Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds

Possible worlds, governed by known or unknown cosmic rules, if ever they existed, do ontologically exist in the realm of the imaginary and relate to the human potential to imagine beyond what we recognize as reality. This cognitive potential, tinged with postmodernist narrative techniques, can creat...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad-Javad Haj'jari, Nasser Maleki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Asociación Española de Estudios Anglo-Norteamericanos (AEDEAN) 2022-12-01
Series:Atlantis
Online Access:https://www.atlantisjournal.org/index.php/atlantis/article/view/861
_version_ 1797978280435908608
author Mohammad-Javad Haj'jari
Nasser Maleki
author_facet Mohammad-Javad Haj'jari
Nasser Maleki
author_sort Mohammad-Javad Haj'jari
collection DOAJ
description Possible worlds, governed by known or unknown cosmic rules, if ever they existed, do ontologically exist in the realm of the imaginary and relate to the human potential to imagine beyond what we recognize as reality. This cognitive potential, tinged with postmodernist narrative techniques, can create alternative histories through which to contemplate the possible scenarios of the potential reality that could have happened depending on whether certain events did or did not happen. As far as Auster’s Man in the Dark (2008) is concerned, imagining possible worlds has found an outlet not only through what could happen existentially, but also in terms of quantum physics. As one of Auster’s contributions to alternative fiction, Man in the Dark presents us with a portrait of the underlying currents of world affairs and how they are interrelated through the very basic rules of existential philosophy and astrophysics.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T05:21:34Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4cdfee26d3ec499699894c959bbbf81e
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1989-6840
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T05:21:34Z
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher Asociación Española de Estudios Anglo-Norteamericanos (AEDEAN)
record_format Article
series Atlantis
spelling doaj.art-4cdfee26d3ec499699894c959bbbf81e2022-12-23T23:05:45ZengAsociación Española de Estudios Anglo-Norteamericanos (AEDEAN)Atlantis1989-68402022-12-0144212614910.28914/Atlantis-2022-44.2.07 Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible WorldsMohammad-Javad Haj'jari0Nasser Maleki1Razi University, IranRazi University, IranPossible worlds, governed by known or unknown cosmic rules, if ever they existed, do ontologically exist in the realm of the imaginary and relate to the human potential to imagine beyond what we recognize as reality. This cognitive potential, tinged with postmodernist narrative techniques, can create alternative histories through which to contemplate the possible scenarios of the potential reality that could have happened depending on whether certain events did or did not happen. As far as Auster’s Man in the Dark (2008) is concerned, imagining possible worlds has found an outlet not only through what could happen existentially, but also in terms of quantum physics. As one of Auster’s contributions to alternative fiction, Man in the Dark presents us with a portrait of the underlying currents of world affairs and how they are interrelated through the very basic rules of existential philosophy and astrophysics.https://www.atlantisjournal.org/index.php/atlantis/article/view/861
spellingShingle Mohammad-Javad Haj'jari
Nasser Maleki
Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
Atlantis
title Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
title_full Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
title_fullStr Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
title_full_unstemmed Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
title_short Auster’s Man in the Dark: Human Existence and Responsibility for Creating Possible Worlds
title_sort auster s man in the dark human existence and responsibility for creating possible worlds
url https://www.atlantisjournal.org/index.php/atlantis/article/view/861
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammadjavadhajjari austersmaninthedarkhumanexistenceandresponsibilityforcreatingpossibleworlds
AT nassermaleki austersmaninthedarkhumanexistenceandresponsibilityforcreatingpossibleworlds