9782080135711

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In this new work Michel Serres, France's foremost philosopher of science, explores how traditional images of angels in art and legend foretell the preoccupations of modern life. Divided, as between Heaven and Hell, into First and Third Worlds, our societies search for ways to make contact, both by means of the most basic interpersonal relations and high-tech communications. The role of the messenger, Serres argues, is as important now as it was in Biblical times, perhaps more, and yet we lack a philosophy which can explain this role - a philosophy of movement, of communication. Angels: A Modern Myth offers such a philosophy, showing how angels as message-bearers are still part of our modern world, our means of bringing together and understanding science, law, and religion, and perhaps also the means of satisfying our need for reason, justice, and consolation. Abundantly illustrated with an astounding breadth of images ranging from Renaissance paintings to film stills, satellite photographs, computer microchips, and medical microscopy, this thought-provoking book addresses some of the most crucial issues of our time and will make essential reading for anyone seeking to comprehend the new phase of human development engendered by the transformation of our world by information technology.

"The basic thesis of 'Angels' is that we live in a world that is a vast, interconnected message system. Serres's philosophy of communication and relation attempts to evoke and address this multiplicity and hubbub of the world. Thus, in so far as we are all messengers in this world, we are all angels."

Simon Critchley, Times Literary Supplement, 12/19/1996

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