Olaf Stapledon

Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) was an English philosopher and science-fiction author whose speculative novels traced humanity’s future and cosmic evolution across immense spans of time.

Connect

Last and First Men: Olaf Stapledon’s 1930 novel imagines eighteen successive human species across roughly two billion years. This sweeping future history established the scale and evolutionary ambition of Stapledon’s fiction.
Odd John: Olaf Stapledon’s 1935 novel portrays a superhuman child whose kind struggles to live among ordinary people. It applies his interest in evolved minds to social conflict and individual character.
University of Liverpool: A public research university in Liverpool, England, founded in 1881. Stapledon studied there and later taught philosophy and psychology.
Arthur C. Clarke: A British science-fiction author and futurist best known for works including 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke acknowledged Stapledon’s influence on his vision of cosmic intelligence and deep time.
Deep time: The immense spans of geological and cosmic history, far exceeding ordinary human experience. Stapledon makes deep time the scale on which civilizations and species rise and disappear.
Star Maker: Olaf Stapledon’s 1937 novel follows a consciousness through the universe toward encounters with its creator. It extends his evolutionary vision from humanity to cosmic minds and civilizations.
Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord: Olaf Stapledon’s 1944 novel tells of a dog whose intelligence is raised to human levels. It tests the boundary between human and animal minds through an intimate narrative.
World War I: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, chiefly between the Allied and Central Powers. His service with the Friends’ Ambulance Unit during the war shaped his pacifist commitments.
C. S. Lewis: A British writer and scholar whose fiction includes the Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis criticized Stapledon’s spiritual outlook while developing his own contrasting space fiction.
Cosmicism: A perspective emphasizing humanity’s small place within an immense, indifferent universe. His cosmic narratives confront human insignificance while imagining forms of value beyond individuals.