Homo superior
Homo superior is a term used in speculative fiction and philosophy to describe a hypothetical evolutionary successor to Homo sapiens.
The expression was first popularised by the British writer Olaf Stapledon in his novel Odd John (1935), where it referred to a mutant child prodigy whose abilities marked him as a new species beyond ordinary humanity.[1][2][3]
The idea is distinct from Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch ("superman"), which was philosophical rather than biological, though the two are often compared.[4]
The term has since appeared in popular culture, notably in the 1970s British television series The Tomorrow People and in David Bowie’s song "Oh! You Pretty Things" (1971).[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Homo superior." Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Accessed 26 September 2025.
- ^ Rabkin, Eric S. "The Composite Fiction of Olaf Stapledon." Science Fiction Studies, vol. 1, no. 4 (1974), pp. 308–315. JSTOR.
- ^ Rajasekaran, S. "Exploring Critical Posthumanism in Olaf Stapledon’s Odd John." International Journal of English Research, vol. 6, no. 2, 2024, pp. 557–561.
- ^ Roberts, Adam. The History of Science Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp. 142–145.
- ^ Sandford, Christopher. Bowie: Loving the Alien. Da Capo Press, 1998, p. 105.