Cognition And Estrangement

The theory of cognitive estrangement was raised by Professor Darko Suvin. It is a new but effective way to analyze Science Fiction. The two concepts, estrangement and cognition, form the backbone of the whole theory. The aim of this paper is to try to explain cognition mechanism of Science Fiction as a genre on the basis of the cognitive estrangement theory in the hope of contributing to the better understanding of Science Fiction.Suvin's concept of estrangement is inspired by the theory of defamiliarization first proposed by Victor Shklovsky and then developed by Bertolt Brecht. Suvin's estrangement has grown into structure principle of a given genre. Cognition is achieved through the device of estrangement, which is the starting point of the process. Estrangement in Science Fiction is presented as alternative history world, functioning as detour to cognition of our reality.On deeper level, cognition is achieved by parable, which forms the deeper structure of Science Fiction. The author will prove that parable is extended metaphor and then analysis parable is narrative text. After that, the author will deal with the assumption that parable forms the deeper layer of Science Fiction. The analysis of this part starts with metaphor, the minimum unit of parable. Metaphoric cognition serves as the foundation of cognition of Science Fiction. The narrative text of fiction is vehicle and tenor is outside the narrative text, waiting for reader's application.The last part of the thesis dwells on the relationship between cognitive estrangement, metaphoric cognition and readers, both of which require readers' involvement to complete the process of cognition. The author employs the reader-response theory form structuralism, psychoanalysis and phenomenology aspects to analysis the process that readers complete the process of cognition.In conclusion, the cognition mechanism of Science Fiction is a process of readers' reconstructing the world by shifting back and forth from the fictional world to reality and opening up alternative ways of socially constructing the lived world at the same time.