My suggestion would be Greg Egan's Permutation City and Diaspora. Hard science fiction and the most mind-blowing content I've ever read in science fiction.
China Mieville’s ‘Embassytown’ which is 100% about the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (and revolutionary politics). Anne Leckie’s books are also interesting in terms of being first person from very different types of consciousness - a group mind, a deity embedded jn a rock over thousands of years ( her fantasy novel).
Loved Solaris. I can't say I'm an enormous sci-fi fan, but the descriptions in Solaris were gorgeous and its themes were most definitely philosophical. I would recommend it to literary fiction readers as well as philosophers.
I can't recommend Anathem (Stephenson) enough here - it's a great read and fits the context perfectly. Aliens, mind, language, and consciousness are all central to the story.
Brian Aldiss' "Helliconia" trilogy and Greg Bear's "Anvil of Stars" have the most amazing conceptualisations of alien minds completely unlike human minds that I've ever come across.
Blindsight by Peter Watts (rifters.com) is an amazing exploration of consciousness through the lens of a first-encounter. It has a great cast of characters, every one of which is a riff on some model of consciousness. Watts has made it available as a free eBook on his website, so you can read it for free without guilt. It's one of the books I most highly recommend.
Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men; and Star Maker. Jeff Noon’s Vurt and Philip K Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; VALIS; and Flow My Tears the Policeman Said.
If The Mountain in the Sea wasn’t on this list I was gonna be mad.
I’d say the Maddadam books: Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, and Maddadam by Margaret Atwood are contenders. Also Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing.
Haha, yeah, The Mountain in the Sea is almost like an introduction to modern philosophy of mind. Thanks for suggesting more Atwood works. I've only read The Handmaid's Tale thus far, but I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and thought.
My suggestion would be Greg Egan's Permutation City and Diaspora. Hard science fiction and the most mind-blowing content I've ever read in science fiction.
China Mieville’s ‘Embassytown’ which is 100% about the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (and revolutionary politics). Anne Leckie’s books are also interesting in terms of being first person from very different types of consciousness - a group mind, a deity embedded jn a rock over thousands of years ( her fantasy novel).
Sounds fascinating! Thanks for the recommendations🙏
What a fabulous list. Have you read The Sparrow, by Maria Doria Russel?
Thanks Lindsay—I have not! I’ll check it out
The Sparrow is excellent.
Loved Solaris. I can't say I'm an enormous sci-fi fan, but the descriptions in Solaris were gorgeous and its themes were most definitely philosophical. I would recommend it to literary fiction readers as well as philosophers.
The Children of Time series by Adrian Tchaikovsky has some good exploration of ideas of intelligence and mind.
Probably not as deep and philosophical as some on your list but interesting nonetheless
I can't recommend Anathem (Stephenson) enough here - it's a great read and fits the context perfectly. Aliens, mind, language, and consciousness are all central to the story.
Fantastic. Thanks for the recommendation!
Based on your criteria, you should be reading a lot of Philip K. Dick.
Absolutely! I’m reading “flow my tears, the policeman said” rn
Brian Aldiss' "Helliconia" trilogy and Greg Bear's "Anvil of Stars" have the most amazing conceptualisations of alien minds completely unlike human minds that I've ever come across.
Hey Gareth, thanks for the rec 🫡
Blindsight by Peter Watts (rifters.com) is an amazing exploration of consciousness through the lens of a first-encounter. It has a great cast of characters, every one of which is a riff on some model of consciousness. Watts has made it available as a free eBook on his website, so you can read it for free without guilt. It's one of the books I most highly recommend.
Blindsight is the one I opened the comments to point to.
Strongly seconded
That’s awesome! Thanks for the shout Matthew 🙏🏻
And the implausible novelization of Ricoeur's The Rule of Metaphor, Embassytown by China Mieville
Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue - brilliant and fun (and feminist!) exploration of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Thanks for the suggestions, Mark!
Dick's short story, Minority Report, was brilliant science fiction in short story form.
I totally agree, one of Dick's best, I think!
Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men; and Star Maker. Jeff Noon’s Vurt and Philip K Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; VALIS; and Flow My Tears the Policeman Said.
Thanks Mark!! Great shout outs
Dimension of Miracles
Robert Sheckley
If The Mountain in the Sea wasn’t on this list I was gonna be mad.
I’d say the Maddadam books: Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, and Maddadam by Margaret Atwood are contenders. Also Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing.
Haha, yeah, The Mountain in the Sea is almost like an introduction to modern philosophy of mind. Thanks for suggesting more Atwood works. I've only read The Handmaid's Tale thus far, but I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and thought.
And Gene Wolf’s Book of the New Sun series