What is Angeletics?
The term angeletics comes from Greek angelos / angelia, meaning messenger / messages. We use these terms when we refer to angels or divine messengers. There is a long tradition in theology and religious studies called angelology. Angeletics is in this regard different from angelology. Its purpose is to study the phenomenon of messages and messengers within the boundaries of the human condition, having as its primary object human communication but including technical and natural processes as well. For the philosophers of the Enlightenment, such as Immanuel Kant, the censorship-free distribution of scientific knowledge through the press belongs to the core of a free society. The question today is then to what extent the internet creates a new angeletic space giving rise to new synergies of messages and messengers beyond the hierarchical structure of mass media. Angeletics is the general term used for the cultural, social and philosophical phenomenon of messages and messengers, while ‘messaging theory’ is used more specifically for the phenomenon’s scientific and technological aspects.
The discipline of Angeletics was developed by Professor Rafael Capurro in the 1990’s as an essential component of his philosophy of communication and information – see his founding article at http://www.capurro.de/angeletics_zkm.html amongst his home page resources at http://www.capurro.de/home-eng.html
A comprehensive insight into the Influence of Capurro’s thought on contemporary intellectual life is provided by the recently published Festschrift in his honour entitled Information Cultures in the Digital Age (Edited by Matthew Kelly and Jared Bielby. Springer, Wiesbaden, 2016)