The Mythology of Modern Spatial Eschatology in Arthur Clarke’s Science-Fictions

Subject Areas : Mytho

Roohieh Naziripour ¹ (The Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, IAU, Karaj Branch)
Maryam SoltanBayad ² (Associate Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Tehran)

Received: 2022-03-06 Accepted : 2022-04-26 Published : 2022-09-23

Keywords: Science Fiction, Arthur C. Clarke, Aliens, Eschatology, Space Travels,

Abstract :

Arthur C. Clarke seeks to present a new spatial eschatology. Until now, the analysts have only pointed out in a scattered and inconsistent way the eschatological and religious nature of the presence of aliens and gods along with space travels. In the present article, we have coherently analyzed the eschatological elements and compared them with their origin in the stories of Clarke. These elements of modern spatial eschatology are mythological answers to the needs of the contemporary era, based on the intellectual assumptions of modernity. The method used in the article is analytical– comparative. The findings of the research show that Clarke's stories, such as The Hammer of God, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Childhood's End, present a seemingly new eschatology along with myths about immortality, resurrection and the end of human history, in order to respond to the intellectual needs of contemporary mankind. But Clarke still uses the elements of the past ecclesiology, which shows that he has not completely broken with the previous eschatological systems and indicates that he has revived these systems in a transformed form. 

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