Dear all- what a vibrant discussion of hard vs "soft" science fiction! My
small contribution concerns an early utopia *The New Atlantis* (1625 ish).
Francis Bacon, rightly or wrongly, has been adopted as the "father of
science." A telling description given that his New Atlantis celebrates
the masculine almost to complete exclusion of women. In the area of
reproduction women are firmly confined to the margins particluarly in the
"feast of the family" a patriarchical ritual whereby the father of a
certain number of descendents is publically celebrated for his prowess,
while the mother of all these offspring (ie she who has actually done all
the work, at considerable risk to her own life) watches from a private
room where she is invisible- and is completely forgotten. Here science
provides consumanable miricles of various kinds (food that never decays!
Wonder drinks!) which largely keep the population passive
while a hierachy of priests/scientist censors all information. Apart from
the invisble woman at the feast of the family, the only women seen are the
silent women appearing on the side of the road, apparently venerating the
priestly caste who are respendant in rich clothing and glorious carriages.
The "great man" theory of scientists, pointed out by Mike Levy I think,
has a history almost as long (or possibly longer) than the history of
modern science in England itself.
So here, at the beginnings of this "objective" disipline- one of Bacon''s
goals was to eliminate biases of every kind- Bacon sorted out
the role of women to his own satisfaction. They should be not seen and not
heard.
I don't think that there is a "pure" science anywhere, somehow independant
from ideology and humanity, as someone way back in the discussion
suggested.
Tanya.
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