배제에서 돌봄으로: 『클라라와 태양』, 인간에 대한 재정의

From Exclusion to Care: Rethinking the Human in Klara and the Sun

In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro presents a dystopian vision of the collapse of human civilization and explores possible alternatives to slow its decline and ensure survival. He critiques the humanist tradition, which has defined the “human” through a hierarchical and exclusionary framework that privileges reason. This structure, Ishiguro argues, has driven both progress and destruction by repeatedly excluding others. In the novel, the logic of humanism is intensified through transhumanism, culminating in the self-annihilation of humanity and the near collapse of the planet. The rise of strong AI exacerbates social competition and reinforces exclusionary capitalistic forces, accelerating the destruction not only of nonhuman beings but also of humans, both rendered replaceable and disposable. Ishiguro thus calls for a rejection of hierarchical humanism and urges recognition of the otherness inherent in the human. By viewing the boundaries between human and nonhuman as fluid and temporary, he argues that we must abandon the exclusionary practices that hasten destruction. Through Klara—an AI being who cares across boundaries—Ishiguro shows that the only path to survival lies in actively caring for the relationships and conditions that support coexistence. He warns that the ideal of a self-sufficient, isolated individual—sustained by the exclusion of others—inevitably leads to self-destruction. Only through “relational subjectivity”—deeply attuned to interdependence, mutual understanding, and active care—can we slow the pace of collapse and recover a fragile hope for the Earth’s survival.