الفهرس 
World-building and Moral ResponsibilityOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Science fiction is one of the most suitable genres to express life in the twenty first century. Because all aspects of life depend on technological and scientific innovations, science fiction becomes a vehicle well equipped to examine the quick technological and scientific changes that define today’s world. Science fiction is known to cross boundaries between the sub genres of science fiction or between science fiction and other literary genres such as dystopian fiction or apocalyptic and postapocalyptic fiction. The selected novels, namely Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves (2015) and Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past (2014: 2016), combine the literary conventions of science fiction and apocalyptic fiction to examine the ethical implications of confrontations and encounters that utilize the power of science and technology.
Seveneves is written by the American speculative and science fiction writer Neal Stephenson. The novel recounts the apocalyptic event of the shattering of the moon by an unknown agent that threatens life on Earth and the subsequent events that follow. Earth nations try to ensure the continuity of human civilization by constructing the Cloud Ark and sending two representatives of each nation to survive on its board. The novel is divided into three parts that explore the hardships experienced by the survivors on the Cloud Ark after the destruction of Earth.
Remembrance of Earth’s Past is written by the Chinese author Cixin Liu. The trilogy is composed of three books: The Three Body Problem (2014), The Dark Forest (2015), and Death’s End (2016). The trilogy tells the story of Ye Wenjie, a Chinese astrophysicist, who discovers the existence of an alien species called Trisolarans. Because they live on a planet surrounded by three chaotic suns, Trisolarans want to escape the hazardous circumstances of their planet, Trisolaris, and to find another safer planet. Trisolarans plan to invade Earth with the help of Ye Wenjie to reestablish their civilization. After the scheme of Ye Wenjie is discovered, Earth engages in the preparation for the war that will start with the arrival of the Trisolaran fleet to Earth.
The dissertation is interested in three encounters that are enabled through the apocalyptic circumstances that the characters experience. The first encounter is the encounter with the hostile deterministic universe. The second encounter is the encounter with the different other. The third encounter is the encounter with conflicting values. The three encounters are characterized by an ethical attribute that can be explored through different theories in ethical philosophy.
Ethical philosophy is an ancient branch of knowledge that has been developing since ancient times through the contributions of known philosophers. Ethical philosophy is still required today, because its interests are renewed with the changes witnessed by human civilization. The scientific and technological feats of today’s world necessitate the examination of their benefits and consequences from the perspective of ethical philosophy. Therefore, the dissertation discusses the inconsistency of perceiving nature as sometimes stronger and at other times as weaker than mankind. On the one hand, such inconsistency can be seen in perceiving the natural environment of Earth as a tool that can be exploited through science and technology to guarantee a more comfortable life for humankind. In such instance, nature is viewed as weaker than and as subordinate to the development of human societies. On the other hand, the inconsistency is reflected in the depiction of the environment of outer space that is too expansive to be controlled by Earth’s science and technology. The characters in the selected works directly confront the disinterested environment of outer space that often forces them to act in a certain way and to choose certain choices. The encounter with the universe in the works under study illustrate the old philosophical issue of determinism and free will that has occupied the minds and works of philosophers since antiquity.
The second encounter examines the confrontation between the self and the other in times of crisis. The novels under study depict a confrontation between sides that are focused on their own personal interests. Hence, the dissertation explores the ethical aspect of this encounter and how it affects the self and the other. The third encounter is the encounter with conflicting values. Because the selected novels take place over a long span of time, characters act from different ethical perspectives that lead to the clash of values.