Medical imaginaries and the future horizons of consciousness physiology in the work of Stanisław Lem

ABSTRACT. This article analyses some of the most significant aspects of the exploratory adventure around the physiology of consciousness which the Polish writer Stanisław Lem provides in his science-fiction novels and essays. It is argued that the onto-epistemological and ethical problems associated with the complex mind-brain relationship, the sophisticated medical intervention devices that involve neuronal communication, and the challenges that humankind faces in view of the physical and intellectual evolutionary advance largely determine Lem’s perspective, which is shown to lie between fantastic inventiveness and plausible foresight.