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It's called SF or Science Fiction. And there is a long history of good philosophy in SF. Heinlein, Asimov, Card, Robinson, etc.

Like all human work, most of these have some fatal flaw. But, we can learn from their exploration of real human problems.

"-- Thucydides taught us more than twenty-four hundred years ago that all men's behavior is guided by phobos, kerdos, and doxa," said the Time Traveler. "Fear, self-interest, and honor."

I pretended I did not hear.

"Plato saw human behavior as a chariot pulled by precisely those three powerful and headstrong horses, first tugged this way, then pulled that way," continued the Time Traveler. "Phobos, kerdos, doxa.

Fear, self-interest, honor.

Which of these guides the chariot of your nation and your allies in Europe and your surprisingly fragile civilization now, O Man of 2006?"

I stared at the bookcase instead of the man and willed him gone, wishing him away like a sleepy boy willing away the boogeyman under his bed.

"Which combination of those three traits -- phobos, kerdos, doxa -- will save or doom your world?" asked the Time Traveler.

"Which might bring you back from this vacation from history's responsibilities and history's burdens that you have all so generously gifted yourselves with?
You peaceloving Europeans. You civil-liberties loving Americans?
You Athenian invertebrates with your love of your own exalted sensibilities and your willingness to enter into a global war for civilizational survival even while you are too timid, too fearful . . . too decent . . . to match the ruthlessness of your enemies. --"

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Fear, self-interest, honor...

-- Fear will doom us.

--- Self interest will save us, but only if we honor our own Constitutional principles in fighting for our civilization.

It is honorable in war to be ruthless, -- to do onto enemies as they would do onto you.

SF instead of Sci Fi? Ok, fine by me.

I actually love the stuff, but it's not always easy to weed out the good from the bad, considering the amount of stuff out there. 'Course, the same is true with any fiction, or writing. I'm not young anymore, and find myself much more picky about what I read, avid reader though I am.

I like Card quite well, though IMO his first book in any series seems to outshine those that follow, for some reason each isn't quite up to those that preceded it. Still very good, though. Also, I've enjoyed reading his political comments when they're posted here.

Simmons is great.

Heinlein I have mixed feelings about, though I love his libertarian philosophy.

Which Robinson are you referring to?

I very much enjoy Niven as well.

And recently read some Vernor Vinge, I thought that "Fire in the Deep" was fabulous.

All recommendations on this stuff are accepted and appreciated :-)