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According to the definition of magic, there are a bunch of subtle forces that permeate the cosmos; there is no way of knowing how many of these subtle forces there are and what kinds there are, but one can begin to tap into these subtle forces through a posterior intuition. One cannot know for certain that these forces exist but by trying things in the world they can begin to figure out how it works. This leads to a variety of maneuvers in order to tap into these forces, leading to a variety of black magic, red magic, white magic, and Evola’s favorite: high magic. To present standards it seems as though the positing of these forces are a flagrant denial of Ockham’s razor: positing more entities than is necessary to explain things. However, I’m not so sure. I will now argue that magic is no less plausible than recent scientific theories such as string theory. String theory is regarded by even many leading philosophers to be not simply physics but actually a form of scientific metaphysics. Indeed, the source of the principles is empirical, but what is extrapolated from those principles is beyond empirical verification. One must ask himself what is positing more extravagant entities: string theory or magic? The strings in string theory seem to be even more extravagant of entities than simply a plurality of forces that underly the cosmos.

In order to verify whether anyone is ever able to epistemically justify real magical phenomenon from experience, let’s look at a thought experiment of an extreme hypothetical situation. Lets say someone says I am going to perform a hand maneuver and then after that someone is going to show up at my door at 3:15 PM exactly and there is going to be a little red ink stain on his shirt- and that person has not shown up at your door for three years. And you perform the hand maneuver and then this actually happens. Lets say the next day, you say I am going to perform a hand maneuver and then someone is going to call me on the phone and recite 20 random words that you agree upon ahead of time. And thjen you do that and it happens. The chanc es that there is not magical phenomenon going on at this point is now probably 1 in 1 million or something like that. Let us say that then you do this 300 times over the next year and the results turn up every time. The chances that there is not something magical going on is now 1 in 300 billion or something like that. The logical positivist will now find it very likely to insert false hypotheses in order to maintain that nothing magical is going on such as that you afctually had the idea that the person was going to show up at your door in your subconsious. But the logical postivist simply attadcks the metaphhysician on grounds that are difficult to deefend through second order experience. SWe know in this hypothetical case that not only that that is not the case but that the person has the right to conclude that that is not the case.

     What is the difference between analytic and continental philosophy? Other than epistemological differences, this really reduces down to scientific materialism vs metaphysics. I have religion labeled as an extension of continental philosophy since religion is essentially metaphysical in nature. Some of the different components of analytic philosophy are logical positivism, structuralism, philosophy of mind: functionalism, empirical psychology, realistic philosophy of science. Functionalism is really self-referential in nature. Logical positivism is the reduction of metaphysical claims to language, psychology, and the physical. I also place existentialism under analytic philosophy and not continental as it takes place purely through a reductionist lens. Post structuralism is not analytic philosophy but is an offshoot of analytic philosophy as it not only believes it is impossible to study nature through the structures of metaphysics, but also that it is impossible to study nature through the structures of science. Thus, it can be seen as a new form of skepticism.

Understanding of Metaphysics and Religion in America

     Really, we have been in a continual downward spiral as to our knowledge of what metaphysics is and how it works for about 100 years now, ever since the advent of logical positivism in the 1920s. The first thing to go was esotericism around perhaps in the 90s. There are very few Americans today who truly take the law of attraction seriously due to its being embedded into the sciences in the 90s, which I actually believe was an incorrect maneuver. But the law of attraction serves as an approximation as to the American mindset and I believe more Americans subscribe to the law of attraction today than they are letting be known. That being said, the only truly reductionist ages in American history of the last 100 years were the 80s and to a lesser extent the 50s. The 90s were in fact not reductionist, but nonreductionist as Jainism, the law of attraction, and British Idealism were very popular. The early nineteen hundreds were also nonreductionst with the advents of European Indology, Orientalism, Islamology, and the many esoteric organizations that began to surface: theosophy, spiritualism, new thought, anthroposophy, and traditionalism.

     One does not need religion in order to function- analytic philosophy suits that purpose. In fact, function is even in the name of functionalism- one of the components of analytic philosophy. However, many religious people will recognize that religion is something that is necessary in order to function correctly. For example, how does a person function correctly without free will? One may find that the alternative cognitions available through religion actually turn out to be more conducive to an enriched existence than reductionism. Religion can thus be seen as an existentialism substitute (even though existentialism was originally seen to be the religion substitute). For the American, religion is something one has to consciously engage in and take an interest in. For an alternative defense of religion, look to Averroes of the Middle East who regarded physical claims to be in the same ontological category as metaphysical claims.

     The temples in ancient Egypt were enormous containing huge sandstone columns and many different compartments to the temple; pictures of deities lined the walls. The sacred part of the temple was the sanctuary in which stood a statue of the resident god. The statues in the temples were made of electrum, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and precious stones. The ancient Egyptians did not regard the god to be manifest in the statue; however, the statue formed a receptacle to the essence (ba) of the god. The ba would enter the statue when cult rituals were performed. The Egyptians would not describe this ba in the abstract terminology of energy, but in the concrete terms of a falcon descending into the statue. To summon the god, the Egyptians would perform the daily offering ritual by physically maintaining the statue and presenting food and drink. The chief priest would be purified and joined by the other priests, before gathering the materials required. They would then proceed to the temple sanctuary and start with a series of recitations and preparations. The priest would scatter white sand on the floor and spray the statue with perfume. Then he would offer the god lengths of red, white, and green cloth and adorn the statue with jewelry. It seems as though the general population had knowledge of the cult rituals. For example, the priests were drawn from the community so that many had first-hand experience of the rituals, and there were pictures of the rituals on temple walls accessible to the public.

     The Egyptians had an close relationship with their gods and there were a variety of ways in which to contact the gods. Temples were mostly restricted to priests, however, parts of the temple were accessible to the public. Much of the worship of ordinary people took place outside the temple. For example, the triple shrine of Seti II  (which was not yet enclosed in a temple at the time of its construction) was a place of assembly. Some of the walls of a shrine or temple had holes cut into them to support fabric that fit over the individual to support privacy while they prayed. These shrines were associated with the more common of gods. Since not everyone was allowed in the temple, people instantiated private statue cults to be placed in the temple. The statues were placed there to absorb and transmit the prayers and rituals to their owners. The statues would not be made to resemble the purchaser, but would be inscribed with their name, The statue cults were mostly a phenomenon of the mid and upper elite. The Egyptians also placed votive figurines of women, animals, and gods in houses, temples, and tombs as offerings to the gods in thanks to a god or to get them to act on the petitioner’s behalf. Votive figurines were used in all the dynastic periods and different votive figurines were used for different purposes. Self-devotion to a particular god was rare, but on occasion, an individual would declare special devotion to a single god.

Algebraic topology Rotman; Topology Munkres; Bibliography: Rotman, Joseph. An Introduction to Algebraic Topology. New York: Springer, 1988. Munkres, James. Topology Second ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2000, 1975

mathematical logic; Shoenfield lemmas; Bibliography: Shoenfield, Joseph. Mathematical Logic. Illinois: Association for symbolic logic, 1967. Continue reading Mathematical Logic

Mathematics – structural reasoning coming from before experience

Philosophy – conceptual reasoning coming from before experience

Metaphysics – a claim about the fundamental nature of reality that transcends the physical.

Transcendent – something that transcends rationality.

Transcendental – something that remains within the bounds of rationality

Empirical – something pertaining to the senses or scientific experiment

Physical – pertaining to natural law or the empirical

Idealism- Synonymous with immaterialism. belief that all is mind or that the world is contained within the mind, or that matter does not exist.

Subjective idealism- belief that the world is contained within the individuals mind. Found in the modern Western tradition and components in Buddhism and Hinduism.

Types of God

Objective idealism – belief that the world is contained within some Gods mind and in which there is an immanent component. Found in the Western tradition, Islam, and Hinduism.

Pantheism – a purely immanent God.

Theism – belief in a transcendent God that interferes with the world from time to time. Found in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Deism – belief in a purely rational God that does not interfere with the world.

Types of metaphysics

Esotericism – the root word of esotericism means hidden and only accessible to a small group of people. I take it to mean a metaphysical claim that transcends reason, perhaps having been handed down from an ancient prehistory. The big three are magic, astrology, and alchemy.

Mysticism- A metaphysical claim that usually is reduced to state of mind such as a feeling of merging with god. Can also depict a line of reasoning that transcends rationality. Can be used synonymously with esotericism.

Religion – A system of critical mysticism that is organized, in which there is a transcendent component and a critical or philosophical component.

Occultism – A metaphysical claim that lays over and on top of a physical claim. For example, in the 1800s magnetism and gravity were considered occult. Can also mean the new type of esotericism that emerged in the late 1800s in which less of an emphasis is placed on tradition.

Paranormal – includes phenomenon such as the psychic, ghosts, and telepathy. A mix of the esoteric and the occult.

Supernatural – a first order interaction between the physical and the metaphysical. There have been few cases throughout history other than superpowers, and examples from the Christian and Buddhist tradition.

Mircea Eliade: The Religion of the Israelites

1. HRIV1: The First Two Chapters of Genesis 162-165
2. HRIV1: Paradise Lost. Cain and Abel 165-168
3. HRIV1: Before and After the Flood 168-171
4. HRIV1: The Religion of the Patriarchs 171-174
5. HRIV1: Abraham, “Father of Faith” 174-176
6. HRIV1: Moses and the Departure from Egypt 176-179
7. HRIV1: “I am who I am” 179-183
8. HRIV1: Religion under the Judges: the First Phase of Syncretism 183-186

Evola on the Fall of Rome

1. RMW: 27

Anthroposophy on Martinism

1. CTLVT: 33, 35, 3-5, 105-106
2. CTLVT: 145
3. CTLVT: 4
4. CTLVT: 135
5. CTLVT: Christ and Sophia: 147
6. CTLVT: 75, 76, 158, The Second coming and the Incarnation of Ahriman: 117-124
7. CTLVT: The School of the Archangel Jesus: 298

Mircea Eliade: the Religion of the Egyptians

1. HRIV1: The Unforgettable Miracle: The “First Time” 85-87
2. HRIV1: Theogonies and Cosmogonies 87-90
3. HRIV1: The Responsibilities of an Incarnate God 91-94
4. HRIV1: The Pharaoh’s Ascent into Heaven 94- 97
5. HRIV1: Osiris, the Murdered God 97-100
6. HRIV1: Syncope: Anarchy, Despair, and “Democratization” of the Afterlife 100-103
7. HRIV1: Theology and Politics of “Solarization” 103-106
8. HRIV1: Akh-en-Aton, or the Unsuccessful Reform 106-109
9. HRIV1: Final Synthesis: the Association of Re-Osiris 109-113

Evola on Vodou

1. IMVII: The Magic of Effigies 229-237
2. IMVII: The Magic of Creation 290-297
3. IMVII: The Magic of Effigies 233, 234

Evola’s anti-perennialsim

1. RMW: The World of Tradition 7, 8, 12, 21, 22, 29, 30, 60, 68, 69
2. RMW: The World of Tradition 4, 5, 8, 9, 26
3. RMW: Genesis and Face of the Modern World
4. RMW: Genesis and Face of the Modern World 179-182

Berkeley’s Semi-phenomenalism

1. BI: Two Interpretations 205-207
2. BI: The Denial of Blind Agency 207-216
3. BI: Unperceived Objects 216-224
4. BI: Unperceived Objects 223
5. BI: Two Objections 224-228

Biography of Rene Guenon

1. RGFW: Early Days 11-18
2. RGFW: Searching 19-27
3. RGFW: Finding 28-31
4. RGFW: Cutting the Ties 32-37
5. RGFW: Cutting the Ties 32-37, Breaking Loose 38
6. RGFW: Breaking Loose 38-42
7. RGFW: Turning to Mecca 43-47

Guenon on the Freemasons

1. SFC: Masons and carpenters 39-43
2. SFC: Gnosis and freemasonry 47-51
3. SFC: The builders of the middle ages 35-39
4. SFC: Scientific ideas and the masonic ideal 1-9
5. SFC: Lost words and substituted words 9-19

The Magico-Religious Beliefs of the Paleanthropeans

1. HRIV1: Orientatio. Tools to make Tools. The “Domestication” of Fire 3-5
2. HRV1: The “Opaqueness” of Prehistoric Documents 5- 8
3. HRIV1: Symbolic Meanings of Burials 8-13
4. HRIV1: The Controversy Concerning Deposits of Bones 13-16
5. HRIV1: Rock Paintings: Images or Symbols? 16-19
6. HRIV1: the Presence of Woman 20-22
7. HRIV1: Rights, Thought, and Imagination among Paleolithic Hunters 22- 28

Mircea Eliade: Zoroastrianism

1. HRI 301-305
2. HRI 305-307
3. HRI 308-309
4. HRI 309-312
5. HRI 312-317
6. HRI 326-328
7. HRI 328-331
8. HRI 331-333
9. HRI 317-319
10. HRI 319-321, 321-322
11. HRI 322-324, 324-326

The Hermetic Caduceus and the Mirror

1. I M: The Hermetic Caduceus and the Mirror 72-79
2. I M: Instructions on Ceremonial Magic 186-196

Defense Against Beiser’s Transcendent Interpretation of Schelling

1. GI 472
2. GI 473
3. GI 473
4. GI 473
5. GI 474
6. GI 474
7. GI 474

Mircea Eliade: The Religion of the Hittites and Canaanites

1. HRI 139-142
2. HRI 142-143
3. HRI 143-145
4. HRI 145-147
5. HRI 147-149
6. HRI 149-150
7. HRI 150-152
8. HRI 152-154
9. HRI 154-156
10. HRI 156-158
11. HRI 159
12. HRI 160-161