The New Media Epidemic

The Undermining of Society, Family, and Our Own Soul

By Jean-Claude LarchetTranslated by Archibald Andrew Torrance

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Description

If we realize how gravely sick is our
civilization, we may gain strength to resist.

Philosopher and patrologist Dr Jean-Claude Larchet, renowned for his
examinations of patristic writings on the causes and consequences of spiritual
and physical illness, here diagnoses the pathologies of new media in a society
that is eager for speed, proximity and immediacy. Writing in an accessible and
straightforward manner he examines the harm and illusion brought by the invasion
of digital devices—from radio to networked smart phones and beyond. He analyzes
their all-encompassing impact on society and personal life.

This meticulous diagnosis of new media’s insidious effects — bodily,
psychological, intellectual, and spiritual —concludes with a discussion of the
ways individuals might limit and counteract the most deleterious of these, with
the aim that they might “discover once more the authentically human and
spiritual communion that we have lost.”   

Additional information

Dimensions 153 × 229 in
Author Name

Jean-Claude Larchet

Format

BC

Publication Date

20190301

Imprint

Pages

200

Publisher

Translator

Archibald Andrew Torrance

Language

English

Book Dimensions

229 × 153 mm × 13 mm

Format Detail

Paperback

Author Biography

Dr Jean-Claude Larchet is one of the most notable
living theologians and authors on Orthodox Christian Patristics. He holds a Ph.D
in philosophy from the University of Nancy and a Ph.D. in theology from the
University of Strasbourg. A teacher of philosophy for nearly thirty-five years,
he is an author of over thirty-five books and countless articles whose work has
been translated into nineteen languages. His magnum opus, Therapy of
Spiritual Illness,
and several other works have been translated into
English to wide acclaim.

Prof. Andrew Torrance graduated
from the University of Cambridge in 1968 and obtained a Ph.D. in 1971 from
Imperial College, London. After work in France and England he joined the
teaching staff at Trinity College, Dublin in 1980, where he became an Associate
Professor, Head of Mechanical Engineering and Fellow of the College. In 2002 he
was Visiting Professor at INSA de Lyon. Since his retirement in 2008 he has
lived in France with his wife Marie-Christiane where he regularly translates
from French to English for Orthodox Monasteries and engineering
research.

Contents

Contents

Introduction

1          Invasion

2          When the Medium Replaces the Message

3          The Tyranny of the New Mediators

4          Shrinking Distance and Time

5          The Destruction of Interpersonal Relationships

6          Evil Encounters

7          The Abolition of Private Life

8          The Denial of the Body and Its Effects on Health

9          The Dominance of the Virtual over the Real

10        Mental Disorders

11        Dumbing Down the Mind

12        The Impoverishment of Spiritual Life

13        Prevention and Treatment

            Notes

            Subject Index