ANTHROPOLOGICAL CREDO OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE FICTION

Abstract

The paper delves into an analysis of how humanity is portrayed within the expansive realm of science fiction. Recognizing the genre's unparalleled ability for world-building, the study examines science fiction as a cultural artifact that mirrors societal values, fears, and aspirations. It investigates how the genre adapts by analytically modeling shifts in human viewpoints in alignment with scientific theories and technological progress. Within the landscape of science fiction literature, the human subject takes on a complex role, serving as a vessel for cultural, ethical, and ontological exploration. Through narrative and speculative frameworks, the genre probes the transformative forces affecting human experience and physiology, while consistently emphasizing the enduring essence of humanity. The paper meticulously explores the role of the human subject in science fiction, outlining how the genre provides a nuanced investigation set against a backdrop of scientific and socio-cultural evolution. It contends that although science fiction stretches the limits of human experience, it invariably maintains a fundamental core of humanity, aligning itself with the broader objectives of anthropological study. Contemporary science fiction thus serves not only as a lens for scrutinizing the anxieties and hopes about humanity's future but also as a platform for speculative inquiry into the very nature of human existence.