Description
Book SynopsisThis book is inspired by the author’s work as part of a major international and interdisciplinary research group at the University of Konstanz, Germany: “What If—On the Meaning, Relevance, and Epistemology of Counterfactual Claims and Thought Experiments.” Having contributed to great discoveries, such as those by Galileo and Einstein, thought experiments are especially topical in the twenty-first century, since this is a concept that bridges the gap between the arts and the sciences, promoting interdisciplinary innovation. To study thought experiments in literature, it is imperative to examine relevant texts closely: this has rarely been done to date and this is precisely what this book does as a pilot study focusing on selected works of philosophy and literature. Specifically, thought experiments by Thomas Malthus are analyzed side by side with short stories and novels by Vladimir Odoevsky and Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Alexander Bogdanov and Aleksei Tolstoy, Alexander Chaianov and Nina Berberova.
Trade Review“While Grigorian carefully follows the narrative of each text, she discovers the connections between them, thanks to her consistent viewpoint. As she maintains, she successfully brings chronologically isolated utopian or dystopian dreams into a dialogue with each other, with Malthus and so on. … Finally, let me remark on the practical significance of this book. Grigorian argues that thought experiments investigated here will provide helpful insight into social and environmental problems in the post-2020 world. This global crisis has become much more serious after February 24, 2022. The cosmic scenarios concerning Malthusian theory provided by Russian writers will enable us to think about the world today from new perspectives.”
— Yuki Fukui, Studies in East European Thought
“Engagingly and clearly written, Visions of the Future represents an original approach to Russian utopian fiction and utopian fiction in general. This originality emerges primarily in the book's orientation to the strictly formal influence of counterfactual or hypothetical reasoning on the narrative strategies employed in utopian fiction, while its persuasive force lies in its careful account of well-chosen examples of this influence.”
— Jeff Love, Research Professor of German and Russian, Clemson University
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Thomas Malthus, the Problem of Population, and Counterfactual Thought Experiments: A Concise Overview
Thought Experiments in Vladimir Odoevsky’s Russian Nights (1844)
Thomas Malthus and Nikolai Chernyshevsky: Struggle for Existence or Mutual Help? Utopian Dreams in What Is to Be Done? (1863)
Revolution on Earth and Mars: Alexander Bogdanov’s Red Star (1908) and Aleksei Tolstoy’s Aelita (1923)
A Peasant Utopia: Alexander Chaianov’s My Brother Aleksei’s Journey (1920)
Overpopulation in Nina Berberova’s Short Story “In Memory of Schliemann” (1958), in the Context of Malthusian Theory
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
