Sci Phi Journal

By Tom Rhodes, 2/16/2015

You want to understand Libertarian philosophy the best place is in classic science fiction. Heinlein’s “Moon is a Harsh Mistress” is a prime example, and easier to read than Maynard, or Locke. Michael Z. Williamson’s “Freehold” is another fine example of the expression of libertarian philosophy in fiction.

StarTrek is a huge example of philosophy as expressed in science fiction. Perhaps no other medium better delves deeper into philosophy than SciFi. Sci Phi is an online science fiction and philosophy magazine. In each issue you will find stories that explore questions of life, the universe and everything and articles that delve into the deep philosophical waters of science fiction universes.

This magazine available in print or as an ebook from Castalia House or in print at Amazon. The writing is varied and includes articles and fiction. It has bestselling authors like John C. Wright as well as unknowns.

This anthology, is better than any of the big name Science Fiction anthologies that have long ago turned into pink shadows of themselves. Its roots are in a popular podcast of the ame name by Jason Rennie. That looks at science fiction through philosophical lens, or most like looks at philosophy through a science fiction lens.

This is an interesting place where Science Fiction, Philosophy, Religion, and Ideas are treated with respect, and thoughtfully explored.

In it’s first issue, Sci Phi Journal contained an original novellete from author John C. Wright, “The Ideal Machine,” a tale of aliens from a distant star come to visit an old country church and offer our world a chance for the future.

It contained the following original fiction (science fiction of course):

Joshua M. Young - Domo - A story of a Robot who wonders if he has a soul

David Hallquist - Falling To Eternity - Can a Blackhole help you get away with murder?

Frederick Best - Cosmic Foam - What is beyond the visible world

Jane Lebak - Abandoned River, Dry Water - What do you do when life throws you a curve ball?

And it contained these non-fiction philosophical essays

David Kyle Johnson - In Defense of the Matrix Saga: Appreciating the Sequel through Philosophy

James Druley - Star Trek's Prime Directive : Moral Guidelines, Exceptions and Absolutes

Stephen S. Hanson - Personhood in H.Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy

Daniel Vecchio - "I am Groot": An Aristotelian Reflection on Space Aliens and Substance

Ruth Tallman - Endangered Species: Exploring Transhumanism, Genetic Engineering and Personhood Through the World of Sweet Tooth

and a book review by Peter Sean Bradley, Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia.

The second and third editions were equally as interesting. When I saw a serious discussion on the implications of an extreme implementation of the NAP, StarTrek’s prime directive, I had to have the first issue.

How do you not read an article titled: "I am Groot": An Aristotelian Reflection on Space Aliens and Substance

Sci Phi Journal, worth a lot more than $4 the e-version costs. I particularly like getting the eversion at Castalia House they don’t have nasty DRM encoding. I’ll readily pay for my copies without DRM, and will spend time and effort bootlegging DRM encoded works. It a philosophic difference in how I believe that I the customer should be treated.