Stanislaw Lem – SOLARIS (1961)

Solaris is a Philosophical Science Fiction novel written by polish author Stanislaw

Lem and published in 1961. It deals with the themes of human experience, the nature of
human memory, inadequacy of human understanding of the cosmos and failure to
communicate with outer-space existences. Its genre can be described as the hardcore sci-fi
because there are no exciting moments, monsters or heroic actions into the book. Instead of
these, it offers a silent and terrifying atmosphere, as the space should be and forces humanity
to look at itself for making people realize that they are just a drop on the ocean and all of their
progresses are just insufficient to understand the cosmos. The scientific search in space stands
in the book as a kind of heroic effort to learn about Solaris. However, mankind has got to
know its limitations, by giving an emphasis on its very own itself.

Solaris is a science fiction novel and just like every science fiction work it exploits a
probable scientific theory in literary level. As it is known, the science fiction is the backdrop
of science and it always seeks plausibility within the backdrop of science. It takes place in a
time where space travels on spaceships, space probes on different planets are something
common. Its aim is to use a probable scientific theory in the content of a literary work to
create a philosophical, intellectual debate within the society. The setting of the novel fits to a
sci-fi work; a space station, hovering upon the planet Solaris, it is a water planet and assumed
to be gigantic living plasma. The scientists assume that planet is a kind of gigantic brain
which creates shapes in every kind on the water surface of the planet. Our protagonist, Dr.
Kris Kelvin arrives to space station at the beginning of the novel to study this mysterious
planet Solaris just like other scientists. However, human science and grasp proves itself as
insufficient in this task of understanding an alien planet. The title of the book gives a
reference to this mysterious planet where the planet toys with the humans. It consist of 14
chapters and starts with the arrival of Dr. Kelvin. The writing style of the novel is almost dry,
Lem describes every event almost with the same voice without increasing or decreasing the
tension while describing the events which happening in space station.

The planet, Solaris is much more challenging for human understanding; it is alive,
ambiguous, it has an understanding of human nature and the things that passes on their minds,
the darkest corners of their minds, and their deep down buried memories. Eventually, the
surface of the Solaris turns into a playground of its own and the humans are its subject to
make experiments but it seems that its purposes are not to do any harm. With these types of
reactions, the ocean surfaced planet toys with the humans and humans are desperately trying
to learn about it and at the end they can get nothing, no answer because they are looking at it
with a human perspective. That means, thousands of year’s human experience limits the
perspective of human beings and they can’t get out of their heads, they can’t think that this is
not something like us. Therefore, ocean surfaced planet, Solaris is something ambiguous for
them. Apparently, the planet also knows about this, and sends some visitors to these heroic
avant-garde scientists in the form of their loved ones, just to remind them this is what you can
get. Lem also proves this idea in his book with that way in chapter 6;
 “We think of ourselves as the Knights of the Holy Contact. This is
another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other
worlds. We need mirrors. We don't know what to do with other
worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for
what it is….. We arrive here as we are in reality, and when the page is
turned and that reality is revealed to us — that part of our reality
which we would prefer to pass over in silence — then we don't like it
anymore.”

As it can be seen through the quote, the search of mankind in deep space is to find
earth like planets, and new phenomenon that fits to human mind. The creatures of these
planets may even share the same kind of historical past with lots of battles and struggles just
like us because we can understand these. This is why we are seeing colonial outer-space
existences in Sci-Fi books, movies and televisions because our mind allows only this. Maybe
because of the Survival of the fittest theory is so deep of the human heart and a basic instinct
that we see everything from its perspective. As a result, we are just creating outer space
existences by using our own fantasies by thinking that human experience is a measure to all
creatures of the cosmos. However, this is not the case and there is a reality we are usually
ignoring it, when it comes to a totally new existence that is beyond our capacity of
understanding, our mind fails us, ultimately leaves us blind into the nothingness and also
limits us for going beyond of this perspective. This is why his works are often called as the
hardcore science fiction because Lem’s stories are much more probable. The question in here
which Lem is trying to raise; How could you understand a new existence that is beyond your
mind while you still barely know about yourself? Definitely, Stanislaw Lem is criticizing the
mankind’s effort to grasp his own mind in here and perhaps he even sees the effort of
humanity to explore the cosmos with a heroic sense of duty as a fool’s courage. Actually Lem
is trying to support this idea with a pamphlet;

“I had read the pamphlet, which was dictated by the urge to

understand what lies beyond the grasp of mankind, and aimed in
particular against the individual, man, and the human species. […] In
this fifteen-page booklet (his magnum opus!), Grastrom set out to
demonstrate that the most abstract achievements of science, the most
advanced theories and victories of mathematics represented nothing
more than a stumbling one- or two-step progression from our rude,
prehistoric, anthropomorphic understanding of the universe around
us. […] Grastrom's conclusion was that there neither was, nor could
be, any question of 'contact' between mankind and any nonhuman
civilization.”

In other words, it is simply impossible to communicate with a non-human civilization that is

beyond human grasp because humans have no capacity to see the life beyond their mentality.
However, this is the source of human ambition against Solaris in the book because the planet
stands there as a puzzle waiting to be solved for them. Yet due to the lack of communication,
it just frustrates their efforts as it should be and expected to be. The planet is totally alien to
human endeavors and totally ambiguous for humanity. Lem also summarizes this arguement
in his interview which recorded in 2002 by saying;

“...to my best knowledge, the book was not dedicated to erotic

problems of people in outer space... As Solaris' author I shall allow
myself to repeat that I only wanted to create a vision of a human
encounter with something that certainly exists, in a mighty manner
perhaps, but cannot be reduced to human concepts, ideas or images.”

The book actually gives some impressions about the theme of contact with the alien
forms right from the beginning with the strange actions of Dr. Snow against Kris. However,
when Kris confronted with a giant black woman in the space situation where officially there
supposed to be three and a deceased scientists, Lem definitely declares his main theme as the
contact with aliens in chapter three with the appearance of a gigantic black woman who is
generally accepted as the most alienated one (subaltern) among people because of the clash
between the consciousness of the humans and power struggle. Interestingly, the book also
sheds a light to way of western understanding of the exploration and the conquest. In other
words, Lem also makes his fun of with the western style of explore for finding new and
different races, killing them or enslave them to create ideal others to mirror ourselves. Lem’s
vision of exploration is similar to Hegelian sense of battle between the consciousness of the
people in which you are either superior and developed one or inferior one with nothing. The
scientific exploration of the planet Solaris has the same purposes because humanity is trying
to achieve a power with the mastery of the planet. However, the planet is beyond human
understanding and human mind is insufficient to see through it. This is also the thing that
hurts the human pride. Lem describes this situation with this way in the book;

“In any case, it's in an extremely rare category, not like Earth. Earth
is a common type — the grass of the universe! And we pride ourselves
on this universality. There's nowhere we can't go; in that belief we set
out for other worlds, all brimming with confidence. And what were we
going to do with them? Rule them or be ruled by them: that was the
only idea in our pathetic minds! What a useless waste . . ."

As it can be seen through the examples, the book is a strong criticism to human nature.
In other words, Lem actually criticizes people trying to be the master of the cosmos while not
having knowledge about the dark corners of their own mind and soul. Even the shape of the
planet gives us this idea because it is made of plasma, alive, and has a consciousness just like
a human brain. It is ironic that mankind doesn’t have much knowledge about the working
mechanism of human brain, yet still eager to search and eliminate new lands or brains. This
situation makes itself crystal clear when the actions of scientists against Solaris are
considered. In other words, although they have less knowledge about themselves, they are
itching to know about the working mechanisms of other brains. Marvelously, in the book,
Lem’s Solaris is projecting this phenomenon against the scientists just to make them know
themselves. In a way, Lem is just mocking with the mankind’s ignorant attempts of discovery
by making them face off with their own mind and they can’t even know themselves. The book
has a cynical, philosophical side and it is intentionally well designed by Stanislaw Lem with
these purposes. His aim is to make humanity force to look at its own soul, and the usage of a
planet with two suns also shades a light to this situation. As humans have their own different
influences on their personality, which Freud called Id, Ego and Superego, the planet has its
own suns two create this impact on the reader. It is a giant brain, has its own dreams and it
reflects these on its surface. However, it is nearly impossible to understand the motives of
planet as it happened in human nature. Since the discovery of fire, we have come too far but
still our knowledge about human motives and brain is great mystery. Even now, despite of our
highly developed technology and history of development through scientific projects and
researches, we know not much about ourselves, just trying to figure out through some
theories. Therefore, in the book, the planet Solaris stands as a kind of living, gigantic brain.
There are only theories, and lots of books about it on the space situation but nothing is sure
about it. The ambiguity about the planet Solaris hangs above of the scientists as a question to
be solved for human pride, just as the human brain.

Even the actual characters of the novel represent the fact about human influences
between Freud’s Id, Superego and Ego. Sartarious is a man of science who has to conquer
more lands and gather more knowledge. He is the representation of human pride and pretty
similar to Faust. Even Sartorious’s brief appearances in the book underlines this fact, we
don’t see him very much just like Id, buried deep within the human psychology. Mostly we
see the events from the perspective of Kelvin and he doesn’t seem to be interested in human
desire to tame the planet and resolve its secrets, so that humanity could achieve a power by
representing the Superego. On the contrary, he loves the planet and Rheya (The Daughter of
the Ocean) even when he knows it’s all just an illusion. Moreover, he even desires to leave the
humanity by leaving the station to see the old Mimoid. This situation gives us an insight about
the desire of getting away from human culture for a new dislocated culture. However, it is
impossible and creates a risk for the life of Kelvin through the end of the book just as Snow
warned. He has a desire to escape from human sense because it just repeats itself through
dialects. On the other hand, Dr. Snow mediates between this two characters and he is the one
often carry messages from Sartatious to Kelvin for finding a middle ground (Ego) but even he
is inadequate against this two different philosophy. As Hegel foresaw, maybe this is the only
way for humanity to get some point, but it is also the source of disbelief and creates
alienation.

Finally, if we summarize the whole philosophical debate which Lem tried to raise in
1961, we can say it is all about the humanity and everything within its soul. It perfectly
represents the war within human soul between getting away of the human nature and the
endless desire to conquer everything just to get a mirror for itself for getting an identity by
using an alien planet. The book urges us to look deep inside of our souls and understand our
human nature.