# Ethics of Time Travel in fiction? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474 "2017-01-06T19:35:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/21 "2017-01-10T20:39:54Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The time police will come after you. They _will_, or they _have_? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/22 "2017-01-10T20:50:26Z")
Kayaker wrote: “They will, or they have?” It all depends on your point of view. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/23 "2017-01-10T20:53:17Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > It all depends on your point of view. What my point of view _is_, or _was_? ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/24 "2017-01-10T21:42:26Z")
That’s one of the things I like about the NBC series, _Timeless_. The time-traveling characters have discussions over the ethics of what they’re doing, and argue over free will versus predestination. The female historian (whose sister was erased from existence as a result of their first time trip) argues that it’s their responsibility to preserve history, and that anything they change could have devastating effects on their own time; the male military officer argues that, even without time travel, every decision you make has effects on the future, and that they have the potential to make changes in the past that could change the present for the better, not just for the worse. She argues for preserving history; he argues for following his conscience; both seem to be slowly coming to appreciate the other’s point of view. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/25 "2017-01-10T22:52:50Z")
Bill & Ted had a fun time with it. “Ted! Remember to take your Dad’s keys!” _Up The Line_ was one of my fave time travel stories. Asimov also had a good time with effect-cause-effect problems in _The End of Eternity_ HHGttG showed how problematic time travel verb tenses can/have/will be become. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/26 "2017-01-10T23:03:05Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > That’s one of the reasons Back to the Future II is strange. Shouldn’t Marty have arrived to a 2015 where he and Jennifer had disappeared 30 years earlier? Wow, that’s a good point. It’s never occurred to me before. > [@TBG](#): > > No? Not unless they never go back… to the present. But how does the time line work in which the 2015 Marty had a car accident in 1985? I can’t work out how any Marty gets to the intersection where he is called a chicken without knowing to let it go. As **Quimby** said, the only Marty that could have got there had already jumped into the future, and when he got back he already knew to take it easy. (Sorry, this might be a hijack - probably not the right thread to go into BTTF timelines yet again. I’ll try searching old threads to see if it has been addressed.) ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/27 "2017-01-10T23:48:02Z")
I don’t mind if the thread is hijacked, I’ve got some reading material. 🙂 Plus, I was only wondering about some of the more mundane ethical issues with time-travel. Imagine if I could go back and save a couple of Honus Wagner cards or Action Comics #1? Or as I said in the OP snake someone’s lottery winnings? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/28 "2017-01-11T00:26:53Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > I don’t mind if the thread is hijacked, I’ve got some reading material. 🙂 > > Plus, I was only wondering about some of the more mundane ethical issues with time-travel. Imagine if I could go back and save a couple of Honus Wagner cards or Action Comics #1? Or as I said in the OP snake someone’s lottery winnings? Well, if you’d happened to find one of the Wagner cards or AC #1 issues that someone had thrown out (remember, baseball cards and comic books weren’t considered something you’d want to keep or save) then you’d wouldn’t be taking any money away from their owners. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/29 "2017-01-11T00:30:12Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Well, if you’d happened to find one of the Wagner cards or AC #1 issues that someone had thrown out (remember, baseball cards and comic books weren’t considered something you’d want to keep or save) then you’d wouldn’t be taking any money away from their owners. But you’re devaluing the cards owned by other people by increasing the number in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/30 "2017-01-11T00:38:35Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > But you’re devaluing the cards owned by other people by increasing the number in circulation. I guess you could say that about most cards and comics from the 50’s, 60’s and later, but those two specific collectibles are so rare that the appearance of another one of each shouldn’t effect the value that much. Now, if you brought back several of each, then yeah, that could start to devalue them. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/31 "2017-01-11T01:27:18Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > I don’t mind if the thread is hijacked, I’ve got some reading material. 🙂 In that case…has anyone ever read/watched a time travel story where characters wonder about the ethics of changing the future instead of the past? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/32 "2017-01-11T13:47:11Z")
One that I forgot to mention until just now that touches on ethical issues–[_Time Travelers Never Die_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Travelers_Never_Die) by Jack McDevitt ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/33 "2017-01-11T15:10:41Z")
As long as we’re tossing titles out there, John Varley’s “Millenium” is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/34 "2017-01-11T17:23:49Z")
I remember Simpsons episode where Homer goes back in time, changes something and returns, is horrified by the results, goes back in time again, changes something else and returns, is horrified by the results, goes back in time again … Kinda what the OP is looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/35 "2017-01-11T17:50:48Z")
A nice complicated time travel novel is “All of An Instant” by Richard Garfinkle [The SF Site Featured Review: All of an Instant](https://www.sfsite.com/10b/all67.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/36 "2017-01-11T17:59:49Z")
I found a couple of brief essays on ethics of time travel you might enjoy perusing. Both reference some fiction, some of which was already mentioned here. [Ethical Considerations While Time Travelling Through Fiction](http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/09/ethical-considerations-time-travelling-fiction/) [On the Paradoxes and Ethical Implications of Time Travel](https://nargaque.com/essays/time-travel/) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/37 "2017-01-11T23:16:39Z")
How about the ethics of being Ray Milland, The Man With X-Ray Eyes??? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/38 "2017-01-11T23:23:54Z")
Larry Niven had a couple of thoughts on the matter. “Singularities Make Me Nervous” is about a time traveler who tries to do something unethical, and it backfires. “Rotating Cylinders and the Possibility of Global Causality Violation” is about two governments who attempt to use time travel as a weapon of war (it also backfires). His stories about Hanville Svetz, collected in _Rainbow Mars_, deal more with metaphysics than ethics, but they are entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/39 "2017-01-12T00:31:34Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Larry Niven had a couple of thoughts on the matter. “Singularities Make Me Nervous” is about a time traveler who tries to do something unethical, and it backfires. “Rotating Cylinders and the Possibility of Global Causality Violation” is about two governments who attempt to use time travel as a weapon of war (it also backfires). > > His stories about Hanville Svetz, collected in _Rainbow Mars_, deal more with metaphysics than ethics, but they are entertaining. And Niven also wrote “On the Theory and Practice of Time Travel” ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474/40 "2017-01-16T07:46:44Z")
Another interesting work along these lines is the Spanish TV series “The Ministry of Time”. Quite recommendable! Here you have some information: [El ministerio del tiempo - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_ministerio_del_tiempo) JoseB [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethics-of-time-travel-in-fiction/776474.md?page=3)