[extropy-chat] SOC: Advanced society = advanced morality?

[Damien Broderick]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jef Allbright" <jef at jefallbright.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 2:35 PM

> I've often wondered about the apparent fascination
> with Victorian manners in science fiction, e.g., _The Diamond Age_,
> _Aristoi_, _The Golden Age_ trilogy.  I suspect its utility in fiction is
> more for its ornateness, than for accurate depiction of true morality.
> Perhaps Damien would share some insights on this apparent trend.

Multifactorial. Harks back (`steampunk') to the ambience of the originators
of sf and horror, Wells and Stoker etc. Places narrative limits and pleasing
contrasts on unbounded tech possibilities. Plus the ornamentation you
mention.

I've just belatedly enjoyed Connie Willis's TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, a
long, complex but relaxed entertainment set in high Victorian England and
playing off the Jerome K. Jerome novel THREE MEN IN A BOAT (TO SAY NOTHING
OF THE DOG). The gruesome over-ornamented aesthetics of the period are
lovingly mocked, as are the haughty, shallow cruelties of the well-off in
respect of the `downstairs' servants (who have their 20th century revenge a
few years early). Yet the tone is sunny, dreamy, like floating downstream in
a boat on a pleasant day, accompanied by a delightful dog who wags himself
all over... And very funny most of the time, even when pointing morals.

Damien Broderick