Jeffrey Kripal - The Mystical Roots of Science Fiction
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In this interview with EnlightenNext's Joel Pitney, Kripal shares some of the fascinating research from his upcoming book and accompanying documentary, Authors of the Impossible (due out in early 2010), about the relationship between mysticism, pop culture, and the paranormal. Weaving together an interesting combination of sources--from Philip K. Dick to the human potential movement to the UFOlogy of French astronomer Jacques Valle—he describes why he thinks that our general cultural obsession with science fiction, as seen in the popularity of TV shows like Heroes and movies like The X-Men, is a modern expression of the same spiritual impulse toward the “supernormal” that lies at the heart of all religious traditions. But as Kripal points out, these new sci-fi mythologies are distinct from the traditions in that they are oriented toward the future rather than the past, allowing us to see our present-day culture as a more primitive version of what has yet to evolve.
BIO
Dr. Jeffrey J. Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he specializes in the comparative erotics and ethics of mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religions, and the history of Western esotericism from ancient Gnosticism to the New Age. He is also one of the leading scholars at the Esalen Institute’s Center for Theory and Research.
Kripal has authored several books, including Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (2007); The Serpent’s Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion (2006); Palaces of Wisdom: Eroticism and Reflexivity in the Study of Mysticism (2001), and Kali’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna (1995), all published by the University of Chicago Press.
He has also coedited volumes with Glenn W. Shuck on the history of Esalen, On the Edge of the Future: Esalen and the Evolution of American Culture (Indiana, 2005); with Rachel Fell McDermott on a popular Hindu goddess, Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West (California, 2003); with G. William Barnard on the ethical critique of mystical traditions, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism (Seven Bridges, 2002); and with T.G. Vaidyanathan of Bangalore, India, on the dialogue between psychoanalysis and Hinduism, Vishnu on Freud’s Desk: A Reader in Psychoanalysis and Hinduism(Oxford, 1999).
Product Information:
| Media Type | Audio |
| Number of Programs | 1 |
| Format | MP3 |
Programs:
| Program Title | Duration |
|---|---|
| Jeffrey Kripal - The Mystical Roots of Science Fiction | 37:01 |
Your download will be available immediately upon purchase and accessible from any computer, any time!
