Soul Space

A summary of:
Wertheim, M. (1999). The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 History of Space from Dante to the Internet. Virago Press: London.
Chapter 1 - Soul Space

In this chapter, Wertheim shows how dissimilar the Middle Age's innovation of infinite is from our own, using Dante's The Divine Comedy equally prove of this. In this work, Dante formalized a novel infinite to allow for the religious thought of accounting of sins: Purgatory. This makes this "a rare illustration inwards which nosotros tin run across clearly the emergence of a novel infinite of being" (67), as well as thence a groovy parallel with as well as insight into our ain creation of cyberspace. In some respects, she argues, Dante was engaged inwards the describe of piece of occupation of creating a virtual world, mapping sky as well as hell as well as inwards between. But this is Wertheim's point: "The 'virtual worlds' existence constructed on computers today commonly behavior petty or no human relationship to the public of our daily experience. For most VR pundits, escape from daily reality is preciselythe point. Dante, however, was non trying to escape daily life; on the reverse he grounded his 'virtual world' inwards existent people, existent events, as well as existent history" (50).

This, I feel, is the deviation betwixt escapism as well as sublimation. And what worries me is that the technology nosotros create right away caters to escapism, when it has the potential to facilitate wonderful sublimation, creation, a greater experience of our actual world.

Another affair that is evident beneath the surface of Dante's work, unusual equally it may endure to us now, is the orientation feature of the Middle Ages whereby people are guided "by a spiritual compass rather than a physical one." In other words, Dante's map was inwards a way spiritually correct, i.e. it resonated with a spiritual truth; regardless of the fact that nosotros know that physically it makes no sense. (We bring been to the moon, as well as nosotros bring non passed God on the way.) Other examples from the time, similar the mappae mundi, stand upward for completely warped landmasses with Jerusalem at the center. This makes a dissimilar form of sense. And it is quite amazing to realize how unusual this type of thinking is to us now. Much has changed inwards our worldview; as well as yet nosotros tin never seem to imaging whatsoever other form of thinking existence possible than the worldview nosotros currently hold. Thus is the nature of a paradigm. As Wertheim writes,

A major problem, I suggest, is that the rattling questions raised hither are quintessentially modern. They are framed within the context of our purely physicalist paradigm, which was quite alien to the medieval mind-set. When nosotros inquire if Dante 'really' believed inwards a prepare of heavenly spheres or a hellish chasm within the earth, nosotros are bespeak questions well-nigh physical space. In our minds nosotros offset wondering how far inwards a higher house the public the lunar sphere would be. How far below the surface would the mo circle of Hell endure found? At what longitude powerfulness Purgatory be? We practise this because nosotros cannot tending it. Our minds bring been as well as so trained - as well as so brainwashed - to recollect of infinite inwards purely physical terms, it is almost impossible for us to recollect inwards whatsoever other way. It is non just that nosotros bring been to the Moon as well as flora no crystal spheres, or that nosotros bring circumnavigated the globe as well as flora no terraced mountain; nosotros only cannot imagine a house existence 'real' unless it has a mathematically precise place inwards physical infinite (69).

In Dante's time, it was possible to perform what nosotros powerfulness recollect of today equally amazing feats of intellectual acrobatics. Dante used somewhat familar agency - geometry - but to bizarre ends, coupled with poetic language. "Passing through 'the pare of the universe' the virtual Dante looks out to run across a Blazing Point of low-cal or as well as so which circle nine rings of fire: God as well as the angelic orders symbolically rendered inwards light. Here, all directions as well as all dimensions fuse: 'the Burning Point is non only the center, the innermost, but likewise the highest, the outermost' reference. In this unmarried signal of infinite beloved is contained the whole of fourth dimension as well as space" (72-3).

The fundamental to this creative interpretation of religious experience is that "Body-space as well as soul-space bring been melded into one-space. The mystery is beyond intellection" (73).

How foreign! How wonderful!

I larn frustrated when people are as well as so resigned to the nation of things, poo-pooing choice visions for our public with a simple, defeatist, "It's just the way things are." But equally this illustration highlights, everything is a production of its fourth dimension yet - or indeed, thence - discipline to change! This is why it is as well as so of import to endure cognizant of the ways our technology is changing our rattling humanness! I am reminded of Marx's assertion that in that place is no such affair equally 'human nature' per se, as well as that what nosotros recollect of equally existence innate to our humanness is inwards fact historically situated. "Life," he argues, "is non determined past times consciousness, but consciousness past times life."

The query I am left wondering, however, is whether a spiritual innovation of our public is genuinely possible when nosotros alive with technologies that as well as so aggressively assert a scientific paradigm. How tin nosotros reconcile technologies with spirituality when the 2 embody exclusively sort ways of thinking? I suppose the answer lies inwards the realization that what nosotros genuinely demand is a epitome shift, as well as exclusively novel way of thinking that allows for both, or for something novel as well as to a greater extent than harmonious with our mental wellness as well as wellbeing.