The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett : analysis of speculative fiction as a vehicle for changing the mind and the world

Abstract

Speculative literature is an excellent vehicle for questioning the seemingly natural; faith and the shape of reality are two frequently reflected themes in such works. In The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett, the relationships among deities, known as the Divinities; people; and reality are complex and thought provoking. The fictional world hints significantly at our reality when inverting the assumingly top-down relationship between the divine and the mundane. Based on findings from the cognitive sciences and working with the concept of intersubjectivity and interaction theory, this paper explores the enormous role of intersubjective minds in constructing reality in both the fictional and the real world.