A social system reflective of or emergent from apocalyptic texts, such as the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. It is characterized by four chief features: (1) a dualistic view of the world in which good and evil contest against one another, (2) an experience of alienation caused by the present circumstances in which evil is apparently ascendant, (3) the expectation that a transcendent guarantor (usually a god) will soon rectify the alienating circumstances by creating a new and glorious world, and (4) the belief that humankind will take on glorious new bodies with which to occupy the transcendent new world. Apocalyptic beliefs have influenced science at least since the medieval period, where they encouraged European thinkers to develop technologies that could be used in war with the Antichrist. In the twentieth century, apocalyptic expectations have been relevant to a wide array of technological fields, including robotics and artificial intelligence.
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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Geraci, R.M. (2013). Apocalypticism. In: Runehov, A.L.C., Oviedo, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_201024
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