Selves and Spaces in Science Fiction

<p>This thesis proposes a critical framework by which science fiction can be read as an indicator of significant trends and debates in science and culture. It takes as its starting point Brian Aldiss's statement that science fiction's purpose is to articulate in fictional form a definition of humanity and its status in the universe that will stand in the light of science. Science fiction exists as a means by which scientific concepts are constructed as cultural interpretations, and as both have changed significantly over the period from the emergence of the genre in the mid nineteenth century through the twentieth century, analysis of science-fictional forms and practices can reveal the processes of their evolution. A critical framework is constructed based on Aldiss' definition, identifying first, a construction of selfhood and spatiality - physical and metaphysical - as being fundamental, and secondly, identifying the emergence and evolution of major 'Orders' that take different approaches to key issues and which engage with each other both antagonistically and creatively. The thesis begins with an investigation of the cultural construction of space and then covers the emergence of science fiction as it relates to the project to define humanity and its standing in the universe in a manner consistent with science. Three Orders and their emergence are then described according to their architectonic schemae and their epistemological and creative processes. The first is the Modernist Order, based on Cartesian spatiality and mind-body dualism and empirical scientific practice. The second, which emerged as an attempt to synthesise modern science with traditional culture, is the Neohumanist Order. The third, still very much in flux, is the Posthumanist Order, which is very much inspired both by postmodernism and cybernetics. The three following chapters deal with the Orders in turn, selecting exemplary texts from their emergent and developed (or developing) stages, suggesting also the points in the development of each where another Order has disengaged and emerged in its own right. Because science and culture evolve over time, examination of the Orders is intrinsically linked to a concept of science fiction as being an ongoing discourse, each selected text is interpreted as being a response to a particular issue at a particular cultural moment, but nonetheless connected to predecessor and successor texts that represent a line of argument pursued over time within and between Orders. The Orders are not hermetic by any means, and their most enlightening aspects can be their varying treatment of a common concept. The cyborg furnishes an excellent example, being treated differently by each of the Orders as it is an image of the integration of humanity and technology. Issues such as self, body, boundary, location, the other and communication are all represented in the cyborg and the next two chapters discuss the cyborg as treated by different Orders, in the first case, as a body and in the second case, as an inhabitant and creation of architectonics and culture. The conclusion then discusses the current state of affairs regarding the system of Orders as a critical method. It is shown that 'impure' texts that contain aspects of each of the Orders do not negate their usefulness, but rather demonstrate it as texts (and postmodern texts in particular) provide stages on which the Orders can be displayed engaging with each other.</p>

Selves and Spaces in Science Fiction

<p>This thesis proposes a critical framework by which science fiction can be read as an indicator of significant trends and debates in science and culture. It takes as its starting point Brian Aldiss's statement that science fiction's purpose is to articulate in fictional form a definition of humanity and its status in the universe that will stand in the light of science. Science fiction exists as a means by which scientific concepts are constructed as cultural interpretations, and as both have changed significantly over the period from the emergence of the genre in the mid nineteenth century through the twentieth century, analysis of science-fictional forms and practices can reveal the processes of their evolution. A critical framework is constructed based on Aldiss' definition, identifying first, a construction of selfhood and spatiality - physical and metaphysical - as being fundamental, and secondly, identifying the emergence and evolution of major 'Orders' that take different approaches to key issues and which engage with each other both antagonistically and creatively. The thesis begins with an investigation of the cultural construction of space and then covers the emergence of science fiction as it relates to the project to define humanity and its standing in the universe in a manner consistent with science. Three Orders and their emergence are then described according to their architectonic schemae and their epistemological and creative processes. The first is the Modernist Order, based on Cartesian spatiality and mind-body dualism and empirical scientific practice. The second, which emerged as an attempt to synthesise modern science with traditional culture, is the Neohumanist Order. The third, still very much in flux, is the Posthumanist Order, which is very much inspired both by postmodernism and cybernetics. The three following chapters deal with the Orders in turn, selecting exemplary texts from their emergent and developed (or developing) stages, suggesting also the points in the development of each where another Order has disengaged and emerged in its own right. Because science and culture evolve over time, examination of the Orders is intrinsically linked to a concept of science fiction as being an ongoing discourse, each selected text is interpreted as being a response to a particular issue at a particular cultural moment, but nonetheless connected to predecessor and successor texts that represent a line of argument pursued over time within and between Orders. The Orders are not hermetic by any means, and their most enlightening aspects can be their varying treatment of a common concept. The cyborg furnishes an excellent example, being treated differently by each of the Orders as it is an image of the integration of humanity and technology. Issues such as self, body, boundary, location, the other and communication are all represented in the cyborg and the next two chapters discuss the cyborg as treated by different Orders, in the first case, as a body and in the second case, as an inhabitant and creation of architectonics and culture. The conclusion then discusses the current state of affairs regarding the system of Orders as a critical method. It is shown that 'impure' texts that contain aspects of each of the Orders do not negate their usefulness, but rather demonstrate it as texts (and postmodern texts in particular) provide stages on which the Orders can be displayed engaging with each other.</p>

Selves and Spaces in Science Fiction

<p>This thesis proposes a critical framework by which science fiction can be read as an indicator of significant trends and debates in science and culture. It takes as its starting point Brian Aldiss's statement that science fiction's purpose is to articulate in fictional form a definition of humanity and its status in the universe that will stand in the light of science. Science fiction exists as a means by which scientific concepts are constructed as cultural interpretations, and as both have changed significantly over the period from the emergence of the genre in the mid nineteenth century through the twentieth century, analysis of science-fictional forms and practices can reveal the processes of their evolution. A critical framework is constructed based on Aldiss' definition, identifying first, a construction of selfhood and spatiality - physical and metaphysical - as being fundamental, and secondly, identifying the emergence and evolution of major 'Orders' that take different approaches to key issues and which engage with each other both antagonistically and creatively. The thesis begins with an investigation of the cultural construction of space and then covers the emergence of science fiction as it relates to the project to define humanity and its standing in the universe in a manner consistent with science. Three Orders and their emergence are then described according to their architectonic schemae and their epistemological and creative processes. The first is the Modernist Order, based on Cartesian spatiality and mind-body dualism and empirical scientific practice. The second, which emerged as an attempt to synthesise modern science with traditional culture, is the Neohumanist Order. The third, still very much in flux, is the Posthumanist Order, which is very much inspired both by postmodernism and cybernetics. The three following chapters deal with the Orders in turn, selecting exemplary texts from their emergent and developed (or developing) stages, suggesting also the points in the development of each where another Order has disengaged and emerged in its own right. Because science and culture evolve over time, examination of the Orders is intrinsically linked to a concept of science fiction as being an ongoing discourse, each selected text is interpreted as being a response to a particular issue at a particular cultural moment, but nonetheless connected to predecessor and successor texts that represent a line of argument pursued over time within and between Orders. The Orders are not hermetic by any means, and their most enlightening aspects can be their varying treatment of a common concept. The cyborg furnishes an excellent example, being treated differently by each of the Orders as it is an image of the integration of humanity and technology. Issues such as self, body, boundary, location, the other and communication are all represented in the cyborg and the next two chapters discuss the cyborg as treated by different Orders, in the first case, as a body and in the second case, as an inhabitant and creation of architectonics and culture. The conclusion then discusses the current state of affairs regarding the system of Orders as a critical method. It is shown that 'impure' texts that contain aspects of each of the Orders do not negate their usefulness, but rather demonstrate it as texts (and postmodern texts in particular) provide stages on which the Orders can be displayed engaging with each other.</p>

Selves and Spaces in Science Fiction

<p>This thesis proposes a critical framework by which science fiction can be read as an indicator of significant trends and debates in science and culture. It takes as its starting point Brian Aldiss's statement that science fiction's purpose is to articulate in fictional form a definition of humanity and its status in the universe that will stand in the light of science. Science fiction exists as a means by which scientific concepts are constructed as cultural interpretations, and as both have changed significantly over the period from the emergence of the genre in the mid nineteenth century through the twentieth century, analysis of science-fictional forms and practices can reveal the processes of their evolution. A critical framework is constructed based on Aldiss' definition, identifying first, a construction of selfhood and spatiality - physical and metaphysical - as being fundamental, and secondly, identifying the emergence and evolution of major 'Orders' that take different approaches to key issues and which engage with each other both antagonistically and creatively. The thesis begins with an investigation of the cultural construction of space and then covers the emergence of science fiction as it relates to the project to define humanity and its standing in the universe in a manner consistent with science. Three Orders and their emergence are then described according to their architectonic schemae and their epistemological and creative processes. The first is the Modernist Order, based on Cartesian spatiality and mind-body dualism and empirical scientific practice. The second, which emerged as an attempt to synthesise modern science with traditional culture, is the Neohumanist Order. The third, still very much in flux, is the Posthumanist Order, which is very much inspired both by postmodernism and cybernetics. The three following chapters deal with the Orders in turn, selecting exemplary texts from their emergent and developed (or developing) stages, suggesting also the points in the development of each where another Order has disengaged and emerged in its own right. Because science and culture evolve over time, examination of the Orders is intrinsically linked to a concept of science fiction as being an ongoing discourse, each selected text is interpreted as being a response to a particular issue at a particular cultural moment, but nonetheless connected to predecessor and successor texts that represent a line of argument pursued over time within and between Orders. The Orders are not hermetic by any means, and their most enlightening aspects can be their varying treatment of a common concept. The cyborg furnishes an excellent example, being treated differently by each of the Orders as it is an image of the integration of humanity and technology. Issues such as self, body, boundary, location, the other and communication are all represented in the cyborg and the next two chapters discuss the cyborg as treated by different Orders, in the first case, as a body and in the second case, as an inhabitant and creation of architectonics and culture. The conclusion then discusses the current state of affairs regarding the system of Orders as a critical method. It is shown that 'impure' texts that contain aspects of each of the Orders do not negate their usefulness, but rather demonstrate it as texts (and postmodern texts in particular) provide stages on which the Orders can be displayed engaging with each other.</p>

Intimacy and its violation: on the experience of illness in contemporary women's poetry

This article discusses selected aspects of the problem of self-perception by a sick individual, specific to the poetry of Polish women of the last few decades. The aim of the analysis is to show that the body is central to the illness experience and that a new type of intimacy appears in connection with its ailment. This is a „clinical intimacy”, the specificity of which is defined by a confrontation with suffering, the proliferation of the feeling of isolation, the intensity of emotions related to making the body public, its discovery and exposure in a hospital setting. The issue of „gender expropriation” in a marginal situation is also important, as is the scar, wound, physical violation of the body boundary, read as the „punctum” of the patient's body. The interpretation emphasises the individualization of artistic representations of the aforementioned aspects of „clinical intimacy”. The anthropological research perspective adopted in the sketch allows for the diagnosis of the subject matter in the context of the process of shaping subjective identity.

Processed Radio Frequency towards Pancreas Enhancing the Deadly Diabetes Worldwide

Diabetes is a chronic and debilitating disease, which is associated with a range of complications putting tremendous burden on medical, economic and socio-technological infrastructure globally. Yet the higher authorities of health services are facing the excruciating cumulative reasons of diabetes as a very imperative worldwide issue in the 21st century. The study aims to relook at the misapplication of the processed radio frequency that frailties in the pancreas within and around the personal body boundary area. The administered sensor data were obtained at laboratory experiments from the selected specimens on dogs and cats in light and dark environments. The study shows the frequent urine flow speed varies with sudden infection due to treated wireless sensor networks in active open eyes. The overweight and obese persons are increasingly affected in diabetes with comprehensive urinary pressure due to continuous staying at dark environment. The findings replicate the increasing tide of diabetes globally. The study also represents the difficulties of physicians to provide adequate diabetic management according to their expectancy due to insecure personal area network control unit.Dynamic sensor network is indispensable for healthcare but such network is at risk to health security due to digitalized poisoning within GPS positions. The study recommends the anti-radiation integrated system policy with user’s security alternative approach to inspire dealing with National Health Policy and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

“Inside or Outside”

By relating the exterior-interior model of body boundary awareness to Lakoff & Johnson’s (1999) in-out orientation of container-schematic conceptualisations, this study aims to explore the use of container-schematic imagery in the autobiographical memories of High and Low Barrier Personalities. The results of this study are based on a corpus of everyday autobiographical memories (N =488) and dream memories (N=450). The results demonstrated that, in both memory types, High Barrier personalities used more semantic fields representing concrete and metaphorical container-schematic imagery (Johnson, 1987), suggesting that container metaphors are similar to the Barrier personality construct. The results are discussed also in reference to the social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.