Ecological Speculative Fiction: A Study of Futuristic Humans, their Technological 'Worlds', and their Relationship to Non-Human Nature

Abstract

This thesis identifies ecophilosophical concepts and ecological motifs in 'speculative fiction', defined as a sub-section of science fiction (SF), and argues for the recognition of a further sub-genre, to be identified as 'ecological speculative fiction' (ESF). It argues that the eco-philosophical concepts to be set out here are suitable for identifying and articulating ecological content and context in the novels, even when it appears that an SF work does not contain 'nature-writing' at all. This study recognizes that eco-philosophical concepts form a thematic lens that serves as a way to identify human disengagement from non-human nature and the world-as-it-is; the resulting analytical framework also suggests measures to direct a move toward reengagement. In addition, the thesis argues that an approach which coordinates tools useful in SF criticism with the analysis of ecological motifs and ecophilosophical concepts affords critics a distinct framework for the literary analysis of ecological speculative fiction. In the three more covert works of this study, Arthur C. Clarke's 'The City and the Stars' (1956), Isaac Asimov's 'The End of Eternity' (1955) and Stanislaw Lem's 'Eden' (1959), humans connect with manifestations of psychologically disowned phenomena, and are forced to view their fears as a path to recognising their disengagement, and choosing their species' future orientation.