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| Original Title: | TechGnosis: Myth, Magic & Mysticism in the Age of Information (Five Star Fiction) |
| ISBN: | 1852427728 (ISBN13: 9781852427726) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Erik Davis
Paperback | Pages: 448 pages Rating: 4.13 | 485 Users | 36 Reviews
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How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? In TechGnosis - a cult classic now updated and reissued with a new afterword - Erik Davis argues that while the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.
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| Title | : | TechGnosis: Myth, Magic Mysticism in the Age of Information |
| Author | : | Erik Davis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 448 pages |
| Published | : | November 12th 2004 by Serpent's Tail (first published 1998) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Science. Technology. Philosophy. Religion. Spirituality. Cultural |
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Ratings: 4.13 From 485 Users | 36 ReviewsAssess Out Of Books TechGnosis: Myth, Magic Mysticism in the Age of Information
Drawing a connection between the human quest for transcendence and spiritual oneness through belief/religion and technology, Davis presents an incredible amount of theory, philosophy, history, and research from ancient times, when the latest technology was cave drawings, to the relative present. Written in 1998, the book's descriptions of online gaming, virtual reality, and the Internet is sometimes comical, but it's also a great reminder of just how fast technology develops when building onA wide-ranging and open-minded examination of the subtle and not-so-subtle spicing and splicing effects that esoteric impulses have had on technology developments. Given the rapid pace of technology evolution, some of the content and observations are already a bit outdated (published in 1998), yet still thought-provoking and retrospectively relevant.
I got to the end of this book like one of those staggering marathon runners who collapse just after they've made it past the finish line. So breathlessly in love with its subjects, and so full of labrynthine and endless sentences. I now resemble one of those constricting snakes right after it's eaten some giant, unfortunate mammal. I'm just going to rest here for awhile until I can metabolize some of this. Peace!
Erik Davis has proposed that forms of communication shape social and individual consciousness of reality. IMHO, Techgnosis is worth another look now that social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) has spread so rampantly across our culture. The tracks of what we have followed tends now to define what is presented to us.
This book is an essential new frame of reference, managing to expose the relationship between spirituality and technology that has never been absent... More: http://dreamflesh.com/reviews/techgno...
Amazing. Read John Grey's Black Mass before this, and afterwards Robert Geraci's Apocalyptic AIVisions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality, and the three volumes form a trilogy
Less satisfying than I'd hoped. Though Erik Davis makes the case that technology and spirituality are and have been inextricably linked throughout human history, he doesn't really offer a theory as to why this is so or take a position on whether this is a good or a bad thing. I would have preferred less of his supporting his argument and more analysis of it.
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