Time, Space, and Fiction

The nature of time and space is an issue that is prevalent throughout the realms of
scientific inquiry, philosophical discussion, and various artistic media. While there has been, and
still is, a great deal of science dedicated to understanding the physical construct and behavior of
the universe itself, and how it affects our understanding of space and time, there still remains a
great deal of questions, and speculations, on the matter that reside within the realm of
philosophy, and the arts. Considering the arts, speculative fiction offers, perhaps, the least trivial
handling of topics concerning the nature of time and space. While the subject of time and space
is prevalent within philosophy and speculative fiction, there are clear differences, in how each
discipline handles the subject. Though it is important to note that in considering certain eras of
philosophy, philosophical discourse bears a striing resemblance to the craft of constructing a
narrative in speculative fiction. There, as well, may e!ist instances in which a wor of
speculative fiction goes beyond the aim of constructing a purely aesthetic product, and, perhaps,
provides a true philosophical discourse about space and time, functioning outside the discipline
of philosophy. With these facts in mind, one ought to consider if philosophy and wors of
speculative fiction may have the capacity to function synergistically in the elucidation of the
nature of time and space.
"#ifferent creative disciplines are characteri$ed, among other things, by different sets of
shared values% &ilton's failure to set Paradise Lost in a Copernican universe does not indicate
that he agreed with (tolemy but that he had things other than science to do.)
*
When considering how speculative fiction and philosophy differ in the handling of the
nature of time and space, it is necessary to begin by discussing the intentions and certain features
1
Thomas +uhn, The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and
Change ,Chicago- The university of Chicago (ress, *.//0, 11*
of both disciplines. (hilosophers aim to mae claims about, or speculate upon, how the world, or
human beings' perception of the world, is, or quite often, is not, and how the conclusions of such
claims or speculations affect human beings' personal and shared lives. 2t is important to note that
there are certainly a plethora of e!amples within the philosophical canon that claim that
statements of how the world is are inherently impossible. Though such claims about said
impossibility are also inherently claims concerning issues of human perception, and thus this
relatively crude summation of philosophy as a discipline's intent appears to still be sufficient for
this discussion.
3uthors of speculative fiction aim to tell stories. Further, stories of speculative fiction are
not necessarily concerned with how the world is. While speculative fiction can certainly serve to
discuss philosophical concepts, it, as well, functions as a form of aesthetic e!pression, and
entertainment. Thus, speculative fiction has things other than philosophy to do. 2n order to
further differentiate the worings of speculative fiction from philosophy, it is, perhaps, necessary
to further define speculative fiction. While speculative fiction is an umbrella term that
encompasses a variety of subgenres ,science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, etc.0, there appears
to be a common denominator amongst the genres- the e!istence of an element ,character,
historical event, location, technology, or law of nature, etc.0 that is either partially or radically
different from the real world, and the e!istence of that element in the story has a significant
effect upon the plot. This is to say that the story of speculative fiction contains fantastical
elements, differentiating the world of the story from the real world. Though could we not say that
this is true of all types of fiction4 The real differentiator of speculative fiction from other types of
fiction is, perhaps, the amount of emphasis that the author of speculative fiction places upon a
certain element of the story ,character, historical event, location, technology, or law of nature,
etc.0 to demonstrate the otherness of the fictional world in relation to the real world. The author
of speculative fiction invites the reader to consider an alternative world, e!amine its properties,
and observe the conclusions of that world's structure. 2n regards to the subject of space and time,
there are clear e!amples of authors of speculative fiction demonstrating elements of otherness.
Consider Ted Chiang's Tower of Babylon, in regards to space. The 5scher6lie world created by
Chiang is quite obviously different from ours. 7uite interestingly, the element in Tower of
Babylon that demonstrates the sense otherness from our world is the shape of the story's universe
itself. Though there are, however, plenty of conceivable phenomena described throughout the
beginning of the tre up the tower that one could justify in light of 5arth's physics. 2n regards to
time, Christopher (riest's Inverted World time moves at varying rates in different locations,
resulting in the physical morphing of characters. Such a feature of that world entails some rather
interesting facts about its motion that are quite obviously foreign to our world. 8ne ought to
note that there are many e!amples within the history of philosophy in which stories are
constructed to actually mae claims about how the world came to be, and is. Consider (lato's
Ti!aeus in which it is stated that one 9should not loo for anything more than a liely story9
,:.d0. Throughout the Ti!aeus one can find an account of how the universe was created and its
purpose.
2n a sense, there appears to be a great deal of similarity between wors of speculative
fiction and thought e!periments used by philosophers. While they are certainly similar, there are
some rather interesting differences between a philosopher's thought e!periment and a wor of
speculative fiction. 3 philosopher's thought e!periment, if it is to have any elucidating power,
and if it is not "cutting corners), employs a methodology that is a "riori. 3 thought e!periment is
a contained system in which everything nowable about the system follows from what is
e!plicitly stated in its description. 2nterestingly, a wor of speculative fiction has no requirement
of e!plicitly stating all of the nowable facts about the world being described within the story.
The author may choose to reveal facts about the fictional world over time, as seen in both of the
stories by Chiang and (riest. There is an element of pseudo a "osteriori nowledge to be gained.
Furthermore the author of speculative fiction is not necessarily bound to the notion of internal
consistency, and can create a world that is truly illogical and indeterminate. Whether or not an
author chooses to e!plicitly state the properties and rules of a fictional world, or to even follow
certain nown rules of the world, is a matter of style. 3n author, as well, may utili$e, parado!es,
contradiction, or absurdity as a means of e!pression of some subject matter, e!plicit or ulterior.
Though there are, of course, parado!es in philosophy that arise, and have illuminated issues
concerning logic and various others. ;owever, these inds of parado!es are never the results
e!plicit implementation of style.
3t the same time 2 reali$ed that such myths may be developed, and
become testable< that historically speaing all = or very nearly all =
scientific theories originate from myths, and that a myth may contain
important anticipations of scientific theories. 5!amples are
5mpedocles> theory of evolution by trial and error, or (armenides>
myth of the unchanging bloc universe in which nothing ever
happens and which, if we add another dimension, becomes 5instein>s
bloc universe ,in which, too, nothing ever happens, since everything
is, four6dimensionally speaing, determined and laid down from the
beginning0. 2 thus felt that if a theory is found to be non6scientific, or
9metaphysical9 ,as we might say0, it is not thereby found to be
unimportant, or insignificant, or 9meaningless,9 or 9nonsensical.9 ?ut
it cannot claim to be baced by empirical evidence in the scientific
sense = although it may easily be, in some genetic sense, the 9result
of observation.9
:
While there are certainly differences amongst philosophy and speculative fiction, that
does not mean that the two are not complimentary when considering the same topic. 2t is clear
2
Popper, Karl, Science as Falsifcation
that an author of speculative fiction can be philosophically informed and can thus create a
styli$ed scenario that invites readers to partae in philosophical inquiry. Speculative fiction, as
well, seems to be a fertile ground for letting intuitions, informed by philosophical issues and
traditions, postulate freely. 2n regards to the issues concerning time and space, speculative fiction
coupled with philosophical training may have the potential to produce fictional worlds that, as
well, function as powerful theoretical models, regardless if intended to function as such. ?eing
finite entities, time and space in the universe is, perhaps, best grasped through the consideration
of theoretical fictions.