From the Anthropocene to the Neganthropocene in argaret Atwood’s Speculative Fiction Trilogy MaddAddam

Abstract

The paper addresses the concept of the Anthropocene, which has become the primary category for describing the catastrophic impact of human activity on the Earth’s biosphere and planetary balance. The material under scrutiny is Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction trilogy MaddAddam (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam), analysed in comparative conjunction with Bernard Stiegler’s philosophical framework of the neganthropocene, negentropy, and general organology. The article examines the dialectic between the total entropic devastation generated by hyper-capitalist commodification and alternative survival practices. The findings demonstrate that Atwood’s dystopian vision serves as a literary depiction of the transition from an entropic Anthropocene to a neganthropocenic paradigm, wherein de-automation and de-proletarianisation become necessary conditions for planetary and human survival. It is concluded that Atwood’s literary project offers an indispensable ethical and imaginative supplement to posthumanist and neganthropological debates concerning the civilisational crisis of the 21st century.