Vol. 20 No. 1 (2021): Revista Filosofía UIS
Articles

From the Promise of Salvation to Technological Religion: Millenarianism and Messianism at the Roots of Modern Technology

Ferén Barrios Pérez
Colegio Jorge Washington, Colombia

Published 2021-01-01

Keywords

  • philosophy of technology,
  • Nietzsche,
  • millennialism,
  • secularization,
  • techotranscendentalism,
  • technological values
  • ...More
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How to Cite

Barrios Pérez, F. (2021). From the Promise of Salvation to Technological Religion: Millenarianism and Messianism at the Roots of Modern Technology. Revista Filosofía UIS, 20(1), 225–247. https://doi.org/10.18273/revfil.v20n1-2021010

Abstract

The objective of this article is to introduce a historical understanding of the relationship between millennialism and modern technology. Traditionally, this relationship has been described from the dialectical concept of ‘secularization’, the notion of ‘technology’ as domination of the human being over nature and the Catholic notion of mitigated millenarianism’. We will point out some limitations that these notions impose on a historical understanding of the technological phenomenon, since they ignore their participation in the historical processes of value creation. We propose a genealogical explanation of the persistence of belief in the promise of salvation in technological culture, denouncing the dialectical notion of "secularization" and offering broader descriptions of "millennialism" and "technology".

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