Preface; Introduction. Angels, daimones, and the modern thirst for transformation; 1: Hesiod and daimonification in the Archaic and Classical periods; 2. Empedocles as daimon; 3. Plato and the moralization of daimonification; 4. Daimonification in Xenocrates, Plutarch, Apuleius, and Maximus of Tyre; 5. Moses angelified in Philo of Alexandria; 6. Origen, angelification, and the angelified Jesus; 7. Plotinus as a living daimon; 8. The angelification of Zostrianos; Conclusion: Advent or apocalypse?
Ancient theories of posthuman transformation can shape, chasten, and reform modern (biotechnical) theories of posthuman enhancement.
M. David Litwa is Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. His publications include Iesus Deus (2014), Desiring Divinity (2016), Hermetica II: The Excerpts of Stobaeus, Papyrus Fragments, and Ancient Testimonies in an English Translation with Notes and Introduction (Cambridge, 2018) and How the Gospels Became History (2019).
'In this pioneering and wide-ranging work, Posthuman Transformation
in Ancient Mediterranean Thought, M. David Litwa connects
contemporary conversations in transhumanist thought with ancient
philosophical traditions of angelification (alternatively,
'daimonification'). Chief among this book's virtues is its
impressive range: Litwa provides comparative analyses of authors
from Greco-Roman, Jewish, Christian, and Hermetic traditions,
ranging from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Litwa's
work is inclusive even of traditions too often treated as marginal
(e.g., 'Gnostic' texts), providing a basis for fresh comparative
insights.' Travis W. Proctor, Reading Religion
'This is an enjoyable, erudite, and informative book ... This book
should be read with interest and pleasure by scholars from a range
of disciplines but is also accessible to undergraduates and general
readers.' Tom Mackenzie, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
