The History of Science Fiction Unit Final:

          Science fiction literature did not originate at one specific time. It was brought up alongside literature starting in the times of the Greeks and Romans. These ancient authors were not shy about writing novels that today would fall under the title of fantasy literature. However, stories about gods and heroic adventures are not to be called the first cases of science fiction. 

Lurking among these well known epics at the time were the first real examples of science fiction. Mundane in exploration of ideas and Earth-bound, these stories were hindered by the lack of knowledge at the time of the cosmos. That taken into consideration, voyages to the moon were not uncommon. The moon was seen as in the air or atmosphere where as the stars were thought to belong to the realm of the gods and would be related to religious beliefs. An example of ancient Greek science fiction is Lucian's True History, written in 160 to 180 AD. Lucian has been commonly regarded as the father to science fiction and a classical writer in ancient Greece. He was one of the first to start the life of science fiction. 

Sci-fi literature would not see a rise until after the end of the dark ages when the Renaissance was at its start in society. "Science fiction was reborn in one year, 1600," (Adam Roberts, 36) with the introduction of Giodano Bruno into society. Bruno was a Neapolitan speculative thinker. Inspired by the Copernican model of the universe, he spread his ideas across Europe, and at the same time created the basis of the idea of the infinite universe that is so crucial in science fiction today. Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei also helped to contribute to the ideas of sci-fi with his support of the Copernican model of the cosmos. At the time of the Enlightenment there were many French philosophers who contributed to the ideas that support the science and technology behind science fiction. Two big sci-fi texts of the eighteenth century were Irish poet, Jonathan Swift's, Gulliver's Travels, and French writer, Voltaire's, Micromégas. Starting in the nineteenth century science fiction migrated to the United States, and in the twentieth century, most of the current day well known sci-fi stories were written. Science fiction was still very present in Europe at the time. Arguably, the most well known science fiction authors of  the nineteenth century were French author, Jules Verne, and Englishman, H.G. Wells.  

Science fiction as a literature did not move too much in its early history. This is mainly because science fiction was present where science was present. The philosophers of Athens would be one such example. They held knowledge that led to educated thought about unknown subjects. With their scientific theories, they were able to start the path of sci-fi throughout its spread around Europe and eventually to America. France and England were the main epicenters for authors of the genre. This is because both countries were powerful, and experienced the Enlightenment which sparked new creative thought. This was the midpoint of my book The History of Science Fiction by Adam Roberts. 

French Revolution Final Assessment: women's rights

In current day society there has been continuous controversy about the equality between men and women. Women have the same influential roles in the economy when compared to men, but many women are very disturbed by the difference in payment between women and men. Not so clear to the public eye however, there is also a difference in the distribution of jobs between sex's. Women are physically weaker than men in general, leading the employers of labor intensive jobs to more likely choose a male for the job over a female. Women also are usually not present in the personal and commercial retail job businesses. 

From the mid twentieth century to today, there have been many increases in the equal sharing of jobs between men and woman. In government, the appearance of women has been rising. This also goes for financial, transportation, and professional business services. Women have always been the majority of workforce in education and health services, maintaining an average of 75%.

Society has seen an overall climb in women's employment over the years, emulating a climbing equality of rights. The constitution of the US embodies equal rights to all citizens. However, this does not mean that society has promoted fare distribution of jobs and salary for both genders. There are still some inequalities, but at the same time things are getting better for woman. 

Here and There the People Rule: thoughts and reflections

           The Enlightenment was the upbringing of new ways of thinking using the scientific method. This created new ideas. One of the ideas created was the rights to man and citizen. For the first time the subjects of monarchies questioned the ways that they were treated. This lead to many different revolutions agains monarchs. Two such revolutions would be the French Revolution and the South-American Revolution. They both sprung up from ideas concerned about rights for all subjects and rights for citizens in general. Because of the oppressive rule of the current king of France and the Spanish governor Hidalgo, the people rose up and retaliated. 

Edmund Burke: thoughts and reflections

          In the reflections of Edmund Burke, the man established a new light to the events of the French revolution. He himself did not agree with the revolutionaries' want for the new free government with equal rights to man and woman. Edmund described the overthrow of the existing king and queen as the loss of honor in the existing system of rule. He thought that the revolution was not going to establish a solid rule for the people. The esteemed court of the principality was lost, and along with it was the pride of the country. Edmund Burke also did not like the way the people retaliated. It was an uprising comprised of more hate, outrage, and fury than retaliations of citizens being ruled by illegal monarchs with strict unforgiving rule. Edmund also does not agree with the way that rulers are brought up in France. They are taught to cower at their advisors and put full faith of what to do in situations in their people. In the events of the French revolution, Edmund Burke simply saw the revolutionaries as fighting to destroy the preexisting monarchy with vengeance and little ability to reestablish a new government.

John Locke Interview: video

The link to the video - https://vimeo.com/113668259


Script Questions/Answers:

Welcome John Locke, It’s a pleasure to have you.
- Pleasure to be here.

Great. Now I understand that you were born in England?
- Yes, born in Wrington England.

And um, What is your field of study?
- I study political philosophy, metaphysics, education, and economics.
My main focus is on the natural rights of humans.

Very cool, What unique ideas did you develop on the natural rights of humans?
- I propose that to protect our freedoms, we need security. But with that protection comes a lack of freedom in turn.

Interesting, now, How did those ideas conform to the overall philosophy of the Enlightenment?
- The idea of having freedom while not maintaining security can be seen in governments of the 15th century. If the church had power over its citizens, influencing what their rights were in favor of protecting the people of church, then the natural freedoms of man are taken away. In farther places of the country where the ruler’s hold is less sturdy, the populace has the freedom to act as they choose because they have their natural rights. In turn, this would be a lack of security, and a lack of overall control and governing.

So Why was Freedom and Security important during the 15th century?
- Freedom and security were important in the time of the Enlightenment because of the amount of power the church possessed. It acted as a government, aside from the existing monarchy that ruled the people, religion had much power. {laws of the 15th century influencing security - if no laws, security was needed at the time}

Wow, Why is freedom or security an important discussion?
-It is important for people of power to realize that there is no way for citizens of a government to have complete, natural freedom and security protections at one time.

That is quite the statement, To what extent did your work represent a rejection of traditional authority?
- At the time of the Enlightenment the church held power over the citizenry, limiting what they were able to do. For most of history, men have not been able to escape authority of those in greater power than themselves. It is probable that this will not change, making absolute freedom an impossibility. In this way, my work did not represent a rejection of traditional authority, but instead pointed out that with authority came security.

What is a present day problem one could solve through the application of your ideas? What is it and explain what that would look like to us?
- In governments around the world, and especially in democracies where freedoms are supported, people of power have an ongoing struggle between keeping freedoms and/or the the populace safe. Um, pardon the intrusion, but, what’s with the fish?

What do you mean?
- Nevermind, for instance, many Americans complain about airport security and that fact that it takes away our freedoms in an airport environment; but the government believes it is a necessary step towards safety and protection. Because these two ideas cannot live at the same time, compromises must be made. The people must realize that there is no way to make both sides happy.

Well, I am so glad to have spent this time with you to hear about your philosophies.
- Thank you….?

Until next week.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: thoughts and reflections

         The Enlightenment was the time when new ideas were being created. People began to express their ideas and wanted to change their bad living conditions as commoners. This new way of thinking, using the scientific method for reasoning, established a basis for change yet to come. People started to challenge their governments' authority. This can be seen in the French revolution. When every citizen was starving and the aristocracy was still well fed, the people rebelled against their government declaring new rights for themselves. This revolution can be seen as very shocking because of the dramatic impact it had on peoples' rights. There was a huge change in the system of law. Creating equal trials to fairly punish the guilty in accordance to how sever their crime was. The people now had rights of freedom of speech, and women were given rights equal to those of men. The new ways of thinking brought on by the Enlightenment truly changed the coarse of history.