In this lecture, Dr. Borja Vilallonga (aka the Modern Platonist) tracks the religious origins of modernity and its main ideological framework—materialism. As such, materialism is the cornerstone of other derivate ideologies and dynamics: capitalism, scientism, secularism, atheism, nihilism, atheism, hedonism, and consumerism. He presents the thesis that materialism was born from different phases of religious upheaval and transformation throughout the centuries: from the religious explosion of the first centuries BC and AD to the religious revolutions of the Renaissance and the Reformation. Man's descent from the heights of antiquity's world of Tradition—in its Evolian understanding—to modernity's latest stage of transhumanism is a consequence of the split and obliteration of the spiritual dimension of both immanence and transcendence.

This lecture was part of the "Pagans Future" conference, focused on preserving European spiritual traditions in a globalized future—bringing together polytheist thought leaders to consider building a philosophical framework for preserving the integrity of our traditions within an emerging new world order. The lecture was delivered in London on June 25th, with Tom Rowsell (Survive the Jive) and Dan Capp (Wolcensmen) as panelists.

#paganism #modernity #transhumanism

Borja Vilallonga is a historian and religion scholar, previously at Columbia University, New York University, and the University of Newcastle. He obtained his doctorate in history of religion from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France. He has devoted his research on the relationship between traditional religion and modernity.

Connect with Borja Vilallonga:
Website: https://www.bvilallonga.com
Twitter:   / vilallonga  
Instagram:   / borjavilallonga