Ursula Leguinn 'The Lathe of Heaven'

[Maljackson]

Does anyone know this?

Ive done some research and i need to relate to subjectivity

Can anyone help me?

[starrwriter]

Does anyone know this? Ive done some research and i need to relate to subjectivity. Can anyone help me?
I think it's an amazing novel -- one of the very few science fiction books I ever thoroughly enjoyed, perhaps because it is really speculative literature and not hard science fiction. LeGuinn wrote it as a sort of homage to speculative literature master Philip K. Dick and in some ways I think it is better than anything Dick ever wrote.

If you have done some research, you probably know the novel is about dreaming and how it relates to the subjective nature of reality. This harks back to 17th century Irish philosopher George Berkeley, who believed that objective reality is unknowable. Berkeley claimed we can only know what our mind and senses tell us. This is similar to a view held by ancient Buddhist philosophers such as Nagarjuna, who defined reality negatively by detailing what it is not.

The role of subjectivity in "The Lathe of Heaven" relates to the concept of consensual reality -- the idea that physical reality is shaped by a consensus of opinion among people. In the case of protagonist George Orr the consensus is confined to himself and his doctor and the mode of operation is dreaming. Orr's lucid dreams (eventually manipulated by his doctor) become manifested in external reality.

I have my own personal theory about consensual reality. It's not a consensus among all people. The consensus is reached by a small number of individuals who possess a certain "mana" or spiritual power, perhaps without ever knowing it. The mass of other people simply go along with the consensus without contributing to it.

[Maljackson]

hey starwriter i sent you a private message.

hope you can respond in the next few days

cheers.