannot do, science fiction lays bare a version of the primal question, “what can be taken away from or for that matter added to a human being and still allow them to retain their humanity (27)?” This is also a version of the same conundrum that theologians have long debated. From these basic premises of the relationship religion and science fiction, Aldren looks at four different, but hardly mutually exclusive, perspectives on what defines a human.
The first section focuses on the question of what defines us as human beings and, through numerous examples, clearly demonstrates Alsford’s point that science fiction and the question of “what are we?” are undeniably intertwined. Using a storyline from what is arguably the standard for science fiction- Star Trek- Alsford shows how prevalent the analysis of human nature is. In what is one of the less discrete versions of this, a robot named Data is put on trial to “establish whether it/he has the rights of humans of personhood or is simply property” (27). When viewed through the
Before Alsford can go on to answer the question “What are we?” he must first establish the basis of the question. He does this by showing that, like theology, the basis of the genre is self- identification and the human condition. By using futuristic technology to change the limitations of what humans can and cannot do, science fiction lays bare a version of the primal question, “what can be taken away from or for that matter added to a human being and still allow them to retain their humanity (27)?” This is also a version of the same conundrum that theologians have long debated. From these basic premises of the relationship religion and science fiction, Aldren looks at four different, but hardly mutually exclusive, perspectives on what defines a human.
The first section focuses on the question of what defines us as human beings and, through numerous examples, clearly demonstrates Alsford’s point that science fiction and the question of “what are we?” are undeniably intertwined. Using a storyline from what is arguably the standard for science fiction- Star Trek- Alsford shows how prevalent the analysis of human nature is. In what is one of the less discrete versions of this, a robot named Data is put on trial to “establish whether it/he has the rights of humans of personhood or is simply property” (27). When viewed through the