On Evola’s Philosophy of Race

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I have Julius Evola’s philosophy of race as a regular philosophy of race with one difference- it is nonbiological. When Evola says what is the most important is the race of the “spirit,” he is using this word in the Berkeleyan sense- meaning mind. Don’t be confused by the ordinary language movement and confuse this with zeitgeist. Berkeley used the word spirit as synonymous with mind, and this is carrying over to Evola which is using his theory as a replacement for the brain. Evola’s magical idealism is a form of subjective idealism and the dialectical procedure is deriving from the subject. Many contemporaries in today would interpret Evola’s theory in the latter sense using the ordinary language movement. However, the ordinary language movement is really to be seen as a degeneration and a misunderstanding of how philosophy is to be interpreted in the first place. So Evola’s philosophy of race is a regular philosophy of race, although he is not allowing the English to get into control with their biological methods.

On the Nonbiological Nature of Race

Evola is simply attempting to maintain proper relationships statuses. What takes priority for Evola is the person’s race. Two people who are the most suited for each other are two people of the same race. If someone who is northern European subscribes to stoicism, for example, he is northern European who is subscribing to stoicism, and retains the features of a northern European, and not a person who is a member of the roman race. Thus, there are no hard feelings- everybody shares the most features with the race they belong to. And if that person gets in a relationship with that person she will notice features of the northern European showing up in his personality. There are two aspects of a person- the philosophy he expounds and his nature. Thus, two people who are the most suited for each other are two people of the same race. At the same time, it is permissible by Evola to move outside your race and invent some interesting concoctions in certain cases. If a Muslim marries a Catholic for example, that is somewhat risky metaphysically speaking, but can be surpassed if the love is strong enough. The child of these two people could consider himself Muslim or Catholic.

Where Evola’s theory is of most value is in cases where someone is in a part of a region that could be classified as ambiguous such as in Mesoamerica. Evola is not declaring the Mesoamericans to declare themselves indigenous because that is whe4re their sprit lies. What he is declaring is that it is impossible to tell through biological methods how indigenous or how Spanish the Mexican is. If a person has an ambiguous case such as he may have say 20 % indigenous in him it is up to the individuals understanding of his body and mind to understand what portion of it he is. In other words you eyeball it. Instead of the biological methods, this person and the community will have some leeway in regarding him to be perhaps 40% indigenous or perhaps 10 % indigenous.

On the Identicality of the Races

At the same time, it is important to note that Evola is removing the brain so he regards all the races to be near identical in ability. Evola’s theory if implemented properly, is really a very superior form of race because he is declaring all races to be about identical, although different. Thus, one should be preserving of the different racial relationships, but should at the same time create a society that emphasizes the identicality of all races. The society should try as hard as they can to emphasize all races while recognizing differences within the races. And this really makes sense. Thus, in a masonic society, everybody gets along in harmony, while recognizing differences in the individual races. The Africans for example have not had much of a philosophical history over the last 200 years, but they are the inventors of one of the greatest metaphysical theories in existence: Neoplatonism, and they are also home to the Egyptians, one of the greatest religions to have come into existence, and arguably originated shamanism, although there is no biological guarantee of this. The Mideasterners can be argued to have been derived from Africa.

Taditionalism

Schopenhauer on the animals

Posted on by leyoucis

Schopenhauer believes the world is as appearance, but he also posits a thing-in-itself. So the animals actually exist when you are not looking at them, unlike Berkeley, and they are as they appear. Thus, all of those beetles and insects really exist when you are not looking at them and they exist in a very grotesque form. What Schopenhauer is attempting to do is cut out any attempt by the sciences to elucidate a prettier picture of the animals. Back in the 1800s, it was looking like the sciences were potentially about to give a positive description of the nature on the animals and they are not really as bad as they seem. Perhaps the sciences would reveal, for example, that the animals do not cognate the same way as humans. However, Schopenhauer is maintaining that they are as they appear. What ended up happening was the sciences ended up going in a similar direction as Schopenhauer took it with survival of the fittest. Schopenhauer learned about Darwin’s origin of species on his death bed and he probably knew exactly what was happening. The sciences ended up giving a similar description of the animals as Schopenhauer’s theory. However, these theories are still slightly different. While Darwin is giving a specific description of the animals, Schopenhauer is simply maintaining that they are as they appear and that is grotesque. You can see the impact of Schopenhauer and Darwin on the national geographic channel.

Further Considerations

Is Schopenhauer determine how animals look? In which case, metaphysical speculation would be very powerful, indeed. You determine how animals look through metaphysical speculation. However, Schopenhauer is not determining how animals appear, he is simply saying that they are as they appear. Thus this is really a weaker claim. That’s all transcendental metaphysics is- something to subscribe to that may or may not be a correct description of reality. It may be a correct description of reality or it may reduce entirely to cognition, but either way it works.

German Idealism

Mircea Eliade: The Magico-Religious Behavior of the Paleanthropians

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In his book A History of Religious Ideas Volume 1, Mircea Eliade gives his description of the religion of the paleanthropians during the last ice age. The development of religious behavior is associated with the “hominization” of man- that is his development into a vertical posture. Equally important is the development of tools and the domestication of fire. It is true that animals use tools, but the paleanthropians produced tools to make tools. Additionally, their tools are much more complex. The imagination of the paleanthropians is presumed not to have differed much from that found among contemporaries. But it is the development of a hunting civilization that created a unique set of relationships between the hunter and the animal.1  

Weapons and Burials

In the main days of evolutionism, when similarities to primates had been shown, it was believed that the paleanthropians were nonreligious. However, their works demonstrate a religious intelligence. It is now generally agreed that the paleanthropians had a religion, but it is difficult to determine to what extent. The historical documents are “opaque” and not very various. In some cases, there is certainty of a religious intention, but the majority of the early documents reveal only utilitarian value. It can be inferred that tools contained a sacrality and inspired a mythology. One can compare this to the primitive hunters of today. The magico-religious value of a weapon can still be found among primitive Europeans. It is above all the projectile weapon which gave rise to myths- for example, lances that pierce the sky or arrows that transfix demons. Moreover, it also seems possible that there were animalistic beliefs among the paleanthropians. Contemporary hunting people, for example, regard animals as being endowed with supernatural powers, that the souls of the dead can enter animals, and that there are special relationships between people and animals. This can be interpolated to a certain extent onto the paleanthropians due to the remains of offering of skulls and long bones.2

It seems that belief in survival after death is confirmed by burials. The paleanthropians would have buried the dead in order to guarantee proper survival into the next world. Additionally, the paleanthropians used red ocher as a symbol of life which is documented among primitive hunters of our time. This survival could be purely spiritual, i.e. simply a postexistence of the soul. However, there are cases in which the corpses are bent which could represent a precaution against the possible return of the deceased or simply hope of rebirth. Among the best examples of burials with magico-religious signification, we mention the one near Teshik Tash in Uzbekistan, the one at Chapelle-aux-saints in Correze and the one in Farassie in Dordogne. During the upper paleolithic, the practice of burial appears to have become more general. Corpses are buried in which a certain number of objects intended for personal adornment (shells, pendants, necklaces) have been found. The prescence of personal objects implies the belief that the deceased will continue his particular activity in the other world.  To sum up, the burials confirm belief in survival and furnish some additional details.3

Bone Deposits and Cave Paintings

Deposits of bones of bears- discovered in the alps- are among the most numerous and debated documents concerning the religious behavior of the last interglacial period. These regard deposits of bones of cave bears discovered in niches in caves such as that in Styria in which bear skulls are deposited in cave walls 1.20 meters above the cave floor. These deposits appear to be intentional, so scholars have attempted to decipher their meaning. Some scholars have compared them to offerings made by certain arctic peoples to a supreme being. Several scholars accept this and believe this is proof that the primitive hunters of the last interglacial period believed in a lord of wild beasts. These interpretations were questioned by one scholar who believes these deposits result by chance by bears scratching among the bones. This critique appears to be convincing, but the bones are found in a number of caves all one meter above the ground. In any case, the interpretation of deposits as offering to a supreme being has been discarded. What seems probable is that these deposits are an expression of a magico-religious intentionality.  It has been proposed that these deposits have been made in hope that the animals will be reborn in the flesh.4

Some of the most important documents of the paleolithic are cave paintings, which are found mostly between the Urals and the Atlantic. Most of the paintings are confined to Spain, France, and southern Italy with the exception of the painted cave found in the Urals. These paintings are very hard to reach- being necessary to travel for hundreds of meters and journey for several hours. Pictures of bears, lions, and other wild animals riddled with arrows has been interpreted as proof of hunting magic. This seems plausible, but these works could just as well be reactualizations of a primordial hunt. One celebrity painting is the “great magician.”  An early sketch shows a figure with the face of an owl, the ears of a wolf, and the beard of a chamois, the arms ending in bear paws, and a horse’s tail, but the limbs of a human. In recent photographs, the picture is less impressive. This figure can be interpreted as a lord of wild beasts. Another painting subject to controversy is a picture of a bison thrusting its horns toward a man who is apparently dead and lies on the ground; near the man is a perched bird. This scene has been interpreted as a hunting accident. However, it has also been proposed as representing a shamanic séance.  This has been disputed, but the presence of a certain type of shamanism during the paleolithic seems certain.5

Feminine Statuettes

Feminine representations from the last ice age have been discovered from southwestern France to Siberia and in Italy. The statuettes range from 5 to 25 centimeters in height and are carved in stone, bone, and ivory. They have been called “Venuses” although this is arguably unjustifiable. They come from places of habituation making them related to domestic religion. The ones discovered at Mezine are strongly stylized with geometric elements. It is impossible to determine the religious function of the figurines, however they presumably represent feminine sacrality. One scholar has illuminated the central function of polarities in Paleolithic art, i.e., stone statuettes and slabs and rock paintings. This scholar has concluded that the figures and signs are interchangeable and there is a pairing of male/female values. Leroi-Gourhan’s theory has been criticized in that there is an inconsistency in his reading of figures and signs. However, his contribution is important: he has shown the complementarity of the signs “male” and “female.”6

Conculsion

Recent discoveries have shown the origin of man to be earlier than known. One scholar has shown the existence in the last ice age of a temporal notation based on the moon. The lunar cycle was used for practical purposes. This means the paleolithics made use of periodical ceremonies and mythologies. Pictures engraved on objects or painted on cave walls constituted a system of signs and symbols which refer to certain stories related to the seasons and game. From these images can be extrapolated magico-religious behavior. We can reconstruct to a certain extent the religion of the last ice age by considering the behavior of primitive hunters today and hunting communities today constitute a sort of living fossil of the last ice age. A certain ecstasy of the shamanic type seems to have been known in the last ice age; the “circular dance” was probably known in the last ice age. The paleolithics probably knew multiple myths, i.e., cosmogonic myths and myths of origin; there were probably myths on the origin of fire and relations between the hunter and game. To conclude, the religious formation of the paleolithic already displayed a complexity.7

Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade: Zoroastrianism

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In his book A History of Religious Ideas Volume 1, Mircea Eliade gives his description of the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism

Iranian religion is full of surprises and disappointments but contributed to the religious formation of the West. If linear time (as opposed to cyclical time) was already known to the Hebrews, a number of other religious ideas were discovered, revised, or systematized in Iran. The articulation of some dualistic type of system; the idea of a savior; the elaboration of an eschatology proclaiming universal salvation; the doctrine of the resurrection of bodies, for example. However, the nonspecialist will be thrown off by the sources.  Most of the Avesta has been lost; only the gathas are enticing to the nonspecialist. The rest of the Avesta is characterized by dryness. It is probably obvious that Zarathustra was a historical personage who turned into a paradigmatic model. Zarathustra’s activity should be placed somewhere between 1000 and 600 B.C. Zarathustra addressed his message to sedentary herders whom he attacked in the name of Ahura Mazda. It is possible to decipher in the gathas a few indications of Zarathustra’s missionary activity- he preached to a group of friends called the “poor” and asks them to drive away the evil spirit.1

The above description falls short of constituting a full biography. Certain scholars have argued that these scattered references do not necessarily represent historical realities. However, the historicity of Zarathustra appears from concrete references to real persons and events and the authentic nature of the gathas. It would be difficult to justify the presence of so many concrete details if he did not represent a real historical person. The texts dwell on Zarathustra’s celestial preexistence. He was born at the midpoint of history and was enveloped in radiating light. The village he was born in showed signs of prerecognition of his birth. He came into the world laughing. Zarathustra’s ordeals follow the example of a divinized savior. Zarathustra’s ordeals contain the repetitions of the motif of radiating light.2

Some scholars have argued that Zarathustra’s religious experience can be compared to that of the central Asian shamans. Perhaps he used shamanic techniques in order to obtain ecstasy. For example, in the Avesta, Zarathustra enters trances and it is probable that song played a role in the cult. Shamanic elements can be found in the scenario of the Cinvat bridge. However, the allusions to specifically shamanic techniques can be found only in the late texts and reflect a foreign influence and the ecstasies found in the gathas and elsewhere in the Avesta do not show a shamanic structure. Thus, shamanism does not play a central role in Mazdeism.3  

Main Doctrine

Zoroastrianism follows the revelation given to Zarathustra directly by Ahura Mazda. Man is free to choose between good and evil. Ahura Mazda holds the first place and is good and holy. Ahura Mazda is succeeded by two twin spirits: Spenta Mainyu (the beneficent spirit) and Angra Mainyu (the destroying spirit). Of the twin spirits, one is holy and the other is wicked, and they differ by choice rather than by nature. Zarathustra’s theology is not strictly speaking dualistic since Ahura Mazda is not confronted by an anti-god. Ahura Mazda is sometimes said to be identical to the holy spirit and is not responsible for evil since he did not father Angra Mainyu. This theology has as its prehistory the mythico-ritual systems of bipartitions and polarities and alternations and dualities. The primordial separation between good and evil is just the consequence of a choice, inaugurated by Ahura Mazda and repeated by the twin spirits. Despite his reform, Zarathustra accepted many original Iranian beliefs. For example, he takes up the original belief of the journey of the dead but stresses judgement: the just will be admitted into paradise, while the sinners will remain in the house of evil.4

The world is inhabited by two types of angelic beings: the asuras and the daevas. Since the gods of original Iranian religion- the daevas– chose deceit, Zarathustra demands his disciples no longer worship them. But Zarathustra does not doubt that the daevas will be annihilated and the just will triumph over the wicked. Thus, Zarathustra calls for the “transfiguration” of the world. The wicked will be punished and the world will be renewed in an eschatological ordeal. Mythico-ritual scenarios for the renewal of the world were known in the past to the Indo-Iranian’s and were usually celebrated at new year’s festivals but a new interpretation is given by Zarathustra who announces a definitive transfiguration effective once and for all. Being a private religion, Mazdeism developed a ritual dimension. A fire sacrifice is performed to offer an ecstatic experience and contribute to the restoration and transfiguration of the world. Additionally, the priest imbibes the drink haoma during the ceremony. It is difficult to determine if this cult was completely formulated in Zarathustra’s time. But it was certainly to be found with the Indo-Iranians in the sacrifice of the Vedas.5

Eschatological Sacrifice, the Souls Journey after Death, and the Resurrection of the Body

As with other Indo-Iranians, the concept of fire plays a capital role. But in Mazdeism, the function of sacred fires took on a meaning beyond previous religions. The Mazdeans take supreme importance in building a temple, furnishing it, and appointing priests to it. The sacrifice is designed to separate from those involved their spiritual essence from their corporeal nature. Additionally, the fire sacrifice contributes to the regeneration of the world and reinforces the eschatological drama of the struggle against the daevas and the waiting and preparation for the renewal of the world. The sacrifice given by the priest mimics the sacrifice by which Saoshyant will effect the renovation. When the eschatological drama occurs, the dead will return to life and Saoshyant will affect the final restoration.6

In certain hymns we find a description of the soul’s journey after death: the soul remains close to the body for three days. At the end of the third, he comes across his daena, a copy of oneself in female form- fifteen years old with upward pointing breasts, vigorous and of beautiful appearance. The daena is an archetypized version of one’s self but presents itself under a female form while preserving one’s concrete appearance; it is the result of his religious activity on earth. One then travels to the spheres of earth moon and sun and enters paradise. In other hymns, Zarathustra speaks of the Cinvat Bridge: the daena arrives with its dogs and leads the soul to the bridge and over the cosmic mountain. The soul is judged on this bridge- widening under the feet of the just and turning into razors for the unjust.7

Another eschatological myth common to Indo-Iranians is centered around Yima. A winter three years long destroys humanity and Yima is asked to build an enclosure to save the best of humans.  This is an archaic eschatology that Eliade does not believe corresponds to the Zoroastrian vision. The eschatological idea of the resurrection of bodies is introduced into Zoroastrianism. In this connection, certain hymns speak of the “resurrection of the dead” accompanied by the arrival of the “living one;” that is the Saoshyant. This resurrection is accompanied by the final Renovation, which includes the universal judgement. The new world invoked in the renovation will be a new creation that will no longer be accompanied by the attacks of the demons. After Saoshyant performs his sacrifice, the universal renovation will occur. The resurrection of bodies represents a daring development in Zarathustra’s eschatological vision.8

History and Development

The opposition between the asuras and the deavas was already taking shape in the Indo-Iranian period since Vedic India opposed the daevas to the asuras. However, in Iran, the the relation between the asuras and the daevas went in an inverse direction; in India the daevas are the true gods and the asuras are made evil; in Iran the daevas are demonized. The supreme position of Ahura Mazda was not instantiated by Zarathustra; Ahura Mazda was worshiped in Iran before Zarathustra. It can be argued that the Achaemenids worshiped Ahura Mazda without adopting any of the more characteristic features of Zoroastrianism. However, if the Achaemenids were not Zoroastrians, their theology was similar to that of the gathas– it contains abstract expression and is filled with moralistic considerations.9

Darius advocated the new year festival, which when enacted was designed to renew the world by symbolic repetition of the cosmogony.  This cosmogony involved the familiar scenario the victorious combat of a god against a monster or dragon. The Iranian king was thus responsible for the preservation and regeneration of the world. As it spread westward, the Mazdeism of the Achaemenids did not remain unchanged. A subject of controversy is the relation of the Magi to Zoroastrianism. They have been regarded either as a tribe of sorcerers and necromancers responsible for the degradation of Zoroastrianism or as the true disciples of Zarathustra. In any case, the Magi ended up adopting a number of Zoroastrian customs and rites.10 

In the Yasna with Seven Chapters, haoma acquires an important place in Zoroastrianism. Many interpret this exhalation of hoama as a syncretism between the prophet’s message and the traditional religion. However, Zarathustra accepted the cult of haoma, and this represents rather an elevation of the values of the religion.  It should be noted that the hoama right is extolled in Mazdeism. Another development in Mazdeism is the Mihr Yast– a long hymn in honor of Mithra. Here, Mithra is elevated to the position of Ahura Mazda and the two gods are even united. We can decipher from the hymn moments of a theogony- a series of gestures by Ahura Mazda directed toward the advancement of Mithra. He is a god of contracts, a god of war, is all seeing, omniscient, and a provider of the fields.11

Mircea Eliade

Greek Mythology vs Christian Mythology

Posted on by leyoucis

There are many types of myths. However, some myths such as the Christian myth are easily accepted as fact, while other later myths such as king author, Beowulf, and finally culminating in Tolkien are more easily seen to be fiction. Where to place the Greek myths? Myths can be real, but it only makes sense that over time, a group of people would add made up stories on top of it.

Greek Mythology

Along Eliade lines, the mythology of the Hittites and Canaanites is rooted in crop cycles- making their mythology fact, or at least potentially fact. What happened is over the course of years the cultures would observe variations in crop cycle patterns and other phenomenon and they would infer from this the interference of gods from an outside source. However, once you get to Greek mythology the myths become much more elaborate and deal with historical phenomenon and so forth. What in crop cycles could possibly be meant by the battle with the typhon or the Iliad, for example? These stories are more elaborate and cannot be easily related to crop cycles. Thus, it can be seen that the Greeks really made the first steps in the direction of fiction. Greek mythology is thus really a very interesting mix of fact and fiction and blurs the line between fact and fiction. Some of it may be true and may not be true. Some of the myths can be seen as rooted in crop cycles and other parts such as the dialogs of Zeus and his wife, the Iliad, and the battle with the typhon seems to have nothing to do with crop cycles. Perhaps they were recalling the past and doing so in a correct or incorrect manner.

Yuga periods and the scientific method

On the other hand, Christian mythology seems to be more rooted in fact. The events of the bible have more likelihood to be real historical phenomenon. Using the scientific method introduced by the Italian humanists, the bones of the Titans, for example, have never been found. Nothing in the Bible deals with bones of giants, which have never been found. The events involving esoteric phenomenon have been documented and the events of Moses and Abraham could plausibly have happened. In addition, the Gods of the Romans are more centered in processes as well. This makes the Italians and the Greeks two very different types of people, one being more rooted in fact, and the other being more rooted in fiction. Both are southern European but one is more rooted in fact and the other is more rooted in fiction.

The Greeks have a way out in that the Greek philosophers made the suggestion that the titans aren’t actually made of bones they are made of water and fire and so forth, so the previous yuga periods as documented by the Greeks could really have happened as Evola suggests. But along Eliade lines as initiated by the scientific method instantiated by the Italian humanists, the previous yuga periods probably were milder than documented in Greek texts.

Mircea Eliade

The Hermetic Caduceus and the Mirror

Posted on by leyoucis

In Julius Evola’s book Introduction to Magic Volume 1, he gives a description of several magical operations and rituals. Julius Evola’s book centers on high magic, that form of magic which is the closest to initiatory knowledge. In the book, Evola describes two rituals. One is the hermetic caduceus and the mirror and the other is instructions on ceremonial magic.

Two Rituals

Evola describes an operation to isolate the fluid body involving a mirror. This operation should be performed in the countryside outside of big cities or in a place where there is complete silence. This operation should be performed in a sealed off room on an empty stomach with open windows, burned myrrh, and a mirror. The mirror should be crystal, steel, copper, or bronze and should be concave to collect the light. Position the lamp not to be in the image of the mirror and to cast a dim light around you and the mirror. To perform the operation, stare at the central point of light in the mirror. Don’t blink, and do this until everything turns black. A black whole will arise in the center of your vision plane and this will eventually turn light blue and finally into a milky white aura.  Finally, this will produce a mirage of rapid bright light. One should stare at it in a concentrated yet effortless manner similar to that of sleep. First stare at it, then look away and try not to think about it. Appreciate the mirror until it becomes something that does not resist you, and then go deeper. You must resist the presence of something not subjected to you. This presence will try to obstruct you, but try to ride it and not become dissolved during the different stages of the operation. If you don’t ride it, you will be thrown back to the beginning of the operation. You will then experience a sort of fainting or lightness, and after shuddering you will be back at the starting point. The obstacles consist of an unbalance of mercury and sulfur.1

Evola’s book is filled with rituals of similar sorts. For example, Evola’s book also mentions instructions for ceremonial magic. This ritual should be performed in winter. One should eat only vegetables milk and similar products. One should not take alcohol or drugs and should drink only a little tea and coffee. the ritual should be performed in the early morning and one should dress in loose white garment. The belt and shoes should be of linen. Perform the ritual in a large underground room. Burn a fire of pine and laurel wood in a one-meter-high tripod. In another tripod, close the top with a hole. Insert a wick and inside place some virgin olive oil. Enter the room, light the fire, and burn some perfumes. In the center of the room draw a large equilateral triangle in gold with the vertex pointing east and inscribe a circle in it. The tripod should be on the right and the burning lamp on the left. Stand in the middle of the circle and recite the invocation given elsewhere in the book.2

Own Experience

The operation with the mirror reminds me of an experiment I performed when I was a 15-year-old boy. I stood in front of a mirror and began to stare at it. I focused on my image in the mirror. Then I began to notice that my vision was directly cutting space in half. There was the part of space in front of me and there was the part of space in back of me which was directly being cut in half by my vision. This led me to my analysis of space: a point cuts a line in half which extends another line to form two dimensions. A line cuts a plane in half which extends another plane to form three dimensions. And finally, a plane must cut a cube in half to extend into four dimensions. Thus, the mind is the gateway into the fourth dimension. This is really the transcendental explication of what Blavatsky came up with in which the mind is the gateway into higher dimensional space in which lies the many different layers of the ego. But this makes me wonder: the first step in the procedure is to cut a line in half by a point. This means that a point is really a dimension between zero dimensions and one dimension. The progression therefore goes point, line, plane, cube. In my opinion, this might be a major breakthrough could lead to an entirely different type of mathematics. How could the world have overlooked this for 2,500 years?

Traditionalism

Defense Against Beiser’s Transcendent Interpretation of Schelling

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In Frederick Beiser’s book German Idealism: the Struggle Against Subjectivism, he gives a transcendent interpretation of Schelling’s philosophy. Beiser produced a mammoth document that contains good material, but which has original insights that are a bit convoluted. Beiser was in his 60s when he wrote the book and this goes to show that with age your rational capabilities go downhill. Beiser wrote a very good book: on German philosophy between Kant and Fichte when he was a decade younger and it turned out very good. Beiser’s main insight is that German idealism was a struggle against subjectivism- which he believes he has demonstrated with recent documentation that has surfaced. However, this can be diverted if one places more of an emphasis on the structure of what the original philosophers are saying and placing less of an emphasis on side declarations made by the author. I agree with Beiser’s interpretation of Kant and the Romantics, but disagree with his interpretation of Fichte and Schelling.

Beiser claims that shelling is advancing past Fichte with his absolute ego, and making a mystical claim which has been made many times before. However, I believe Schelling is continuing under Fichte’s transcendental framework and once you look at the structure of what he is saying, a more neutral position is reached. Once you do that everything falls back into place and all of the developments that took place after German idealism in the early nineteen hundreds become bona fide developments. In particular Giovanni Gentile’s idealism was the definitive development in the metaphysical foundation of fascism and was not simply a reiteration of Schelling and certainly not Neoplatonism. I am not sure whether Gentile was continuing within a transcendental framework or leaping into the transcendent, but it was a bona fide development past what was reached in German idealism.

Defense against the transcendent interpretation of Schelling

It seems as though Schelling is hinting at a transcendent consciousness with his absolute ego given the wording he uses. However, once you look at the structure of what Schelling is actually saying, it becomes clear that he is describing a purely immanent consciousness.

For example, Beiser mentions how Schelling regards the absolute as not being found anymore inside oneself than outside oneself.1 This is Schelling hinting at his later Naturalphilosophie and is not representative of a transcendent ego. Schelling writes that the ego contains a being that precedes all thinking and representing.2 This is not hinting at a transcendent consciousness but can designate the cause of something purely immanent. Indeed, Beiser then says that Schelling’s ego begins to resemble mere existence- something purely immanent. Beiser claims that Schelling gives the absolute ego a constitutive and not a regulative status.3 According to my interpretation, Fichte gives the ego a constitutive status and Schelling is simply reiterating Fichte. This simply means he is making a Bona fide metaphysical claim that the world is contained in the mind and is not suggesting a transcendent consciousness.

Further, Schelling claims that the ego “exists absolutely, containing all being or reality within itself.” It is “infinite, the immanent cause of all things”, and has “absolute power and infinite attributes.”4 Again,  he is saying immanent here and the rest of his language is completely explainable by an immanent consciousness that holds the world in its place through other beings without relying on a transcendent consciousness. This is again reiterating Fichte. Indeed, Beiser then alludes to the idea that Schelling is probably describing something purely imminent. Schelling says that the I is more that merely the formal unity of our representations.5 The I is the cause of our experience in the Fichtean sense but not transcendent consciousness. He says we cannot conceive or describe the I6 suggesting something mystical but the Beiser says how this simply means that that is because it is the condition under which we apply concepts. We know that the I exists because it is the referent of the self-confirming proposition I am.7 This is simply intellectual intuition in the Fichtean sense suggesting free will.

Further Considerations

All of this shows that Schelling was simply reiterating Fichte’s ego in his absolute ego and the bona fide departure from Fichte was not made until Schelling made his Naturalphilsophie. There, Schelling is truly departing from Fichte where he places the source in nature as opposed to the subject and creates a metaphysical biological idealistic approach to the philosophy of nature.

Even if Schelling did posit a transcendent absolute ego, it can be argued that Schelling’s absolute ego still does not have the same robustness as Gentile’s actual idealism for a foundation for fascism. The absolute ego places the focus purely on the subject, while the actual idealism accounts for all of the minds within a totality. Thus, it probably would be naive to skip Gentile’s idealism and Gentile’s idealism is probably the bona fide metaphysical development in the foundation of fascism. However, Gentile was working off of German idealism in order to come up with his work so credit should be placed where credit is due. But Gentile, Croce, Evola, and the Italian idealists were intimately connected with the socialist and fascist scene of their time and probably should not be overlooked.

German Idealism; British and Continental Idealism

Guenon’s Conception of Heaven and Hell

Posted on by leyoucis

Guenon’s Conception of Heaven and Hell

Under a modified Guenonianism, Guenon believes in Heaven and Hell. I say a modified Guenonianism because Guenon sometimes alludes to the idea that the Hindus don’t really believe in either Heaven and Hell or reincarnation. But under the modified Guenonianism, he believes in Heaven and Hell because that is part of the generic esoteric domain that he believes belongs to all religions. However, the Muslims have a notion of Heaven and Hell that is permanent and the Hindus have a notion of heaven and hell that is temporary. What is guenon’s analysis of the matter?

Although I agree with Gornahoor that Guenon is essentially recognizing the identically of every religion in all that is essential, where I am diverging from his stance is that I believe Guenon recognizes the exoteric domain as a valid feature of religion and that the religions are different in the exoteric domain. Although Gunenon recognizes that there is one truth and that truth is incorporated in all religions, he recognizes differences within the individual religions and it is impossible to know which one is correct. This is evidenced by his seemingly arbitrary conversion to Islam. He would probably have stayed with Catholicism if he did not recognize differences in the religions. Therefore, Heaven and Hell might be temporary and might be permanent and it is impossible to know which one is correct. Guenon would probably lean towards Heaven and Hell being temporary states since he believes the esoteric tradition has a source and Hinduism came around first.

Heaven and Hell as permanent States

However, what if the Heaven and Hell of the Muslims and Christians is different than the Heaven and Hell of the Hindus? These are different revelations and different revelations call for different esotericisms. This would mean that one afterlife is temporary while the other is a permanent state.

The Hindus will probably now bring up the seeming metaphysical paradox in a permanent heaven. For how could a person not get bored living in the same place for eternity? Certainly, things would get boring with the same people for eternity. However, this can be sidestepped if we recognize that this permanent afterlife is similar to this life except better in most ways. Thus there is no less paradox in a permanent heaven than there would be in continual reincarnation on earth. This would mean that the earth is a short testing ground to determine the readiness of a person to make it into the real life. This now makes sense why the Muslims are so cautious. If you have the opportunity to make it into a permanent place that is infinitely better than this existence, you had better not move a muscle.

This alternative Heaven would be reached through initiation or perhaps through belief or through decent living. I think the main route to this heaven would be through initiation. The Catholics have multiple sacraments set up- the Eucharist, baptism confirmation, confession. However, I believe other people would be let in through living a decent life or wanting this and so forth. Some Hindus would make the cut and others would have to wait until they are reborn into a properly Christian family, while many would remain Hindu. This allows for a flexible framework in which there is reincarnation except for those lucky few are able to make it into a permanent afterlife through being initiated into the Christian faith.

Traditionalism