Fictive science, scientific fiction and phantom library. "Introduction to imagineskopy" by Śledź Otrembus Podgrobelski

Abstract

Author analyses a novel Wstęp do imagineskopii. Próba zarysu [Introduction to imagineskopy. Attempt of an outline] by Śledź Otrembus Podgrobelski [Stanisław Moskal] In the context of Polish prose of the 1970’s and 1980’s. He studies how scientific discourse is simulated, describes relations between fiction (and fictionality) and a fake science and it’s methodology as a result of a diagnosis of science in the late modern age. Moskal builds an ironic quasi-scientific text in order to make a relevant commentary about his era, but also to avoid exaggerated sobriety of academic discourse. He hides amongst his artificially created phantoms, non-existing authors. In this way he can phrase his concerns about the privileged role of experts and knowledge they provide in the late modernity. He also points out that literature is one of the most (or even the most) adequate metadiscourse because of it’s self-awareness and tendency to ambiguity