SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Recent studies suggest that those who read fiction become better at understanding and empathizing with others, particularly when those stories involve characters and cultures that are different or unfamiliar.


http://www.wired.com/2015/03/geeks-gu...

Not all science fiction dealing with characters and cultures that are different or unfamiliar are sympathetic toward those characters and cultures. There are numerous science fiction tales about the evil aliens with agendas. These fuel prejudice and hatred.

Yet I actually think that this article represents reverse causation. People who are empathic or have been educated in disciplines where different ways of life are respected such as anthropology or comparative religion, will choose to read fiction where characters and cultures that are different and unfamiliar are portrayed sympathetically. Those who have the opposite perspective choose to read fiction where characters and cultures that are different and unfamiliar are portrayed negatively.