Concepts of hermeticism and gnosticism in contemporary science fiction

Abstract

The aim of the research is to clarify the features of the interpretation of the concepts of hermeticism and gnosticism in science fiction in the late 20th and 21st centuries devoted to the problems of trans- and posthumanism. The paper examines the features of the integration of gnostic and hermetic ideas into modern English-language science fiction. The scientific novelty of the research lies in considering the works of contemporary science fiction writers (G. Egan, R. Sawyer, N. Stephenson, W. Gibson, Ch. Stross) and in identifying the main variants of how gnostic and hermetic themes are developed in the writings of these writers. The author sees the influence of gnostic and hermetic ideas in science fiction works devoted to the topic of transhumanist changes in the form of interventions in the human body at the biochemical level, the themes of mind scanning and digital immortality, and the rational observer of the Universe. As a result, it is proved that gnostic and hermetic elements in contemporary science fiction devoted to the problems of trans- and posthumanism allow writers to include the problematic of hypothetical technologies for improving human nature into the context of a centuries-old religious tradition.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: March 10, 2024.
• Published: April 26, 2024.

Keywords

• научно-фантастическая литература
• трансгуманизм
• постгуманизм
• гностицизм
• герметизм
• science fiction
• transhumanism
• posthumanism
• gnosticism
• hermeticism

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)