Thammasat University students who are interested in media and communication studies, science fiction, fantasy, philosophy, television, literature, sociology, cognitive science, and related subjects may find a new Open Access book available for free download useful.
Twilight Zone Reflections: An Introduction to the Philosophical Imagination is by Professor Emeritus Saul Traiger, who taught cognitive science and philosophy at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California , the United States of America.
The TU Library collection includes a number of other books on different aspects of science fiction and philosophy.
Professor Traiger has published widely on the philosophy of the Scottish philosopher and David Hume,
His book may be downloaded free at this link:
https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/6969z3756?locale=en
The Twilight Zone is an American television series created by the US writer Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering”the Twilight Zone.
The episodes express varied moods, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller.
They often end with a surprising or upsetting twist, along with a moral to the story.
The Twilight Zone was popular with audiences and critics, and was one of the first series in America to contain science fiction and fantasy themes.
The first series, shot in black-and-white, ran for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.
The publisher’s description of the book follows:
An introduction to philosophy through thought experiments in the 1959–1964 television series, The Twilight Zone.
Twilight Zone Reflections is the first book of its kind to explore the entirety of The Twilight Zone (1959–1964) as a series. It acts as both an introduction to the field of philosophy and as a complete guide to the philosophical issues illustrated throughout the original 1959–64 television series. Author Saul Traiger explores each of the 156 episodes, investigating the show’s themes in metaphysics, epistemology, moral and political philosophy, and other topics in a way that is accessible to both seasoned philosophers and those outside academia.
Each short chapter dives into a single episode and concludes with helpful cross-references to other episodes that explore similar philosophical problems and subjects. For example, a reader may be interested in questions about the nature of the mind and whether machines can think. By referencing this book, they could easily discover the thematic connections between episodes like “I Sing the Body Electric” or “The Lateness of the Hour,” and learn how both episodes introduce the viewer to possible worlds that challenge us to consider whether our idea of the mind, and even our very personhood, extends beyond the human to robots and other artificial intelligences. Each chapter introduces fundamental philosophical questions such as these through the lens of The Twilight Zone and inspires additional exploration. Further readings are suggested for all episodes, making this volume indispensable to academics, students, and fans of the show. Each chapter is short and accessible, ensuring that this book is the perfect resource to accompany a complete series re-watch.
The Twilight Zone considered questions that strike at the heart of philosophical inquiry, such as the nature of self, the existence of god, the possibility of an afterlife, the relationship between knowledge and mental illness, the nature of possibility, even the nature of imagination itself, and so much more. Traiger argues that each episode can serve as an entry point for philosophical reflection. Twilight Zone Reflections is a valuable reference for anyone interested in exploring a well-known slice of popular culture history that doubles as a vast store of philosophical ideas.
Professor Traiger observes that The Twilight Zone was the series creator’s name for the imagination:
In the lead-in to every episode, Serling describes it as a “fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow—between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call ‘The Twilight Zone.’”
Each episode introduces the viewer to some area or aspect of the imagination. It is a possible destination, a place one can visit by applying our imaginations. In it, events take place, though it is often difficult for the viewer to describe what is happening.
Typically, the characters we meet do not know that they are there, in the Twilight Zone, in some place other than what we think of as the actual world, and this leads to puzzlement, fear, anguish, and sometimes joy and elation, which we may share with them.
In each episode, we, together with the characters in the story, must figure out how to make sense of what is taking place, in the thoughts and the actions and the circumstances. Our familiar ideas about the mind, about justice, about the nature and identity of persons can’t be applied in any straightforward way, because the circumstances described are not familiar circumstances.
Understanding what is happening in an episode of The Twilight Zone requires us to expand or modify our ideas or come up with new ones that apply to the new and strange circumstances in which we find ourselves. When we do so, we become philosophers.
For the reader with little prior background in philosophy, this book can serve as an introduction to the field. One way to begin doing philosophy is to watch or re-watch episodes that I have tagged as related to aphilosophical topic of interest to the reader.
For example, someone interested in questions about the nature of the mind and whether machines can think could begin with “I Sing the Body Electric” or “The Lateness of the Hour.” Both episodes introduce us to possible worlds in which very lifelike robots appear to be just as intelligent as or more intelligent than humans.
Does our idea of the mind or our idea of personhood extend to these beings? The essays on these episodes introduce these and other questions and provide suggestions for further reading. Episodes and topics can be explored along such threads or in any other way that is sparked by reflection on these questions.
Episodes can be viewed and then read about, or read about and then watched.
The goals are to reflect on the questions raised by visiting the Twilight Zone and to deepen the understanding of the ideas that have been put under stress by the visit.
Seasoned philosophers can use this book as a reference work, as a catalogue of possible worlds or thought experiments keyed to philosophical concepts, arguments, disputes, and texts. While the philosophical connections I’ve made to the episodes reflect my interests and philosophical training, I have attempted to reach out to traditions, texts, and debates as broadly as possible.
Still, there are philosophical traditions and texts that are not included here, particularly those broadly labeled as non-Western.
It is my hope that others with different training and expertise will contribute to the philosophical literature in the effort to help others explore their philosophical imaginations through the thought experiments from The Twilight Zone.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)