Every fan of science fiction has at one point or another heard of science fiction being referred to as “the literature of ideas.” Quite often this is the response given whenever someone is asked what the definition of science fiction is. I prefer to look at it as a tagline for science fiction instead of an actual attempt to define it. While it is very true that all science fiction is full of interesting ideas it also contains much, much more, and because of that even the most prolific, most successful writers of the genre have a hard time agreeing upon a precise definition. What better way to start a new blog than to look at some of the things some of our greatest science fiction writers have had to say about SF.
“Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.” Isaac Asimov
“Realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method. To make this definition cover all science fiction (instead of ‘almost all’) it is necessary only to strike out the word ‘future'” Robert A. Heinlein
“”By ‘scientifiction’ I mean the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe type of story—a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision … Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously interesting reading—they are always instructive. They supply knowledge . . . in a very palatable form …” Hugo Gernsback
“Science Fiction is the branch of literature that deals with the effects of change on people in the real world as it can be projected into the past, the future, or to distant places. It often concerns itself with scientific or technological change, and it usually involves matters whose importance is greater than the individual or the community; often civilization or the race itself is in danger.” James Gunn
“Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it’s the history of ideas, the history of our civilization birthing itself.” Ray Bradbury
“Scientific methodology involves the proposition that a well-constructed theory will not only explain every known phenomenon, but will also predict new and still undiscovered phenomena. Science-fiction tries to do much the same—and write up, in story form, what the results look like when applied not only to machines, but to human society as well.” John W. Campbell
“Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible.” Rod Sterling
As you can see, the definitions of science fiction are varied even in the minds of some of the greatest writers who ever wrote in the field. I could list quotes from science fiction writers all day long but we’d never get any closer to a single definition of what science fiction is.
Perhaps we don’t need a simple definition. Tom Shippey, a notable scholar of science fiction and fantasy, defines science fiction as “the literature of change” and that “it changes while you are trying to define it.” With so many sub-genres of science fiction (hard, soft, space opera, science fantasy, etc.) and the fact that they are all rooted in the various sciences and possibilities that those sciences present I think that in this case it is acceptable to say that science fiction has no single definition.
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