Methexis Institute

At 10 am CST on Sunday, 13th September, the Methexis Institute continues its Fall 2026 term of Forbidden Books with a discussion of Nick Land's new book 'Crypto-Current: Bitcoin and Philosophy'.

Join: https://meet.google.com/evw-gckn-cnr

We are delighted to share the second annual Methexis Lecture delivered by Dr. David Bentley Hart.

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At 1 pm CST on Sunday, 30th August, the Methexis Institute will begin its Fall 2026 term of Forbidden Books with a discussion of Pope Leo XIV's encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas' on Ai and human dignity.

Join: https://shorturl.at/EQnV6

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Jesuit Cybernetics Culture Research Unit (JCCRU)
https://methexisinstitute.com/jccru

Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference,
Villanova University (Online & In-Person)
October 9–11, 2026 (schedule, date, and time TBA)

This panel of the 2026 Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference seeks to explore and develop a new Jesuit Cybernetic critique of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) (c. 1995–2000) for the purpose of renewing the hidden theological tradition of cybernetic theory in light of Trinitarian Ontology.

While the CCRU approached cybernetics as a secular and inhuman acceleration beyond the “end of philosophy,” the JCCRU seeks to recover a vision and style of the Church that is spiritually engaged with computing across the Jesuit tradition — from Athanasius Kircher to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin — and to reframe cybernetics' reciprocating feedback loops as radically centered upon Christ, the “divine pilot”.

This panel aims to recollect the lost theological ancestry of cybernetics from Plato to the present, and particularly its most advanced religious formation in the Jesuit lineage from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the combinatorial calculators of Athanasius Kircher to the “theo-dramatics” of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the “hyper-personal” apocalyptics of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

By contrasting this Jesuit lineage with post-Heideggerian cybernetics from Gilbert Simondon and Bernard Stiegler to Nick Land, Sadie Plant, Mark Fisher, and Reza Negarestani, we will discover whether this “cybernetic crisis” leads to the “end of philosophy” or heralds a new religious turn in cybernetics.

Abstract Length: 200–300 words.
Accompanying Materials: Curriculum vitae and or a biographical note.
Submission Deadline: Sunday, September 13th, 2026 (Notice by 09/19/2026).
Inquiries & Submissions: Please direct inquiries and submit abstracts to Dr. Ryan Haecker:
[email protected] / http://methexisinstitute.com

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Jesuit Cybernetics Culture Research Unit (JCCRU)
https://methexisinstitute.com/jccru

Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference,
Villanova University (Online & In-Person)
October 9–11, 2026 (schedule, date, and time TBA)

This panel of the 2026 Patristics, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference seeks to explore and develop a new Jesuit Cybernetic critique of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) (c. 1995–2000) for the purpose of renewing the hidden theological tradition of cybernetic theory in light of Trinitarian Ontology.

While the CCRU approached cybernetics as a secular and inhuman acceleration beyond the “end of philosophy,” the JCCRU seeks to recover a vision and style of the Church that is spiritually engaged with computing across the Jesuit tradition — from Athanasius Kircher to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin — and to reframe cybernetics' reciprocating feedback loops as radically centered upon Christ, the “divine pilot”.

This panel aims to recollect the lost theological ancestry of cybernetics from Plato to the present, and particularly its most advanced religious formation in the Jesuit lineage from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the combinatorial calculators of Athanasius Kircher to the “theo-dramatics” of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the “hyper-personal” apocalyptics of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

By contrasting this Jesuit lineage with post-Heideggerian cybernetics from Gilbert Simondon and Bernard Stiegler to Nick Land, Sadie Plant, Mark Fisher, and Reza Negarestani, we will discover whether this “cybernetic crisis” leads to the “end of philosophy” or heralds a new religious turn in cybernetics.

Abstract Length: 200–300 words.
Accompanying Materials: Curriculum vitae and or a biographical note.
Submission Deadline: Sunday, September 13th, 2026 (Notice by 09/19/2026).
Inquiries & Submissions: Please direct inquiries and submit abstracts to Dr. Ryan Haecker:
[email protected] / http://methexisinstitute.com

We thank all who attended the first annual Methexis Lecture with David Bentley Hart today at the Seminary of the Southwest.

With over 30 guests in person and many more joining online, we were had an overwhelming turnout.

The unedited livestreamed video is now available:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zkux1LgZWdk

David Bentley Hart | Methexis Lecture 2026 We are eager to welcome you to a discussion with David Bentley Hart...

Join us at 1 PM CDT for the first annual Methexis Lecture with David Bentley Hart.

https://eventbrite.com/e/1991847865585

https://youtube.com/live/zkux1LgZWdk

David Bentley Hart | Methexis Lecture 2026 We are eager to welcome you to a discussion with David Bentley Hart...

Fall 2026 Term Card for the Methexis Institute
'Forbidden Books' Reading Group

You are invited to attend the first annual Methexis Lecture featuring David Bentley Hart on the topic of his new book, All Things Are Full of Gods.

David Bentley Hart | Methexis Lecture 2026 We are eager to welcome you to a discussion with David Bentley Hart...

David Bentley Hart
First Annual Methexis Lecture
'All Things are Fully of Gods'

Online & In-Person, Austin Texas
Seminary of the Southwest, Rm. B 104
1 PM CDT, Saturday, July 11, 2026

Register to join:
https://tinyurl.com/DBH-Methexis

Watch here:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zkux1LgZWdk

David Bentley Hart | 'All Things Are Full of Gods' Discussion David Bentley Hart | 'All Things Are Full of Gods' Discussion | 1 P.M. CDT, Saturday, July 11, 2026 | Seminary of the Southwest, Rm. B 104