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Article: Some things we know about aliens.(Critical essay)
- Article from:
- Yearbook of English Studies
- Article date:
- July 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Modern Humanities Research Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACTS
The alien is one of SF's core motifs, often discussed as the Other of the Human. One might think, then, that the very idea would allow SF artists limitless creativity, with an opportunity to imagine anything at all that is 'not human'. However, at least since the publication of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, the question is continually raised: is it truly possible to imagine the not-human, or does anthropomorphism subtly shape every attempt to escape the human image? SF has been the niche of culture where philosophical questions about the alien, and the possibility of escaping anthropocentrism, have been explored most thoroughly. An examination of its vast ...