关键词: 玛丽·雪莱; 《末世一人》; 人与自然生命共同体; 人类中心主义; 后人类

Abstract:

The concept of the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature is a contemporary issue that all human beings encounter. The 19^th-century female British writer, Mary Shelley, criticized the anthropocentrism that was inherent in the 18^th-century Age of Enlightenment in her novel The Last Man. Shelley warned about the catastrophic consequences resulting from human cognition based on the binary oppositions in the man-nature relationship, and expressed the ecological ideal of following the rules of nature, humans coexisting with nature, and humans taking responsibility for rebuilding the human-nature relationship. This novel, which was ahead of its time, warned about the potential threats that the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution would pose for nature and humankind; the ecological ideas correspond to connotations with the contemporary ideal of building a “Life Community”. Re-reading The Last Man from this perspective is a new attempt at a cultural exchange between Chinese thought and Western literature, and will shed light on how to manage the challenges that are encountered by posthuman society.

Keywords: Mary Shelly; The Last Man; Life Community; anthropocentrism; posthuman society