Owning the Unknown: A Science Fiction Writer Explores Atheism, Agnosticism, and the Idea of God

Robert Charles Wilson

sen 2023 · Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)

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Although humankind today can peer far deeper into the universe than ever before, we still find ourselves surrounded by the unknown and perhaps the unknowable. All great science fiction has used the human imagination to explore that realm beyond the known, just as theistic religions have done since long before the genre existed. As Hugo Award-winning author Robert Charles Wilson argues in Owning the Unknown, the genre's freewheeling speculation and systematic world-building make it it a unique lens for understanding, examining, and assessing the truth claims of religions in general and Christianity in particular. Drawing on his personal experience, his work as a science fiction writer, and his deep knowledge of the classics of the genre, he makes the case for what he calls intuitive atheism—an atheism drawn from everyday personal knowledge that doesn't depend on familiarity with the scholarly debate about theology and metaphysics, any more than a robust personal Christianity does. And as he reminds us, the secrets that remain hidden beyond the borders of the known universe—should we ever discover them—will probably not resemble anything currently found in our most prized philosophies, our most sacred texts, or our most imaginative science fiction.

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Robert Charles Wilson's novels include Blind Lake, Julian Comstock, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. His work has been translated into several languages and has received Japan's Seiun Award, the French Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, and Germany's Kurd Lasswitz Prize, among others. He lives outside of Toronto with his wife, Sharry.