Technofutures, nature, and the sacred : transdisciplinary perspectives

The capacity of human beings to invent, construct and use technical artifacts is a hugely consequential factor in the evolution of society, and in the entangled relations between humans, other creatures and their natural environments. Moving from a critical consideration of theories, to narratives about technology, and then to particular and specific practices, Technofutures, Nature and the Sacred seeks to arrive at a genuinely transdisciplinary perspective focusing attention on the intersection between technology, religion and society and using insights from the environmental humanities. It works from both theoretical and practical contexts by using newly emerging case studies, including geo-engineering and soil carbon technologies, and breaks open new ground by engaging theological, scientific, philosophical and cultural aspects of the technology/religion/nature nexus. Encouraging us to reflect on the significance and place of religious beliefs in dealing with new technologies, and engaging critical theory common in sociological, political and literary discourses, the authors explore the implicit religious claims embedded in technology Part I: Theories -- Human responsibility for extra-human nature: an ethical approach to technofutures -- Walther Ch. Zimmerli Technology and the humanisation of nature: new resources for critical assessment -- Maria Antonaccio Artefactualising the sacred: restating the case for Martin Heidegger's 'hermeneutical' philosophy of technology -- Fionn Bennett Technology in a postnatural condition? Concepts of nature and meanings of technology -- Peter Manley Scott -- Part II: Religious narratives -- Forbidden fruit: wonder, religious narrative and the quest for the atomic bomb -- Lisa H. Sideris Technology and iconography: minding the logoi -- Francis Van den Noortgaete 'Millions of machines are already roaring': fetishised technology encountered by the life-giving spirit -- Sigurd Bergmann The technologisation of life: theology and the trans-human and trans-animal narratives of the post-animal -- Celia Deane-Drummond -- Part III: Practices -- Re-inventing homemaking: a necessary and ethical means of production in a post-growth, ecologically sustainable economy -- David Gormley-O'Brien Redeeming the climate: investigating a theological model of geoengineering -- Forrest Clingerman Resilience techniques: spiritual practices and customary economics within farming communities in Amanbaev Village, Kyrgyzstan -- Zembira Inogamova-Hanbury Miraculous engineering and the climate emergency: climate modification as divine economy -- Matthew Kearnes -- Part IV: Synthesis -- The twilight of machines -- Bronislaw Szerszynski.

The capacity of human beings to invent, construct and use technical artifacts is a hugely consequential factor in the evolution of society, and in the entangled relations between humans, other creatures and their natural environments.

Moving from a critical consideration of theories, to narratives about technology, and then to particular and specific practices, Technofutures, Nature and the Sacred seeks to arrive at a genuinely transdisciplinary perspective focusing attention on the intersection between technology, religion and society and using insights from the environmental humanities. It works from both theoretical and practical contexts by using newly emerging case studies, including geo-engineering and soil carbon technologies, and breaks open new ground by engaging theological, scientific, philosophical and cultural aspects of the technology/religion/nature nexus. Encouraging us to reflect on the significance and place of religious beliefs in dealing with new technologies, and engaging critical theory common in sociological, political and literary discourses, the authors explore the implicit religious claims embedded in technology.

How do the powerful driving forces of religion and technology interact in the way that humans act towards and within the natural world? Deane-Drummond, Bergmann and Szerszynski are concerned with understanding the complex relation between technology and religious belief in their intersections with the natural world. Working from both theoretical and practical contexts by using newly emerging case studies, including geo-engineering and soil carbon technologies, this volume breaks new ground by engaging theological, scientific, philosophical and cultural aspects of the technology/religion/nature