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

摘要：

人与自然和谐共生是全人类面临的时代新论题。玛丽·雪莱在《末世一人》中批判了17—18世纪西方启蒙运动中的人类中心主义思想，警示了人与自然关系的二元对立认知导致的灾难性后果，表达了遵循自然规律、与自然共生、承担人类主体责任的生态理想。玛丽·雪莱非常具有前瞻性地认识到，西方启蒙运动和工业革命给人和自然带来了潜在威胁，其表达的生态思想与当今我们构建人与自然生命共同体的生态倡议有吻合之处。本文将从这一角度出发重读《末世一人》，这一视角的解读是中西文明互鉴的新尝试，希望能为“后人类”社会应对新挑战提供参考。

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