Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Rene Guenon on Civilization and Progress



Thanks to fellow blogger Thaddeus Griebel at MindUnclouded for introducing me to metaphysician Rene Guenon. The above video is a great introduction to his work, and here's a link to some of his books/transcripts.
Posted by Eric Dubay at 9:18 PM
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Modern civilization is best viewed as a complex system that has slowly evolved, expanding and maintaining elite power at almost every step. Three of the main pillars in this system are:

1. "Science"

Far from neutral "science" is a central tool of political and economic control. In particular the "scientific" priesthood preaches that life has no meaning or purpose. Humans intuitively believe, and psychologically need their life to have meaning, the belief that life has no purpose therefore open up a void that can be filled by the second pillar, materialism.

2. Materialism

Having hollowed out the spiritual, "science" and technology is used to create the consumer society in which meaning is found in the pursuit of status, constructed through, or in opposition to materialism. The pursuit of status destroys all spirituality and turns modern man into a grasping, self-focused, myopic beast.

Elitism

The focus on status naturally supports the domination of the elite. That is to say, ironically, the pursuit of materialism or spiritual materialism, is the tool the enslaves the modern mind. "Science" plays a crucial role in the adulation of status too: for example promoting notions of racial and genetic superiority, the myth of the genius, and the systematic use of technology to degenerate the skills, knowledge and spirituality of the people.

Nimbsky

June 10, 2012 at 8:09 AM
Eric Dubay said...

Great comment Nimbsky, that breaks it down quite nicely. If there was a number 4 on the list after Elitism I think I'd put Psychopathy.

June 10, 2012 at 5:35 PM

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