Probing the limits of reality: the metaphysics in science fiction

摘要

Science fiction provides a genre in which metaphysical questions concerning the ultimate structure of reality regularly arise. In addressing these questions, contemporary scientists tend to assume that the questions are of a scientific nature and should be handled solely by reference to our best theories. In this paper, it is argued that we cannot afford to neglect the role of conceptual analysis-a distinctively philosophical task-in thinking critically about the possibilities that science fiction claims to describe.