I Guess I’m a Philosopher Now?
Today my new story—my debut story!—finally hits the, erm, virtual shelves? And I can’t quite believe it’s here. The odd thing is it isn’t science fiction. The story sits in a genre I can’t seem to escape from, one that I guess you’d call philosophical fiction.
Recently, a friend and I were discussing philosophy. It was one of those conversations where we were practically torn apart by our partners, who insisted it was late and everyone must be getting off.
We spoke a lot about the history of philosophy—both of us are very interested in existentialism and absurdism; how both of us can’t seem to grasp some of the headier ideas floating around—especially when it comes to consciousness; how, rather often, a lot of philosophical ideas are hidden behind walls of dense, barely penetrable, or poorly translated text.
My friend’s main point though was that a lot of philosophers wrote fiction—that a lot still do, that it’s one of the best ways to spread philosophical ideas. And I knew this, to a degree, but it wasn’t until he said this that I really took it onboard.
I’ve got so much shame and insecurity in me for flunking, mostly, out of academia. I’m sure if I found a big pot of gold under my bed I’d sign myself up for a philosophy degree, but that’s never, ever going to happen.
So, what do you do when you want to discuss those sorts of ideas? When you want to work through those sorts of ideas?
Well, I, at least, write fiction.
Since I was young, I’ve always asked myself, ‘Why am I, I?’ Why am I experiencing everything through me, and not someone else? It seems to me it would make more sense that we experience everything that experiences simultaneously. I don’t know why, though.
Nonetheless, if you’ve ever wondered why you are you and not someone else, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the ride in The Big Immovable, I.
You can get it on Kindle here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09XFDXS33
or you can subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.afterdinnerconversation.com/subscribe/yearly there’s currently a flash sale happening!
Fingers crossed, there may be a podcast version coming out soon.
If you enjoy the story, or want to discuss it, please do come back here to this post and drop a comment in the boxes. I’m very keen to hear all your thoughts!