Barbarism, animalization, and the end of the world: fantasies of regression and mutation in italian science fiction

In the context of Italian Science Fiction, the chapter focuses on the fantasies of regressive mutation of the human species in apocalyptic and postapocalyptic narratives from the 50s on. It focusses in particular on the relationship of these fantasies with the ongoing reflection on the position and role of the human species on the planet: it is argued that fictions of regression have often become vehicles of a radical criticism of the traditional humanistic and anthropocentric visions underlying our behaviour towards other living species and the ecosystem.