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.






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