It’s hard to imagine a world without constant contact and instant access to information. Advances in technology, ranging from the growth of the Internet to people’s dependence on cell phones, have made it easy to deliver messages without meeting face to face.

 

Most people would chock these developments up to scientific progress, not divine intervention, but contemporary philosophical pioneer John Caputo, Ph.D. said during a speech at Siena College, that today’s technological breakthroughs are symbols of angels at work.

 

“Yesterday’s angelology is today’s technology,” Caputo said during Siena’s third Symposium on Living Philosophers.

 

The Syracuse University professor surprised more than 100 people inside the Key Auditorium by saying that Blackberries and iPhones are, “little angels that put us in touch with the rest of the world.”

 

 “The word ‘angel,’ he pointed out, means ‘messenger.’  A world bathed in electronic messages is our version of what traditionally was described as a world filled with angels. Each is a parable for its own age,” said Siena philosophy professor Ray Boisvert, Ph.D.

 

Along with explaining that angels are ever-present, Caputo’s October speech, “From Angleology to Technology: A History of Hope,” focused the impact religion continues to have on the post-modern world.

 

“Religion is the place where we do our hoping,” Caputo said.

 

“His lecture marked out the surprising convergence between the aspirations of bio- and information technologies and the religious imagination: both scramble our everyday understanding of life and death,” said philosophy professor, John Burkey, Ph.D.

 

Caputo’s speech marked the first in a series of five public events in the College’s Symposium on Living Philosophers.

 

The lecture is an integral part of the symposium which is a unique learning opportunity for undergraduates. During the Symposium year, students can read and interact with a major
contemporary philosopher, giving them give them a firsthand look at how philosophical thought can be applied today. Their work is guided by a team of faculty, external scholars and guest
lecturers.

 

The next lecture will be on Friday, November 20^th at 4 p.m. in the Key Auditorium inside Roger Bacon Hall. Fordham University professor, Merlod Westphal will delve further into religious thought during the lecture entitled, “Who’s Afraid of Religion.”