{"id":6589,"date":"2024-01-17T00:11:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T06:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=6589"},"modified":"2024-06-10T23:36:34","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T04:36:34","slug":"who-was-prometheus-writer-virginia-postrel-exposes-modern-misconceptions-while-highlighting-the-greek-myths-pro-liberty-pro-technology-themes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/who-was-prometheus-writer-virginia-postrel-exposes-modern-misconceptions-while-highlighting-the-greek-myths-pro-liberty-pro-technology-themes\/","title":{"rendered":"Who was Prometheus? Writer Virginia Postrel exposes modern misconceptions while highlighting the Greek myth\u2019s pro-liberty, pro-technology themes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe ancient myth of Prometheus is not a cautionary tale. It is a reminder that\u00a0techn\u0113\u00a0raises human beings above brutes. It is a myth founded in gratitude.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Virginia Postrel<\/p>\n

By Michael Grossberg<\/a><\/p>\n

Who was Prometheus?<\/p>\n

Despite modern misconceptions and fears, why does the titan of Greek mythology remain a positive and inspiring symbol of freedom, hope, revolution and progress today?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Virginia Postrel – the former Reason<\/em>-magazine editor and Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0and New York Times<\/em> columnist, and notable author of the seminal The Future and Its Enemies – <\/em>brilliantly but concisely challenges common contemporary misunderstandings about the Greek legend in a fascinating and insightful essay on her Substack column.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Myth of Prometheus Is Not a Cautionary Tale,\u201d drolly subtitled \u201cThe Greeks didn\u2019t think fire is a mistake,\u201d the “dynamist” thinker counters trendy but superficial and wrongheaded fears about technology and liberty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Writer Virginia Postrel in 2009. (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cListening to Marc Andreessen discuss his\u00a0Techno-Optimist Manifesto<\/a>\u00a0on the Foundation for American Innovation\u2019s\u00a0Dynamist podcast<\/a>, I was struck by his repetition of something that is in the manifesto and\u00a0is completely wrong.\u00a0\u201cThe myth of Prometheus \u2013 in various updated forms like Frankenstein, Oppenheimer, and Terminator \u2013 haunts our nightmares,\u201d Postrel writes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear that technology of our own creation will rise up and destroy us is deeply coded into our culture,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Greeks expressed this fear in the Prometheus Myth \u2013 Prometheus brought the destructive power of fire, and more generally technology (\u201ctechne\u201d), to man, for which Prometheus was condemned to perpetual torture by the gods.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. No. No. No.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPrometheus is punished for\u00a0loving humankind. He stole fire to thwart Zeus\u2019 plans to eliminate humanity and create a new subordinate species. He is a benefactor who sacrifices himself for our good. His punishment is an indicator not of the dangers of fire but of the tyranny of Zeus.<\/p>\n

Prometheus is cunning and wise. His name means foresight. He knows what he is doing and what the likely consequences will be.<\/p>\n

Eventually his tortures end when he is rescued by the hero Herakles (aka Hercules), who shoots the eagle charged with eating Prometheus\u2019 liver every day, only for it to grow back to be eaten again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Prometheus depicted in a 1762 sculpture in the Louvre by Nicolas-Sebastien Adam (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Greeks honored Prometheus. They celebrated\u00a0techn\u0113.\u00a0They appreciated the gifts of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ancient myth of Prometheus is not a cautionary tale. It is a reminder that\u00a0techn\u0113\u00a0raises human beings above brutes. It is a myth founded in gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed.<\/p>\n

Libertarian futurists and LFS members in turn should feel gratitude towards Postrel, one of the most brilliant and insightful thinkers of our era, and one whose “dynamism” philosophy embracing “spontaneous order” has reinforced her deep appreciation and celebration of the often-taken-for-granted myriad gifts of civilization — including how freedom (including the freedom to innovate) makes progress possible and modern society sustainable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>To begin to appreciate all that in mind-expanding detail, simply read Postrel\u2019s enjoyable books \u2013 not only the widely influential The Future and Its Enemies<\/em>, which introduced her “dynamist” perspective, but also her\u00a0The Power of Glamour <\/em>(incidentally full of wise insights about the dangers and falsehoods of utopian thinking) and The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value is Remaking Commerce, Culture and Consciousness.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Her most recent book is\u00a0The Fabric of Civilization<\/em>, about the history of fabrics and weaving and how its emerging technologies have shaped so much of civilization – more than most of us realize.<\/p>\n

The rest of Postrel\u2019s essay about Prometheus \u2013 which includes a relevant bonus poem and a touching final hope about the promise of Artificial Intelligence and how it might at long last unlock a long-lost ancient Greek sequel about the titan \u2013 is worth reading<\/a>, as are her other Substack columns.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s a final tempting tidbit from her welcome essay reminding us about the true meaning of Prometheus:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll human culture comes from Prometheus,” Postrel writes.<\/p>\n

“…The stories we tell ourselves matter. That even a \u201ctechno-optimist\u201d inverts the Promethean myth reveals how deeply hostility to technology has penetrated our collective consciousness.<\/p>\n

“For thousands of years, the myth of Prometheus has taught us to appreciate the gifts of\u00a0techn\u0113\u00a0and the costs that bringing those gifts can exact. Prometheus connects our high-tech present with our poetic past. He reminds us of the continuities of human culture as well as its flux.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Poster’s analysis fits well with the Libertarian Futurist Society’s view of Prometheus, reflected at the introduction to our website’s Prometheus Awards<\/a> page:<\/p>\n

“The Prometheus Awards take their name from the Greek myth about a titan who brought fire to mankind. As Louis Rougier wrote in The Genius of the West<\/span>,<\/em> his 1971 book with a preface by the Nobel-Prize-winning economist Friedrich Hayek,<\/p>\n

The myth undergirding the civilization of the West is the myth of Prometheus – the philanthropic hero who dared defy the will of Zeus by stealing fire from heaven and giving it to mortal men whom that jealous tyrant of the heaven and the earth had decided to destroy. The story expresses the spirit of revolt against the prohibition of jealous gods (and) embodies that love of action which incited Hercules to rid the earth of tyrants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Art can fire up the imagination about the limitless possibilities of liberty \u2013 not only in the West but throughout the world and for all of humanity.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE:
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/strong>For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 for the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0Prometheus Awards page\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to the full set of published appreciation-reviews of past winners.<\/p>\n

* Read\u00a0\u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0an essay in the international magazine\u00a0Quillette<\/em>\u00a0that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant elements of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Watch\u00a0 <\/strong>videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt),Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog\u2019s\u00a0Video page.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>*\u00a0Join us<\/strong>! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards,\u00a0join\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n

Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters! We understand that the arts and literature can be vital, and in some ways even more powerful than politics in the long run, by sparking innovation, better ideas, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other\u2019s rights, individuality and human dignity.<\/p>\n

Through recognizing the literature of liberty and the many different but complementary visions of a free future via the Prometheus Awards, the LFS hopes to help spread better visions of the future that help humanity overcome tyranny, end slavery, reduce the threat of war, repeal or constrain other abuses of coercive power and achieve universal liberty, respect for human rights and a better world (perhaps eventually, worlds) for all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe ancient myth of Prometheus is not a cautionary tale. It is a reminder that\u00a0techn\u0113\u00a0raises human beings above brutes. It is a myth founded in gratitude.\u201d \u2013 Virginia Postrel By Michael Grossberg Who was Prometheus? Despite modern misconceptions and fears, why does the titan of Greek mythology remain a positive and inspiring symbol of freedom, … Continue reading Who was Prometheus? Writer Virginia Postrel exposes modern misconceptions while highlighting the Greek myth\u2019s pro-liberty, pro-technology themes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2423,1585,37],"tags":[589,536,2137,4,1242,2138,2143,2142,2140,2139,2141],"class_list":["post-6589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-fiction-in-the-news","category-memorial-tributes","tag-frankenstein","tag-liberty","tag-oppenheimer","tag-prometheus","tag-technology","tag-terminator","tag-the-fabric-of-civilization","tag-the-future-and-its-enemies","tag-the-power-of-fire","tag-the-prometheus-myth","tag-virginia-postural"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-1Ih","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6589"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6877,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions\/6877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}