This volume rethinks the work of Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) on
the centenary of his birth, by presenting an overview of the
current debates based on Ellul's insights. As one of the most
significant twentieth-century thinkers about technology, Ellul was
among the first thinkers to realize the importance of topics such
as globalization, terrorism, communication technologies and
ecology, and study them from a technological perspective.
The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses
Ellul's diagnosis of modern society, and addresses the reception of
his work on the technological society, the notion of efficiency,
the process of symbolization/de-symbolization, and ecology. The
second analyzes communicational and cultural problems, as well as
threats and trends in early twenty-first century societies. Many of
the issues Ellul saw as crucial - such as energy, propaganda,
applied life sciences and communication - continue to be so. In
fact they have grown exponentially, on a global scale, producing
new forms of risk.
Essays in the final section examine the duality of reason and
revelation. They pursue an understanding of Ellul in terms of the
depth of experience and the traditions of human knowledge, which is
to say, on the one hand, the experience of the human being as
contained in the rationalist, sociological and philosophical
traditions. On the other hand there are the transcendent roots of
human existence, as well as "revealed knowledge," in the mystical
and religious traditions. The meeting of these two traditions
enables us to look at Ellul's work as a whole, but above all it
opens up a space for examining religious life in the technological
society.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!