Escaping chronos : the Metaverse as a surrogate for aeon

Machidon, Octavian-Mihai (author)

The Metaverse promises the abolition of physical and temporal boundaries, people achieving what they want freely, and the feeling of immortality. In this paper I analyze the hyper-spatiotemporal nature of the Metaverse from a Christian anthropological perspective. I start by reviewing the Christian understanding of time and the Metaverse space–time construct. Next, I draw a parallel between digital immortality and the eternal life of the age to come. Finally, arguing that the Metaverse’s offer of digital immortality is a palliative, discarnate surrogate, I discuss the Christian perspective on how eternity can be authentically anticipated while living in this world.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Metaverse, time, chronos, kairos, aeon, eschatology, liturgy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FRI - Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 557–565
• Numbering: Vol. 22, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-160219
• UDC: 004.946:27-1
• ISSN on article: 1474-6700
• DOI: 10.1080/14746700.2024.2359193
• COBISS.SI-ID: 198458371
• Publication date in RUL: 23.08.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Theology and science
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Center for Theology and Natural Sciences
• ISSN: 1474-6700
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512500505

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: metaverzum, čas, kronos, kairos, aeon, eshatologija, liturgija