Stephen L. Carter, Columnist

Twelve Sci-Fi Rules for Life

Aliens and mystical stoics have a lot to teach humanity.

March 23, 2018 at 5:56 PM UTC

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of law at Yale University and author of “Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster.”

Philosopher.
Photographer: Sascha Steinbach

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Like so many other scribes, I have been inspired by psychologist Jordan Peterson’s fascinating book to sketch my 12 rules of life. But mine are different, because each is drawn from canonical science fiction. Why? Maybe because this is the literature on which I grew up, or maybe because I have never lost the taste for it. Or maybe because the sci-fi canon really does have a lot to teach about the well-lived life. Here, then, are my 12 rules. I cannot pretend that I always follow them, but I certainly always try.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.