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Transformative change in Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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Abstract

Transformation is a memorable feature of some of the most iconic works of science fiction. These works feature characters who begin as humans and change into radically different kinds of being. This paper examines transformative change in the context of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers movies. I discuss how humans should approach the prospect of being body snatched. I argue that we shouldn’t welcome the transformation even if we are convinced that we will have very positive experiences as pod aliens. When considering a transformative change, it is appropriate to give priority to your pre-transformation attitudes to potential future experiences and achievements over your predicted post-transformation attitudes.

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Notes

  1. In Chap. 1 of Agar (2013) I discuss the central events of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers movies as transformative changes.

  2. Agar (2013, pp. 5–6).

  3. Kurzweil (2005).

  4. de Grey and Rae (2007).

  5. Nozick (1981, p. 59).

  6. For one such view see Unger (1990).

  7. Paul (2014).

  8. Paul (2014, p. 32).

  9. Krister Bykvist, Review of L. A. Paul, Transformative Experience, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Available at https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/61570-transformative-experience/.

  10. Krister Bykvist, Review of L. A. Paul, Transformative Experience, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Available at https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/61570-transformative-experience/.

  11. Mill (1963–1991, vol. 10, p. 212).

  12. Parfit (1984, p. 327).

References

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  • Paul, Laurie. 2014. Transformative experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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  • Unger, Peter. 1990. Identity, consciousness, and value. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the comments of two anonymous referees.

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  1. Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    Nicholas Agar

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  1. Nicholas Agar
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Correspondence to Nicholas Agar.

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Agar, N. Transformative change in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Med Health Care and Philos 21, 279–286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-017-9804-z

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