Should We Be Afraid of Technology?
Lessons from Prometheus and Frankenstein
Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,
There’s nothing new in being afraid… mythology is replete with horrific creatures, boogeymen and mythical monsters employed to control, entertain and terrify. Whether they are centaurs or scylla, charybdis or medusa, their monstrosity is immersed in the fantastic and so denuded of horror for the modern adult.
(In fact, we’ll discuss their fascinating meaning and historicity at Thursday's event: Centaurs and Snake Kings).
So if these scary beasts of lore don’t scare us, what are we truly afraid of? What lessons from ancient myth strike fear back then up to today (and at every point in between)?
The origin story of man itself - that of Prometheus- instigates some of the greatest questions… and fears… found in humanity.
One of which is the role of technology: Should we be afraid of it?
As always, comments below or email me at anya@classicalwisdom.com with your thoughts.
So please enjoy today’s brief column on the myth of Prometheus, its influence on Mary Shelly and its implications with regards to technology today, below.
All the best,
Anya Leonard
Founder and Director
Classical Wisdom
Members: Stay tuned for this week’s Monsters and Myths Classical Wisdom Litterae Magazine coming out soon. We’ll delve into the riddle of the Sphinx, dragon slayers, spiders, gorgons, cannibals and more…
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Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus
By Ben Shehadi
Frankenstein is among the most iconic characters in Halloween lore. Originating from a Gothic novel by Mary Shelley in 19th-century England, the story of Frankenstein is steeped in classical myth and tradition: namely, the Prometheus story from Greek mythology. Shelley makes no attempt to disguise this fact: the novel itself is tellingly subtitled as “A Modern Prometheus.”
But who is Prometheus? In order to understand Frankenstein, we need to first review the original Prometheus myth, found in Hesiod’s Theogony.
Before the creation of humanity, the Olympian gods went to battle against a primordial race of beings, known as the Titans. Most of these Titans were either destroyed or cast into the eternal hell of Tartarus. Save one Titan, named Prometheus, who persuaded his brother Epimetheus to fight on behalf of the victorious Olympians. In thanksgiving, the two Titans were tasked by Zeus with populating the Earth with living creatures. Epimetheus was told to distribute the gifts of the gods to the various creatures. To some, he gave the gift of flight. Others received the powers to swim through water, or race through the grass. The beasts were given claws, scales, and furs.
But Prometheus was tasked with a special mission: the creation of human beings. Out of mud, the Titan sculpted man in the image of the gods. However, Zeus decreed that these humans should worship the Olympians and remain mortal on Earth below as subservient creatures, vulnerable to nature’s elements and dependent upon the gods for protection.
Prometheus, on the other hand, had different plans for his lowly creation. In a cunning act of deception, the Titan managed to trick Zeus into giving the power of fire to humanity. With this newfound ability, humanity was able to dominate the natural order. They could care for themselves, providing food and warmth. But fire also allowed humans to forge weapons and wage war against each other. The Promethean flames became a driving force for the rapid progress of human civilization.
Zeus was greatly displeased. The Olympian castigated Prometheus by chaining him to a cliff. In this eternal punishment, a vulture would tear out his liver every day, only for the Titan’s liver to regrow and be attacked again in the morning.
A Gothic story
Now, to return to Mary Shelley’s novel. Mary Shelley was the daughter of two famous parents, the English poet William Godwin and the world’s first feminist: Mary Wollstonecraft. She wrote in the ‘Gothic’ genre, which was named after the ancient Goths who sacked the city of Rome, and so implied something that is terrifying, mysterious, and barbaric. The Industrial Revolution, which took place in England around the novel’s time, was challenging traditional ways of thinking. The Age of Enlightenment saw a rebirth in classical studies, which sought inspiration from Greco-Roman antiquity rather than the dogmas of the Catholic Church. Religion was being increasingly questioned by European intellectuals, who instead looked to science rather than faith to explain natural phenomena. Mary Shelley’s novel is an attack against scientific rationalism, warning that the unbridled pursuit of technology can result in the downfall of humanity—a fate not unlike that of Prometheus.
Fear of technology
The Prometheus myth is one of the most famous in all Greek mythology. Today, the word “Promethean” is used to describe something that is bold, daring, and defiantly original. A common view is that fire represents the progress of technology, which has the power to both create and destroy. Technology transgresses the boundaries between humans and gods, violating hierarchies and upsetting the natural order. Furthermore, technology is an example of artifice and human cunning, which exists in conflict with the tumultuous and uncontrollable forces of nature. The Frankenstein story, therefore, is a modern re-telling of the Prometheus myth, reflecting this classical anxiety about technology in 19th century industrial England.
What is humanity?
Just like the original Prometheus myth, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story asks us to consider what humanity really is? For the Hesiodic story, humans are being created in God’s image. Prometheus personally molds the first humans out of mud. Being in God’s image, humans have a certain dignity and power, which allows them to dominate the natural order. But the use of fire becomes an act of hubris, allowing humans to transform themselves into all-powerful gods. In the Frankenstein story, we see how artificial efforts to “create” a human being are doomed to failure. Victor Frankenstein, the young scientist who creates the monster, is unable to foresee the dire consequences of his attempts to forge a fully rational and sentient human being.
What makes a human truly “human”? In the Prometheus story, it is our intelligence: the power of making tools, as represented by fire. But fire also represents the dark side of humanity, because it gives people the power to create metal weapons and
engage in organized warfare. Do humans have immortal souls? Or are we really just complex machines? In Mary Shelley’s day, many Enlightenment thinkers felt the human person could be reduced to its physical composition. This materialism is something that she clearly feared, and is expressed in her Promethean novel.
Today’s Frankenstein
In today’s unpredictable world of AI, the Promethean anxiety about technology seems more justified than ever. Artificial intelligence is threatening to completely overturn our connection to reality. We will no longer be able to differentiate between the virtual world and the “real” one. Images can be doctored, and videos can be conjured out of thin air. Already, we see the corrosive effects of technology on our modern society. Globalization has hollowed out jobs across the Western industrial countries, straining political systems through increasingly radical and revolutionary movements. The Prometheus that built the West—industrialization— is now threatening to destroy itself.
New technology also brings along new ethical dilemmas about human dignity. Does the progress of science and civilization, as represented by the flames of Prometheus, necessarily degrade and diminish the spiritual value of human beings? This is the question at the heart of both the Prometheus and Frankenstein stories. Will our new technology be used to benefit humanity, or to destroy it? This Halloween, the Frankenstein story and its classical precursor—the Prometheus myth—give us reason to pause.
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Ben Shehadi is a historian, educator, and graphic designer. The author of two published books, including Napoleon: The Revolutionary Hero (out on Amazon now), Ben has contributed articles to several history magazines and organizations, including Classical Wisdom, Stoicism Today, the International Napoleonic Society, and the Waterloo Association.
That was interesting. I see parallels with some of the Australian Anoriginal myths about creation and life which often contain moral beliefs.
I agree with those who say it is language which has enabled homo sapiens to rise above other human species such as Neanderthals and use language to link people together in larger groups, resulting in towns, cities and nations.
Prometheus is an example of that language.
Fear technology? No. Use all deliberate caution. However, it seems our culture refuses to do that. There's no telling what will happen except that it likely will be a surprise not predicted by anyone.