Personhood in Science Fiction

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 1-17

3. Defining Personhood in a Posthuman World

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 19-40

4. Dehumanization of the “Nonhuman” Being

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 41-74

5. Embodied and Non-bodied Selves

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 75-107

6. Ethics and AI

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 109-143

7. Artificial Consciousness and Synthetic Souls

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 145-177

8. The Alien-Other: Monsters, Mutants, and Othered Bodies

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 179-214

9. Free Will?

   • Juli L. Gittinger

   Pages 215-236

10. Concluding Thoughts

    • Juli L. Gittinger

    Pages 237-241

11. Back Matter

    Pages 243-245

    PDF

This book addresses the topic of personhood—who is a “person” or “human,” and what rights or dignities does that include—as it has been addressed through the lens of science fiction. Chapters include discussions of consciousness and the soul, artificial intelligence, dehumanization and othering, and free will. Classic and modern sci-fi texts are engaged, as well as film and television. This book argues that science fiction allows us to examine the profound question of personhood through its speculative and imaginative nature, highlighting issues that are already visible in our present world.

• science fiction
• artificial intelligence
• AI
• Westworld
• popular culture
• posthumanism
• Battlestar Galactica
• robot
• android
• religion and society

“In Personhood in Science Fiction, Juli Gittinger does more than merely survey or even analyse the treatment of persons human, alien, and android across some of the most popular sci-fi franchises of recent years. She engages with one of the most puzzling and ethically challenging questions there is, in conversation with everyone from philosophers to neuroscientists to theologians—and yes, of course, our most beloved science fiction authors. Although engaging with highly technical matters, Gittinger does so in a way that is impressively accessible. The result is a book that is of great significance for all the aforementioned fields and many others, and deserves to be read and discussed widely. Juli Gittinger skilfully leads readers on a quest for the souls of androids and aliens, and in the process helps us discover and explore our own.” (James F. McGrath, Professor of Religion, Butler University, USA)

• Georgia College, Milledgeville, USA

  Juli L. Gittinger

Juli L. Gittinger is a Lecturer of South Asian religions and Program Coordinator for Religion at Georgia College, USA.  Her areas of personal research interest include Hindu nationalism, religion in media, and religion/pop culture. 

Policies and ethics