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
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethics and Autonomy in Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Word for World is Forest
AU - Ryder, Mike
PY - 2024/12/6
Y1 - 2024/12/6
N2 - 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?
AB - 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?
KW - Ethics
KW - Autonomy
KW - Drone Theory
KW - Derrida
KW - Ursula K. Le Guin
KW - Vietnam War
KW - Chamayou
KW - Deleuze
KW - Foucault
KW - Responsibility
KW - Duty
KW - Science Fiction
KW - Philosophy
U2 - 10.3828/extr.2024.18
DO - 10.3828/extr.2024.18
M3 - Journal article
VL - 65
SP - 287
EP - 302
JO - Extrapolation
JF - Extrapolation
SN - 0014-5483
IS - 3
ER -