6. Based on the novel, is the ocean of Solaris is a sentient being or not?

[John]

6. Based on the novel, is the ocean of Solaris is a sentient being or not? Is it possible to know whether the ocean is self-aware?

[Zombie]

I think it was kind of in between. Since it didn't seem to have enough sentience to act completely independently or to deviate from this pattern, but it is able to project a lifelike person. I thought maybe it was developing self-awareness much like it's creations did at times.

[Eadie]

I think the ocean is a sentient being and has self-awareness because it is capable of reading the human scientists and projecting their memories.

[Pip]

There were mentions of the hypothesis that it was equivalent to a young child. It had extraordinary powers but lost interest easily. For example, when Kris visits it at the end of the novel it appears to play with him almost mystically, but quickly loses interest.

[Kate]

I don't think that it should be judged by sentient/non-sentient labels that have been developed based on our biology and our planet. We don't even know how to apply those terms in our own ecosystem. Just consider how often we have to move the bar on what behaviors make one "human". A better question might be whether or not the ocean considers us a higher or "sentient" life form. You could certainly make the case that we were proved to be an aggressive unethical life form.

[Sushicat]

I think it is definitely sentient. There was clearly interaction in the dreams Kris described. I just think that humans and the ocean lack enough commonality to engage in a dialog.

[Wolf]

I'm completely with Kate on this one. That's probably the reason that from this whole seminar on Aliens, Solaris is the only text that staid with me. All the others just put humans in different shapes, Lem was the only one to really write something alien you can't (and shouldn't) apply our human concepts to. Even though we have nothing else to apply and so of course are struggling to.

[[deleted user]]

I am struggling to find a non human term to describe the ocean and as I have failed miserably I will say it was aware. I also like the idea of it being an imperfect God one that doesn't understand us and is capable of ignoring us.

[Kristel]

I think it was sentient. In my mind, I thought of it similar to a neuro system. I also have a half baked idea of a God. I think Kris talks about a god but one that wasn't like Jesus, just a god who creates and then observes and plays around with creating.

[Jen]

I agree with Kate too

[Patrick]

I am with Kate too.