On Technological Determinism and the Crisis of Humanistic Spirit in Atwood’s Oryx and Crake
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In Oryx and Crake , Atwood conducts a reasonable deduction based on cutting-edge gene editing technology, systematically presenting the multiple risks posed by technology: cognitive risks arising from human cognitive limitations regarding natural laws, practical risks of trampling on rights in technological research and development activities, and ontological risks of technological abuse eroding human physical, mental, and even species integrity. On this basis, Atwood further explores issues related to technological determinism, revealing the decisive role of economic and military interests in shaping the direction of gene editing technology, and criticizing the extreme technological determinist idea that technology determines social change. Atwood critiques the industrial society's denigration of the humanities and social sciences. She then attempts to outline a possible path to avoid a crisis of technological ethics. By revitalizing the value guidance of the humanistic spirit, supplemented by fostering virtues in scientific researchers and establishing institutional norms for technological ethics, high technology can be guided to truly serve a more just and dignified mode of existence for humanity.
Source: Ethics and Society
Author: Jinlin Sun
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225336897