The Physics of Transfigured Light

“Here is an intense exploration of a developmental Hermetic imaginary in conjunction with onto-cosmology, metaphorized as a ‘metaphysics of light.’ And light it is! Fourth dimensional ideal objects, topological mythologemes, rewritten metahistory, paradigm shifts (or not), morphological deformation, vertigralist hermeneutics, neo-Cartesian technologies, virtual realities, panpsychism, ancient texts, and more, all explored in the context of a Hermetic understanding whose duration pervades the modern and post-modern worlds. Marvell is an astonishing polymath whose ‘a new way of looking’ challenges the reader to look into the transmogrifying presence of ancient ideas instilling the very heart of contemporary life, from modern science to AI and beyond. Replete with a wide array of sources, disciplines, and intermixed genres, with constant adaptive forms and figures, Marvell’s syncretic imaginary is a tour de force of creative thinking, poetry, and philosophic splendor. Highly recommended!”

LEE IRWIN, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES,
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

Marvell’s work highlights how current Western perspectives on scientific reasoning and theory are work of the imagination rather than from an assumed ‘pure’ perspective unbridled with ‘superstitions.’ He sees the work of contemporary scientists as a continuation of pre-seventeenth-century natural philosophers where, through empirical and methodical research on parameters of the real, they seek active agency in transmuting physical phenomena into usable material, much like transforming lead into gold. . . . This book is already a classic, a cornerstone of frontline inquiries in the humanities and its relationships with science. Marvell’s masterpiece is a must-read for any serious understanding of contemporary mind struggling with reality and metaphysics.

J. F. MARC DES JARDINS, PH.D., C.M.D.,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF RELIGION,
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

“Readers interested in Einstein, Gurdjieff, Ficino, Plotinus, the Tibetan bardo, surrealism, the history of science, Neoplatonism, the Hermetica, Robert Fludd, Rosicrucianism, chaos and complexity theory, artificial intelligence, or cognitive science will find this book an indispensable adventure.”

RONNIE PONTIAC,
CONTRIBUTOR TO REALITY SANDWICH