Key themes
- Science versus superstition
- Can history be predicted and shaped?
- The individual versus civilisational forces
About this book
A mathematician predicts the fall of a galactic empire and plans to shorten the dark age that follows; grand-scale ideas SF.
Originally published as a series of magazine stories from 1942 onward, Foundation was assembled into a novel in 1951. Asimov wrote the series over several decades.
Discussion questions
- Psychohistory can predict the behaviour of large populations but not individuals. What does this tension between mass and individual tell us about how Asimov thinks about history and agency?
- Hari Seldon appears repeatedly at crises in the Foundation's history. Is this reassuring — the sense of a plan — or troubling, suggesting free will is an illusion?
- The Foundation uses science and technology to maintain power while appearing to be a simple encyclopedia project. What is the novel saying about the relationship between knowledge, secrecy and power?
- The novel is episodic, covering centuries. What is lost and what is gained by this panoramic approach compared with a more focused narrative?
- Asimov was drawing on the decline of the Roman Empire as his template. Does this historical parallel enrich or constrain the novel?
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