Working from First Principles: ‘Parable of the Sower’ (Octavia E. Butler, 1993)
A review of ‘Parable of the Sower’, by Octavia E. Butler (1993).
The novel Parable of The Sower has a longstanding, dedicated fanbase. Lauded for its prescience and unflinching hopefulness in the face of dystopia, Octavia Butler’s 1993 novel remains a bestseller—and an almost canonical text for those of certain philosophical persuasions.
It is regularly treated as essential reading for those whose value systems are ecocentric. This book is also popular amongst socialists, particularly those interested in racial and feminist emancipation.
But Parable is not confined to any of these worldviews, which is why it is so interesting.
Set in near-future California in the midst of a long, drawn out social decay, the novel follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman with a condition known as ‘hyper-empathy’. This condition—a product of fetal drug exposure—makes her feel the physical sensations of others as if they are her own, whether pleasure or pain. And there is a lot of pain to share in this world.
Born and raised in a gated community surrounded by endemic homelessness, drug abuse, and violence, Lauren develops a unique philosophy called Earthseed. She, along with her ideas, are eventually forced to take to the road as the world outside comes crashing in.
The rest of the story is harrowing and bleak, with only flickers of hope. What was interesting though is that Butler approaches these challenges with novel frames. She doesn’t subscribe to established political or even moral philosophy. The Earthseed creed she invents has many hallmarks of socialist or ecologist thought, but none of the trappings. It is about community and empathy, but does not fail to distinguish outsiders and condemn evil. It is about ecology and the limits of the natural world, but it seeks ultimate destiny amongst the stars.
Parable is interesting because it takes first principles and runs with them, rather than applying them to the ossified philosophies of existing ideologies. The aim of a star faring civilisation is the most strikingly unique trait, but I also found its approach to addiction very interesting. Rather than (as is often trendy to do so) absolving drug-abuse because of the social conditions that caused it, Parable recognises the conditions whilst still decrying the addicts for the abuse that they inflict on wider society. In the novel, the steady erosion of civil society is the fault of oligarchs, but its unraveling is perpetuated by their drug addled victims.
I could go on describing its unique approaches. But I think what makes Parable so popular and intellectually stimulating (aside from the fact that it’s a very exciting book!) is that it takes first principles—effectively social emotions—and develops them into a new politics for the challenges of the world the novel presents. Butler never provides what most readers are expecting, which is why her ideas are so captivating.
-Ben Shread-Hewitt
