Posthuman Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Thought: Becoming Angels and Demons

209 Pages·2020·2.717 MB·English

by  M. David Litwa

Posthuman
Transformation
in Ancient
Mediterranean
Thought
Becoming Angels and Demons
M. David Litwa
POSTHUMAN TRANSFORMATION IN ANCIENT
MEDITERRANEAN THOUGHT
There is not just a desire but a profound human need for enhance-
ment – the irrepressible yearning to become better than ourselves.
Today, enhancement is often conceived of in terms of biotechnical
intervention: genetic modification, prostheses, implants, drug ther-
apy – even mind uploading. The theme of this book is an ancient
form of enhancement: a physical upgrade that involves ethical prac-
tices of self-realization. It has been called ‘angelification’ – a trans-
formation by which people become angels. The parallel process is
‘daimonification,’ or becoming daimones. Ranging in time from
Hesiod and Empedocles through Plato and Origen to Plotinus and
ChristianGnostics,thisbookexploresnotonlyhowthesetwoforms
ofposthumantransformationarerelated,butalsohowtheyconnect
and chasten modern visions of transhumanist enhancement, which
generallylack a robust accountof moral improvement.
.   isResearchFellowattheInstituteforReligionand
CriticalInquiry attheAustralianCatholic University inMelbourne.
HispublicationsincludeIesusDeus(),DesiringDivinity(),
HermeticaII:TheExcerptsofStobaeus,PapyrusFragments,andAncient
Testimonies (Cambridge, ) and How the Gospels Became
History ().

POSTHUMAN
TRANSFORMATION IN
ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN
THOUGHT
Becoming Angels and Demons
M. DAVID LITWA
AustralianCatholicUniversity
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All things are full of gods.
—Thales in Aristotle, On the Soul ., a
All things are full of daimones.
—Thales in Aetius, Placita ..
All things are full of angels.
—Origen, Homily on Ezekiel ..
ff
For Andy Gu ey
and all our rich conversations at SBL
All things are full of gods.
—Thales in Aristotle, On the Soul ., a
All things are full of daimones.
—Thales in Aetius, Placita ..
All things are full of angels.
—Origen, Homily on Ezekiel ..
ff
For Andy Gu ey
and all our rich conversations at SBL
Contents
Acknowledgments page viii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction: Angels, Daimones, and the Modern Thirst
for Transformation 
 Hesiod and Daimonification in the Archaic and
Classical Periods 
 Empedocles as Daimon 
 Plato and the Moralization of Daimonification 
 Daimonification in Xenocrates, Plutarch, Apuleius,
and Maximus of Tyre 
 Moses Angelified in Philo of Alexandria 
 Origen, Angelification, and the Angelified Jesus 
 Plotinus as a Living Daimon 
 The Angelification of Zostrianos 
Conclusion: Advent or Apocalypse? 
Select Bibliography 
Index 
vii