Definitions and Approaches

There are almost as many definitions of science fiction as there are critics who have attempted to define it as a genre. Debate and argument has raged for several decades as to exactly what constitutes the essential structures and characteristics of science fiction and over which texts should or should not be included within this generic category. This is most apparent in studies of science fiction novels, where definitions have been bound up with efforts to valorise popular works previously thought of as unworthy or frivolous. For instance, the practitioner and critic Isaac Asimov suggested:

A broader definition came from the writer and critic Judith Merril, who understood science fiction as ‘speculative fiction’ and as a literature that ‘makes use of the traditional ‘scientific method’ to examine some postulated approximation of reality.’ This suggests that over and above the possible subject matter or focus of the narrative, there is a particular attitude, approach or style of thought inherent within the genre. In addition, Merril's description links the genre with an earlier tradition of utopian fiction, at least as far back as Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (first published 1888) and William Morris's News from Nowhere (first published 1890). Both of these novels had distinct political agendas and described alternative worlds, which implicitly criticised the values of contemporary society.