Warning through Extrapolation: On the Practical Aims of Dystopia

IF 0.4 4区 社会学 0 HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Utopian Studies Pub Date : 2022-03-01 DOI:10.5325/utopianstudies.33.1.0090
Mathias Thaler
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

abstract:This article contributes to a better understanding of dystopia's practical aims by offering a critical defense of what Gregory Claeys calls the "Atwood Principle." Derived from the writings of Canadian author Margaret Atwood, it establishes a yardstick for separating speculative fiction from science fiction. I argue that, rather than elevating it to the status of a genre definer, the Atwood Principle should be vindicated in terms of a heuristic device for contextually identifying the central mechanism underpinning dystopias: warning through extrapolation. The real challenge, then, is how to make sense of the complex functioning of extrapolation. Instead of viewing it in mechanistic terms, my suggestion is to envisage extrapolation as a dynamic process involving both realism and estrangement. I illustrate this through a contrast between two kinds of stories about the current climate emergency: cautionary and post-cautionary tales of the Anthropocene.
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外推的警告:论反乌托邦的实践目的
本文通过对格雷戈里·克莱斯所说的“阿特伍德原则”进行批判性辩护,有助于更好地理解反乌托邦的实践目标。它源于加拿大作家玛格丽特·阿特伍德的作品,它建立了一个区分投机小说和科幻小说的标准。我认为,与其将阿特伍德原则提升到类型定义者的地位,还不如将其作为一种启发式手段,在语境中识别支撑反乌托邦的核心机制:通过外推来警告。因此,真正的挑战是如何理解外推法的复杂功能。我的建议不是用机械的方式来看待它,而是把外推看作是一个涉及现实主义和异化的动态过程。我通过对比两种关于当前气候紧急情况的故事来说明这一点:人类世的警世故事和后警世故事。
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来源期刊
Utopian Studies
Utopian Studies HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
0.40
自引率
0.00%
发文量
27
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