"Vi inhämtar aldrig information utan att på något sätt omvandla den" En tematisk studie av "Det sällsamma djuret från norr"

Abstract

This study examines how consciousness is presented in Lars Gustafsson's science fiction novel Det sällsamma djuret från norr. My reading concentrates not only biological consciousness but also artificially and how these are presented in relation to each other. The purpose is to examine how consciousness is presented in a relatively unseen reality and how the dividing lines between fiction and reality, between the past and the future, appear according to Gustafsson's pen as only constructions. Initially, a theoretical foundation is constructed based on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's philosophy of consciousness, and contemporary science of consciousness based on Max Tegmark's study Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence in particular. Tegmark's definition of consciousness as a subjective experience gives the opportunity to study the kind of consciousness that is expressed in Gustafsson's science fiction text. And by applying and systematizing science of consciousness, this study shows that consciousness is not necessarily bound to a certain physical substrate, but that it is autonomous and can begin to live its own life in the same way as waves.