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Introduction: Science Fiction at a Crossroad Between Ethics and Imagination

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Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition

Abstract

Somewhere between the sociological and anthropological study of the ethical dilemmas of technological practice and the insistence by certain philosophers and theologians of the universal nature of ethical claims, lies a liminal zone, a space that allows us to imagine the fictive or possible scenarios for future technological practices. These imaginary scenarios can have important bearings on our moral considerations of scientific endeavour, as they may help to clarify both the potential and the risks associated with technological development.

A society without science fiction may be standing in the light, but is surely stepping into darkness.

(Jonathan Dotse, Ghanaian internet activist, blogger and science fiction novelist)

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Acknowledgment

This book is the result of a conference that was organised as a joint venture by the Department of Learning and Philosophy, Aalborg University; the Copenhagen University Network on Discussions on Science and Religion at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen; and the Science Fiction Circle, a Danish non-profit organisation that seeks to further the interest in science fiction. The conference was financially supported by the John Templeton Foundation and logistical support during the final editing process was provided by the Centre for Bio-Science and Techno-anthropology, Department of Chemistry and Bio-science, Aalborg University.

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Correspondence to Christian Baron .

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Baron, C., Halvorsen, P.N., Cornea, C. (2017). Introduction: Science Fiction at a Crossroad Between Ethics and Imagination. In: Baron, C., Halvorsen, P., Cornea, C. (eds) Science Fiction, Ethics and the Human Condition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56577-4_1

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