894139
doi
10.1163/156852712x630798
oai:zenodo.org:894139
Traces of the Gods: Ancient Astronauts as a Vision of Our Future
Richter, Jonas
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
Ancient astronaut speculation (also called paleo-SETI), often labeled pseudoscience or modern myth, still awaits in-depth research. Focusing on Erich von Däniken and reconstructing his views on god and cosmology from scattered statements throughout his books, this article analyzes his attitudes toward science and religion as well as his concepts of god and creation. In this regard, his pantheistic combination of the big bang theory with a model of god as supercomputer is of special interest. Analogous to interpretatio Romana, Däniken utilizes what I call an interpretatio technologica, explaining myths by converting them into technological language. Building on the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Jean E. Charon, the Swiss writer also develops the vision of a cosmic tendency towards increasing knowledge and information. A short comparison with Raël demonstrates that similar ancient astronaut myths can lead to different applications or worldviews.
Zenodo
2012-01-01
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
894138
1579541387.682717
389131
md5:c46bd7ab2bfab8f0134517d344c5911c
https://zenodo.org/records/894139/files/article.pdf
public