Tom Lombardo on Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future

Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future - An Introduction

Science fiction is the most visible and influential form of futurist thinking in contemporary pop culture. Why is science fiction so popular? Similar in myriad ways to the great myths of the past, science fiction speaks to the whole person—intellect, imagination, emotion, and the senses—providing expansive narratives that enlighten, motivate, and engage. Facilitating the holistic psychological development of what I refer to as “future consciousness”—our integrative awareness of the future—science fiction has, for many people, become a way of life and a way of experiencing reality and creating the future. As futurist narrative, science fiction encompasses the future of everything, and even extends beyond into alternative and higher dimensional realities. This presentation, introducing my new book series, offers a sweeping overview of the evolution of science fiction—from Prometheus and the ancient Greeks, to H. G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker, and into the present with Star Wars, Watchmen, and transcendence through the “Singularity”—highlighting the importance of mythic consciousness within the human mind. We will consider how science fiction has emerged as the most powerful and relevant mythology of contemporary times, informing and inspiring futurist thinking in our modern world. We will examine how science fiction advances the purposeful evolution of future consciousness, and why it is the evolutionary mythology of the future.

About Tom

Thomas Lombardo, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Future Consciousness and The Wisdom Page, the Managing Editor of the online journal Wisdom and the Future, and Professor Emeritus and retired Faculty Chair of Psychology, Philosophy, and the Future at Rio Salado College, Tempe, Arizona. He has published seven books and over fifty articles, and given an equal number of national and international presentations on diverse psychological, philosophical, and futurist topics. A member of numerous futurist organizations and contributing editor to futurist journals, his newest book Future Consciousness: The Path to Purposeful Evolution has been described as a “masterpiece” and “truly breathtaking,” “a deeply wise book for a wise future...challenging us to take our everyday thinking to a whole new epic scale.” He is presently working on a new book series Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future, covering the history of science fiction from Prometheus to the “Singularity” and beyond.

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