What Are We?

Isaac Asimov examines that science fiction aids in understanding human nature when exposed to scientific advancement. While I agree that the inclusion of technological innovation plays an integral role in understanding the genre of science fiction, I believe that science fiction includes transforming an aspect of society in order to gain insight into human nature. Furthermore, science fiction challenges individual’s epistemological beliefs and how people gain knowledge. Scholars and intellectuals continue to debate on a singular, comprehensive definition that encompasses the science fiction

Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner, an American behavioral psychologist who believed the idea that human free will was an illusion and any human action was the result of the consequences of that same action, developed an experiment to verify if superstition was present in pigeons. Skinner’s beliefs led him to conduct this research experiment which ultimately declared him as one of the top psychologists of his era. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behavior was to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Science fiction has been a part of human culture since before the 17th century, spanning across the far reaches of the Earth and fascinating the human race (Sterling). A perfect example of this culture shaping genre is Doctor Who; one of Britain’s most adored television series. As the longest running science fiction show in history, Doctor Who has filled fans with wonder through television, radio series, comics, and many other forms of media for more than five decades (Burke and Smith? 5). The show has touched on politics, religion, race, and always, at the core of it all; Doctor Who asks us what it means to be human (Britton).

B.F. Skinner’s theory of Operant Conditioning has at its foundation a desire to demonstrate a “cause and

In conclusion, science fiction is ultimately a genre of displaying humans present state of being and displaying how catastrophic the future can be if we neglect to point out the flaws and challenge each other. Science fiction of course contains information on aliens, futuristic-looking gadgets, distant worlds, and robots but in the core of it all, sci-fi is the ultimate genre of warning. Warning of hazardous technological advancements and utter carelessness to the craft of inventing. Be careful of what the future holds. The future started yesterday and we’re already

Human Relationships “I have not seen you since you were so little!” uh-oh the parents suckered this person into another mind scrambling family reunion. Where people they could have sworn saw them last month at Christmas swear they have not seen them since they were “this big”. That right there is human relationships at it’s finest. “Human relations is the skill or ability to work effectively through and with other people” (“Human Relations and You”).

In essence, science fiction is not just fun and games of aliens, robots and the unknown, it’s a teacher. This genre educates and warns us of our destructive tendency. Science fiction teaches us about human nature; our flaws, pitfalls, and

Science fiction, a genre which has elapsed over decades in the industry, has gained many followers in its several forms of media. Science fiction, in the same sense, has also been analyzed for its value and has received many “Authorities” in the sense that these individuals allow for a more comprehensive look at this type of genre. Different types of subgenres have emerged due to the enhancement of “New Trains of Thought” produced by these “Authorities” and have taken this genre into a new perspective. Science fiction’s most prominent sub-genres include works of Soft Science Fiction, Hard Science Fiction, and Military Science Fiction. Works of film and text that have been icons of this genre include titles such as “Planet of the Apes”, “Twilight Zone”, “Star Wars” and “The Time Machine”. Technology is an aspect that has been seen in these works and has been distinguished for its advances. Science Fiction has allowed for the thoughts of the author to take shape and one of the most used topic is the advancement of technology and where it may take humanity. The work and ideology of Kathryn Cramer, David Hartwell, and Isaac Asimov have helped to further understand the concept of technological advancements and their effects on human moral decision making. The central idea of what makes a true work a Science Fiction that goes beyond the aspect of enjoyment is the idea of humans and their inclination towards a dependency on technology that inevitably leads towards a closer

John Watson is well know for the "Little Albert" experiments on fear conditioning, the conclusion of the study was that children had no fear until they were behaviorally conditioned and that parents could shape the behavior of their children through stimulus-response conditioning. Ivan Pavlov was originally studying salivation and digestion and stumbled upon classical conditioning while he was experimenting on dogs. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus, when paired with a natural reflex-producing stimulus, will begin to produce a learned response, even when it is presented by itself. Apart of the Humanistic perspective was Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Abraham Maslow created the Hierarchy of Needs theory, which is the idea that different needs must be satisfied before one can move on to something more complex, as well and the concept of self-actualization, which simply put is a way to explain what drives us in our

Moreover, the positive messages embedded in science fiction works can have powerful influence on the audience and the society, both locally and globally. In particular, most of the messages embedded are prompted by the past events of world history or by the contemporary social phenomena, and

According to Boeree, C, George (2006), B. F. Skinner’s “entire system is based on ‘operant conditioning’”. Behaviourism is determined by the environment and is “concerning with the effect of external events such as reward or punishment for behaviour” (Duschesne,

But it is suggestive of a much deeper and wider interest in the theme than many has been willing to recognize. So far, literary criticism has not adequately dealt with this fact. In light of the cultural influences already mentioned, these essays, by and large, take a generally Christian and theological approach to the topic. This is by no means the only possibility, but it is a good beginning, especially as numbers of works recognized as outstanding science fiction have overtly Christian content the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, for instance.

Skinner was a behaviorist who wanted to provide a method for understanding human behavior, thoughts, and emotions. Skinner believed that classical conditioning was to simplistic to be a complete explanation of the complex human behavior. Skinner believed the best way to understand any behavior is to look directly at the causes of an action and its consequences. He defined this approach as operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is defined as “ the idea that behavior is determined by its consequences, be they reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur again” (B. F. Skinner, 2011). The behavioral model observes human behavior as a practical and useful response. This model acknowledges that every behavior has a purpose and has advanced from the earlier stages of a person's understanding. Skinner created a way to allow individuals the ability to avoid negative behaviors. His theory uses positive and negative reinforcements while covering affective punishments to make sure a student's bad behavior does not turn into a pattern. According to our textbook, “one defining characteristic of the behavioral model is that it views behavior from a functional perspective in terms that are both measurable and observable (Wheeler, 2014,p.17).”

A significant piece of several psychological theories in the late nineteenth century was introspection, which is “the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes” (Press, 2013). In retort to this theory behaviorism came about. Behaviorism is predominantly concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. In other words behaviorism does not look at the biological aspects but it suggests that all behaviors are learned habits and changes in response to the environment. It endeavors to explain how these particular habits are formed. Behaviorism claimed that the causes of behavior was not necessarily found in the complexities of the mind but could be observed in one’s immediate environment, from stimuli that produced, reinforced, and punished certain responses also known later on as conditioning. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that the scientist began to discover the actual systems to learning, thereby laying a foundation for behaviorism. A theorist by the name of Ivan Pavlov was a major contribution to the discovering of significant behavioral theories.

B.F. Skinner: He was one of the prominent propionates of a theory called behaviourism. He also constructed what became known as the ‘Skinner Box’. Within this box he discovered that a rat or a bird could be trained to obtain food by pressing a button. This he called ‘Operant Conditioning’ and ‘Negative Reinforcement’. According to Martin Fiebert, Professor of clinical