The Fiction of the Past as a Resource to Understand Human Condition

Abstract

This article presents a study on the possibilities of the historical fiction narrative to understand human nature in relation to science and technology. The authors analyze a saga made up of four novels and show how they create an imaginary world that allows a vivid understanding of technology’s impact on the productive forces and social relations of a human group. The article concludes that fiction’s epistemic utility is not limited to imagining possible worlds, but it rather opens horizons of possibility to foresee how ethical values and social relations affect and are affected by technology and science.