The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic — a devastating epidemic that killed up to 100 million people, or 5% of the
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Is happiness the same thing as “positive emotions”?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not protect us from pain and sorrow. Rather, it helps us turn them into sanctifying experiences.
Continue readingIs our primary goal to become “good people”?
Moralism assumes that our primary duty in life is to become good people, which is usually taken to mean we
Continue readingConcluding thoughts (for now)
The borders of science fiction (as a genre) have not always tracked the distinction we have made in this series.
Continue readingHow to craft genuine science fantasy
Few things highlight the distinction between science fiction and fantasy better than science fantasy. Science fantasy comes in multiple forms,
Continue readingHow writers signal that a work is science fiction
Most viewers distinguish between science fiction and fantasy based on aesthetic alone — futuristic settings, spaceships, and high technology have
Continue readingIs agency the same thing as moral autonomy?
Many people think of agency as a mostly just a matter of moral autonomy; that is, because the individual self
Continue readingIs agency all about rational deliberation?
Agency as rational deliberation treats agency as the process by which we weigh two alternatives and study out the consequences
Continue readingClassic Review: The Emperor’s New Groove
There are two competing cultural narratives that frame the stories we find in modern entertainment. The culturally ascendant narrative is
Continue readingCreating a taxonomy of speculative fiction
The central distinction explored in this series — science fiction as inhabiting a naturalistic universe, and fantasy as inhabiting a
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