The subject of this book is the philosophy of Stanisaw Lem. It contains an analysis of one of his early works, The Dialogues, as well as of his essay, Summa technologiae, which is considered as the project of human autoevolution. Moreover, various social theories, which can be linked with the project of autoevolution, are presented.

The subject of this book is the philosophy of Stanisaw Lem. The first part contains an analysis and interpretation of one of his early works, The Dialogues . The author tries to show how Lem used the terminology of cybernetics to create a project of sociology and anthropology. The second part examines Lem's essay Summa technologiae , which is considered as the project of human autoevolution. The term «autoevolution» is a neologism for the concept of humans taking control over their own biological evolution and form in order to improve the conditions of their being. In this interpretation, Summa is an example of a liberal utopia, based on the assumption that all human problems can be resolved by science. Various social theories, which can be linked to the project of autoevolution, are presented in the final part.

Autorentext

Pawe Majewski is Associate Professor at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. His main areas of research are: influence of writing on the intellectual and cognitive processes in the human mind; history of communication; bias of alphabetic writing as a vehicle of cultural communication.

Klappentext

The subject of this book is the philosophy of Stanis aw Lem. The first part contains an analysis and interpretation of one of his early works, The Dialogues. The author tries to show how Lem used the terminology of cybernetics to create a project of sociology and anthropology. The second part examines Lem s essay Summa technologiae, which is considered as the project of human autoevolution. The term «autoevolution» is a neologism for the concept of humans taking control over their own biological evolution and form in order to improve the conditions of their being. In this interpretation, Summa is an example of a liberal utopia, based on the assumption that all human problems can be resolved by science. Various social theories, which can be linked to the project of autoevolution, are presented in the final part.

Inhalt

Philosophy of Stanisaw Lem Lemology pure and applied Dialogues Cybernetics as an anthropology Summa Technologiae Technology as Lifeworld Autoevolution and posthumanism