Since the turn of the millennium, German writers have increasingly engaged with the moral and ethical dilemmas created by scientific and technological advances. Building on the rich tradition of German Utopian Thought and German Science Fiction, they explore in thoughtful and accessible mind-experiments the dangers and limits of our new capabilities, and also the opportunities should we succeed in harnessing the potential inherent in these advances. Beneath a dystopian guise, German writers attempt 'Zukunftsbewältigung': valuable strategies that may help us cope with an uncertain but also unwritten future. As more of these texts become available in English translation, Dr Ingo Cornils explores what they can tell us about the future.

Kurd Lasswitz, Two Planets (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971).