The Paradoxes of Posterity

The Paradoxes of Posterity, Volume 1, is a scholarly examination of the drive behind literary creation. Benjamin Hoffmann analyzes the pursuit of symbolic immortality, where authors write to transcend human mortality by securing a place in the memory of future generations. This work of literary criticism and philosophy explores the tension between the desire for perpetuity and the inherent instability of the networks that preserve texts.

Focusing on the digital humanities and book history, the text examines the representations of posterity through the works of figures like Jean-Paul Sartre and Denis Diderot. Hoffmann identifies three central paradoxes regarding belief, identity, and mediation within the process of authorship. This study provides a sophisticated analysis of how literature and psychological aspects of mortality intersect, offering a new perspective on the transmission of texts to future readers.