The art and science of Stanislaw Lem / edited by Peter Swirski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swirski, Peter, Author.

Contributor:

Swirski, Peter, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lem, Stanisaw--Criticism and interpretation.

Lem, Stanisaw.

Polish literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (206 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem, whose works include Return from the Stars, The Cyberiad, A Perfect Vacuum, and Solaris, has been hailed as a "literary Einstein" and a science-fiction Bach. The Art and Science of Stanislaw Lem provides an inter-disciplinary analysis of his influence on Western culture and the creative partnering of art and science in his fiction and futorology by American and European scholars who have defined Lem scholarship. Rather than analyzing Lem solely as a science fiction writer, the contributors examine the larger themes in his work, such as social engineering and human violence, agency and consciousness, Freudianism and the creative process, evolution and the philosophy of the future, virtual reality and epistemological illusion, and science fiction and socio-cultural policy. This unique collection also includes "Smart Robots," a previously unpublished essay by Lem. Contributors include Peter Butko (Southern Mississippi), Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr (DePauw), Katherine Hayles (California at Los Angeles), Jerzy Jarzebski (Jagiellonian, University Cracow), Michael Kandel (Modern Language Association), Stanislaw Lem, Paisley Livingston (Lingnan University, Hong Kong), Krzysztof Loska (Jagiellonian University), and Peter Swirski (Hong Kong).

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Introduction: The Man behind the Giant""; ""1 Smart Robots""; ""2 (Un)masking the Agent: Stanislaw Lem�s “The Mask�""; ""3 Betrization Is the Worst Solution � with the Exception of All Others""; ""4 A Freudian Peek at Lem�s Fiasco""; ""5 Summa technologiae � Looking Back and Ahead""; ""6 Models of Evolution in the Writings of Stanislaw Lem""; ""7 Skepticism, Realism, Fallibilism: On Lem�s Epistemological Themes""; ""8 Lem, Central Europe, and the Genre of Technological Empire""; ""9 Lem on Film""; ""10 Solaris! Solaris. Solaris?""

""Stanislaw Lem: A Brief Chronological Biography""""Bibliography""; ""About the Authors""

Notes:

Limited edition of 300 copies.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9786612865626

9780773578296

0773578293

9781282865624

1282865625

9780773575073

0773575073

OCLC:

647844524