CORE089 Philosophy in sci-fi

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2026
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. PhDr. Josef Krob, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Josef Krob, CSc.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Urubková
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
TYP_STUDIA(BM) && FORMA(P) && !(PROGRAM(B-PH_) || OBOR(FBPHpV)) && !NOWANY( PHV416 Phil. and Sci-fi: Sel. Chap. ) && ! PHV416 Phil. and Sci-fi: Sel. Chap. && MAXATR(3, core)
The course is open to full-time Bachelor's and five-year Master's students, with the exception of the Philosophy programme. The student must not be concurrently enrolled in or have completed PHV416.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/100, only registered: 0/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
Abstract
At the end of the course students will have been introduced to the possibilities and particular cases of the use of thought experiments in literature as well as so selected philosophical problems portrayed in fiction. The goal of the course is to enhance the creative part of critical thinking while respecting the requirements of logical consistency and formal correctness.
Learning outcomes
Students will have an overview - About selected philosophical issues and fields philosophy of science, philosophy of society, ethics - on their connection with the issue of natural and social sciences cosmology, physics, history, psychology and generally modern technology and their consequences
Key topics
  • The introduction of selected philosophical questions by an interactive way and their reflection using sci-fi literature.
  • This will be rather a workshop than a lecture! 1. The creation of universes, the emergence of the world
  • 2. The sign, name and reality
  • 3. Evolution, meaning of life
  • 4. Social determinism
  • 5. Space, time
  • 6. Mind, body, solipsism and realism
  • 7. Artificial intelligence
  • 8. The historical role of a mistake
  • 9. The Judgment Day
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
Lecture based on assigned reading, discussion and text analysis.
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
Test
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024, Autumn 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2026, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2026/CORE089