Seldon Crisis: Beyond Foundation
Conversations
Themes of the Trilogy with Nathaniel Goldberg
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Themes of the Trilogy with Nathaniel Goldberg

A richly detailed sci-fi illustration showing ancient Greek philosophers seated in discussion, a classical temple, and a radiant human brain surrounded by stars, geometric diagrams, and light, blending classical philosophy with futuristic ideas about mind and intelligence.

Our first returning guest to Seldon Crisis is the first ever, philosophy professor Nathaniel Goldberg. We discuss some of the prominent themes of the series introduced in the first three novels of Foundation, including the lone prophet against the advocates for the status quo, the great man of history against psychohistory, altruistic - and not so altruistic - martyrdom, and some strong comparisons with Plato's Republic.

Transcript: Web (Read/Listen) | PDF | MS Word

Nathaniel Goldberg, Professor and Chair of Philosophy

Paul Levinson: Foundation, Dune, and Laplace's Demon: The Invigoration of a Philosophic Issue in Science Fiction: How Laplace's Demon Finds a Stage in the Foundation and Dune Trilogies


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