The High Castle I-Ching

Every culture ever known has operated under a system of values. Many varied on exact principles, but most applied the idea of Natural Law. Or, as C.S. Lewis would refer to it in his Abolition of Man, the Tao. In this particular book Lewis discusses the implications that would follow could man overcome this basic value system that has been in place since the development of rational thought. However, paradoxical as his opinion may seem, he holds that to step beyond the Tao is to plunge into nothingness. Simply put, it is his claim that to destroy, or even fundamentally change, man’s basic value system is to destroy man himself.

Chiang uses Greco’s pursuit for knowledge to demonstrate the unethical aspect of heightened intelligence regarding greed. Specifically, Norwegian economist and historian of economic thought, Odd Langholm explains the risks of greed and mentions, “Greed has corrupting effects on a person’s character and spiritual life leading to vices that harm society and economy” (Langholm 271). Here, Langholm explains how greed affects a person’s psyche and those around. In the context of the story, Greco’s excessive desire for intelligence can possible lead him to harm not only himself, but society and those around. By demonstrating Greco’s developing greed, Chiang allows readers to understand that superintelligence can be dangerous if in the wrong hands. Chiang’s reason for stressing the value of greed is to help readers understand the risks human selfishness poses with heightened intelligence and to further question their philosophical views of superintelligence.

As one of the most acclaimed, highly-regarded authors of the past century, Ray Bradbury was a phenomenal storyteller that remarkably influenced the popularity of science fiction literature in the modern world. Born on August 20, 1920 into a rather small, poor family in Waukegan, Illinois, Ray moved from town to town as his father searched for work which led to him inhabiting new environments that would later influence some of his work. During this often arduous period, Ray developed an interest in writing as a profession while attending Los Angeles High School, and eventually found work in the bustling city. While he unhappily struggled to make money by selling newspapers on street corners, he finally left this occupation in 1942 and devoted

Because the imaginary components of science fiction can be rationalized by potential scientific explanations, there are elements of non-fiction within this genre too. This combination of both fiction and non-fiction is well-suited for Bradbury’s purposes because although his book discusses a future society, it also mentions a great deal about how the world currently is and how it was to some degree when he wrote it in the fifties.

Moral power held by literature or art has often smashed against some form of material power and censorship. For instance, books against the ideas of the Nazi regime such as Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto” were burnt in the Nazi’s book burning of 1933 and The Bible is currently banned from North Korea. Authors have therefore been pressured into finding a method to avoid the strict restrictions forced by material power. In this paper, I will argue that Philip K. Dick was able to criticize the government and the situation of America in the 1960s, without suffering consequences, thanks to the generation of a time shift in his novel and the construction of a parallel between story and history hence manipulating the line between fiction and reality.

The first chapter ‘Men without Chests’ focuses explicitly on two opposing world views, the world of the green book and the world of the Tao. Lewis presents the world of the Tao as the broad generalisation

[Thesis: The Space Race and it 's overall support from the general public can be credited to the prevalence of Science fiction in American pop-culture.]

The Tao Te Ching outlines that if people value great individuals, they become weak. Also, if people place high value on possessions, they start to steal. The Tao Te Ching also articulates that the master leads by filling the hearts of people, weakening their ambitions and toughening their determination (Lao-tzu 3). The master assists individuals to lose their knowledge and desires and creates misperception in people who believe they possess knowledge. This concept can be applied in a political conflict in the contemporary world. It is evident that individuals have overvalued possessions. Overvaluing possessions has led to the emergence of various problems that have caused political conflict.

The first and most obvious flaw is that the author, Hoff, is trying to prove that in just about any situation the principles of Taoism will always guide you along the right path. However the stories he used to

Fiction 1950 - 1963 Some people argue that, a step forward may bring great success by altering old ideas, such as different means of literature, that have been accepted as a common norm for many decades. Furthermore, advancements through new and diverse ideas may shape the world of literature and writing on a global scale. In the article, “Fiction 1950 – 1963,” by Rob Latham, it is evident that even when popular trends become overthrown by new styles and ideas; it may still bring success and a curious audience to a new period of the science fiction genre. When it comes to the topic of science fiction, Rob Latham argues that the pulp genre, which defined science fiction for over two decades, had been superseded by a new movement of ideas known

It is never easy to see past the opaque barrier between our personal beliefs that carry our arguments and an opposing argument. There tends to be a problem in which personal experiences close one’s mind off to other arguments. Scientific Fiction gives the opportunity to writers to be able to present arguments without having to make them personal to the reader. Because of this it gives a higher probability that the reader will consider the argument rather than shut it out simply because they do not agree with it or it does not match their own beliefs. Heinlein takes this aspect of Scientific Fiction and runs with it.

"I don't know what's worse to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you've always wanted to be and feel alone." Daniel Keyes was born in New York on August 9, 1927. The idea for Flowers for Algernon came to him many years before he wrote the short story or the novel. The question he always asked is "what would happen if it were possible to increase human intelligence?" Charlie Gordon, the main character in the novel came years later, when a retarded young man spoke to him, he thought how wonderful would it be if a technique was able to help disadvantaged people.

It is important to evaluate the information that we are given, because we will continually assume that what we believe is true even though we never question the basis for our beliefs. Maybe we believe things are true because we want to believe, that we’ve always believed, or that it is in our vested interest to believe.We live in a world where the information we are given comes from a secondary source, and it is up to us to take that information and critically think and question it, before we decide that we want to believe it. However, it is difficult to pursue truth when other sources of information is limited or nonexistent. Is this a projection of Dick’s view on reality of the times in which he

Philip K. Dick acts as the Charles Dickens of science fiction in his sheer density and detail. Nearly all of his works come from the real place, which is reality. What he sees is disintegration, dirt, corruption, and that was him; Dick looked on the dark side of the human element saw how the dark side was romantic and incorporated those dark corners into his books. Inside this

“The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” (Chinua Achebe 1958) This quote is written by Chinua Achebe which shows the main theme of the novel Things Fall Apart, and even represents the theme within the article, “The Benefits of British Rule”. There are many cultures with different values or practices that might seem obscure to one group but normal to another, therefore no one can determine what culture is wrong or right, but it 's up to society to determine the best way of life. The novel Things Fall Apart and the article “The Benefits of British Rule” examine two different cultures facing similar scenarios. Both cultures, the Indian and