Gethen as a Thought Experiment: Using Analytical Philosophy to Examine the Themes of Ursula Le Guin’s Science Fiction Novel The Left Hand of DarknessBajić, Marina (Avtor) Kennedy, Victor (Mentor) Borstner, Bojan (Mentor) Ursula Le GuinThe Left Hand of Darknessthought experimentsscience fictionIn her work The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin poses a thought experiment in the form of a planet called Gethen: what would the world be like if we were all biologically genderless (most of the time)? The Gethenians are biologically genderless 28 days and assume one of the two genders (male or female) during the remaining days of the sexual cycle. They always assume the opposite gender of their partner and not necessarily the same gender every time. While Le Guin explores certain elements of this thought experiment, she does not expand upon it further, but rather focuses on the story of the novel itself. In this thesis, I will be using elements of philosophy (mostly political philosophy) and deconstructing the Gethenian society to truly see what is left, then building it from the ground up again through the Social Contract. The result? Equality presented in a completely new light.M. Bajić20232023-08-21 20:21:56Magistrsko delo/naloga85189sl