I have to say that book looks quite fascinating. How much are you influenced by Frances Yates, the material seems to bring back memories of reading the "rosicruician enlightenment" and "The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan age". Anyway I'll have a squiz for a copy. Good luck with sales. :-)
David
> Leon MARVELL <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> This is a rather shameless act of self-promotion, but given the small
> audience for my book - and the aptness of this list in regards to that
> very
> audience - I have decided to throw restraint to the four winds and alert
> you
> all to the recent publication of "Transfigured Light: Philosophy,
> Science
> and the Hermetic Imaginary."
>
> The book is the first volume in a projected series entitled "Research in
> Cultural and Intellectual History" by Academica Press. The series seeks
> to
> publish "cutting edge work that pushes traditional disciplinary
> boundaries
> or provocatively revisits conventional topics² - and such is the nature
> of
> my book!
>
> If any of this list's members have an interest in Hermeticism and
> science/philosophy/cultural theory, then please consider getting this
> book
> for your university library. If you liked Chris Lehrich's "The Occult
> Mind:
> Magic in Theory and Practice", then I'm sure you will find this book of
> great interest.
>
> It can be purchased through Amazon & etc, or directly through the
> publisher's website.
>
> Below is a brief description of the individual chapters.
>
> Cheers,
> Leon
>
> Dr. Leon Marvell
> Senior Lecturer
> School of Communications and Contemporary Arts
> Edith Cowan University
> 2 Bradford Street
> Mount Lawley
> Western Australia 6050
> ph: +61-8-9370-6212
> ____________________________
> Larvatus prodeo ‹‹ Descartes
> ____________________________
>
>
> About Transfigured Light: Philosophy, Science and the Hermetic
> Imaginary:
>
> Transfigured Light: Philosophy, Science and the Hermetic Imaginary is
> about
> a new manner of looking at philosophy and scientific ideas. It does this
> by
> demonstrating the deep resonances between the Hermetic world-view and
> key
> philosophical and scientific developments in modern science.
>
> These resonances comprise what may be called the Hermetic Imaginary; an
> Imaginary that is constellated around several key figural images. This
> Imaginary travels across temporal and cultural barriers, thus
> strengthening
> the hypothesis that these figures are central organising principles
> within
> both the Hermetic tradition and the history and philosophy of science.
>
> This book therefore proposes that a re-examination of the ideas
> generated by
> the Hermetic imaginary prove to be a potentially rich resource from
> which to
> develop alternative modes of philosophical and historical inquiry into
> the
> sciences in the 21st century.
>
> The book will appeal to readers eager for ideas on the Œcutting edge¹ of
> science, philosophy and cultural theory.
>
> Most importantly, Transfigured Light: Philosophy, Science and the
> Hermetic
> Imaginary will appeal to a readership that is interested in a renewed
> investigation into the history of natural of philosophy and its
> connexions
> with Hermetic thought.
>
> Table of Contents:
>
> Chapter 1: Introduction
> The introduction is integral to an understanding of the project
> elaborated
> in Transfigured Light: Philosophy, Science and the Hermetic Imaginary.
> Firstly it proposes that:
>
> [a] accounts of modern science are mistaken in thinking that all traces
> of
> the Hermetic philosophy were expunged from modernist science
>
> [b] this being the case, it then behooves us to re-examine the
> implications
> of the impact of Hermetic thought in regards to 21st century evaluations
> of
> the philosophy of science.
>
> The Introduction proposes that the best way to examine the longevity of
> Hermetic ideas within the sciences is through an examination of the
> ³Imaginary² which it has bequeathed to modernist science.
>
> A innovative methodological approach is pursued in this re-evaluation:
> central figurations within the Hermetic Imaginary are regarded as the
> outlines of Œideal objects¹‹trans-cultural, trans-temporal constructs
> that
> have a formative insistence across the history of natural science.
>
> Chapter 2: Spirit of the Beehive: Hermetic Resonances in Cybernetics, AI
> &
> Cyberspace
>
> This chapter examines the relevance of the Hermetic Imaginary to
> contemporary Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and cybernetic
> theory. In
> particular the ideas of Norbert Wiener, Gregory Bateson, Michel Serres
> and
> Jesper Hoffmeyer are examined to demonstrate their striking proximity to
> Hermetic ideas.
>
> The central motif of this chapter is the idea of the Singularity‹a
> hyper-intelligent machine‹and its clear relationship with the ancient
> Hermetic idea of the anima mundi, or ŒWorld Soul¹.
>
> Chapter 3: Body Doubles
>
> This chapter examines Occidental and Oriental traditions of the Œsubtle
> body¹ with a view to developing a new perspective on the question of
> mind-body dualism. The concept of the Hermetic Œpneumatic economy¹ is
> examined in-depth in terms of contemporary models of communication
> theory.
>
> This new interpretation is then compared with similar conceptions found
> in
> Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, and the Œsubtle body¹ is then proposed as
> an
> alternative to the ŒCartesian¹ notion of the body as a machine within
> European intellectual history.
>
> Chapter 4: Metaphysical Geometry, Cyber-Attractors and the Shape of the
> World Soul
>
> In this chapter the Œmetaphysical geometry¹ of key images and figures
> within
> the Hermetic and Kabbalistic traditions are examined in terms of their
> resonances within mathematical Œcatastrophe theory¹ as developed by René
> Thom.
>
> This chapter draws on the work of contemporary mathematics as well as
> the
> metaphysical ideas of the Indian philosopher Coomaraswamy.
>
> It examines in depth the notion of ŒHermetic figuration¹ and
> demonstrates
> the insistence of certain figurations throughout Western history. These
> figurations and ideas are then closely aligned with the ideas of René
> Thom,
> his Œseven elementary catastrophes¹ and cybernetic theory.
>
> Chapter 5: The Gnostic Alchemy of Robert Fludd
>
> This chapter examines the Hermetic alchemy of Robert Fludd as revealed
> in
> his rare alchemical text, Truth¹s Golden Harrow.
>
> It introduces the Hermetic notion of (what I have called) the Œradiation
> economy¹ and carefully evaluates its relevance in regard to the
> subject-object split of modern scientific consciousness.
>
> It is proposed that the Œradiation economy¹ of Fludd¹s alchemy provides
> an
> alternative model to modern scientific conceptions of the nature of
> matter.
>
> There is a return to the ideas of René Thom explored in the previous
> chapter, and a comparison with those of neurobiologist J. Z. Young.
>
> Chapter 6: The Gnostic Leibniz, or What is it Like to be an Atom?
>
> The final chapter looks at the influence of Kabbalistic and Hermetic
> figurations on the development of Leibniz¹s monadological philosophy.
>
> The Gnostic spark or Œalien light¹ is seen to be the central motif in
> the
> development of his mature philosophy, and this is examined in terms of
> its
> resonances with notions of fractal mathematics and contemporary ideas of
> autopoiesis.
>
> It is proposed that Einstein¹s notion of the Œfield¹ organisation of
> matter
> is a development of the pneumatic economy of Hermeticism, and that this
> idea
> can be directly traced to the development of Hermetic/Gnostic
> figurations
> within the work of Leibniz.
>
>
> ABOUT LEON MARVELL, PH.D.
>
> Dr. Leon Marvell has lectured in Australia, Cyprus and the Peoples
> Republic
> of China. He is presently Senior Lecturer in the School of
> Communications
> and Contemporary Arts at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> This e-mail is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient you
> must not disclose or use the information contained within. If you have
> received it in error please return it to the sender via reply e-mail and
> delete any record of it from your system. The information contained
> within is not the opinion of Edith Cowan University in general and the
> University accepts no liability for the accuracy of the information
> provided.
>
> CRICOS IPC 00279B
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