Dante's Divine Comedy

Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism

March 14, 2021 Mark Vernon
Dante's Divine Comedy
Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism
Show Notes

The word transhumanism was coined by Dante to capture his realisation of divine life in paradise.

It has been colonised today by technologists dreaming of utopias.

I explore 7 key differences to recover Dante’s vision from the Divine Comedy, in the 700th anniversary year of the great poet’s death, which is also to explore the richness of true transhumanizing.

1. Purge what stops you wanting not what you don’t want.
2. Understand that death is your friend not your enemy.
3. Know your body as experiencing subjectivity not a flawed object.
4. Resonate with virtue not reduce to bits and bytes.
5. Know your intellect and love not just your cognitive abilities.
6. Aim for the richness of diverse unity not the tyranny of singularity.
7. Work to release true wealth not enable rich winners. 

To follow the Divine Comedy, canto by canto, try my podcast/YouTube series - https://www.markvernon.com/dantes-divine-comedy 

My book, Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide For The Spiritual Journey (Angelico Press) is forthcoming - https://www.markvernon.com/books/dantes-divine-comedy-book