The Sorceress poster
Ursula Le Guin is one of the best known Science Fiction writers of all time. Interestingly, much of her fame is relatively recent which I take to mean that her ideas are still relevant in today’s world. There is a video on YouTube called The Dangerous Philosophy of Ursula Le Guin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRC0cK_MSA0) created by Damien Walker. In an article on Medium Walker says,
“This was the most complex video essay I’ve published on the Science Fiction channel. The text is about 3600 words which I would usually write in two to three days, but this took the best part of a month.”
The essay is an attempt to understand Le Guin’s current significance, and that turned out to be a pretty major intellectual challenge. It’s also complicated by the effort not to offend either Le Guin’s fans or her detractors, while thinking seriously about her ideas.
It is a fascinating video essay on a fascinating woman.
In his Medium article Damien Walker explains that he believes Le Guin’s philosophy, as expressed in her books, can be boiled down to
“Humanity as a collective has the power to shape our reality, but we are yet to find a way to direct our collective will”.
The use of the word “Dangerous” in the title of Walker’s essay is a reference to this inability.
As a member of the Religious Naturalist Association I believe RNA is helping people “find a way to direct our collective will” through our efforts to spread awareness of the Religious Naturalist orientation.
Terry Findlay