A reflection on humanness through the lens of science fiction

Abstract

This thesis explores and attempts to better understand what makes us human through the lens of science fiction novels. The novels analyzed include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick (1968), Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (1963), and Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1976). Science fiction can be used to reveal how people make moral and intellectual sense of the world, and these three novels all share a common focus on what it means to be human by contrasting humans with groups of beings who were not quite human. I have chosen to analyze these three novels in particular because they each highlight different aspects of what makes one human. I will analyze these different aspects of what make us human, focusing on the themes of individuality, creativity, and empathy, among others.