Ethics and Autonomy in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest

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Rights statement: This is the accepted version of the following article: Ryder, M. (2024) 'Ethics and Autonomy in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World Is Forest' Extrapolation 65(3): 287-302, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2024.18. This article may be used in accordance with the Liverpool University Press Self-Archiving Policy.
Accepted author manuscript, 216 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Keywords

Ethics, Autonomy, Drone Theory, Derrida, Ursula K. Le Guin, Vietnam War, Chamayou, Deleuze, Foucault, Responsibility, Duty, Science Fiction, Philosophy

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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Mike Ryder

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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>	1/11/2024
<mark>Journal</mark>	Extrapolation
Issue number	3
Volume	65
Number of pages	16
Pages (from-to)	287-302
Publication Status	Accepted/In press
<mark>Original language</mark>	English

Abstract

Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World Is Forest (1972) offers a sustained critique of imperialist doctrine and the American war in Vietnam. It also raises important questions about soldierly autonomy and personal responsibility in action.

Drawing on the work of philosopher Jacques Derrida, this paper examines modern-day interpretations of autonomy in a military setting, including the emerging field of drone theory. Given that the novella’s antagonist Don Davidson is accused of “irresponsible autonomy” for the way he mistreats the natives of Athshe, this paper asks: is Davidson really irresponsible, or is he rather an alibi for insufficient state control?

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