Gnostic_pessimism.md 13 KB
We have to understand what's been going on through the modern and postmodern eras. Even sparring with Christians about whether things are gnostic or not. There's a lto of difficulty, here. Woke, and Marxism (woke Being a derivative of Marxism) is a Gnostic phenomenon / Esoteric religion.
If we look at new age theosophy behind the Fetser Institute and Social Emotional Learning and CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social Emotional Learning). Fetser was an open theosophist and an open devotee of Alice Bailey and Helena Blavatsky, who were working in the same vein of esoteric religion.
A lot of things happening in the west, arguably since the lead-up to the French revolution, at least, can be pinned on an explanation not being given: Gnosticism as an ancient esoteric religion, and elements of Hermeticism, have been a running under-current in these developments through history and when you try to understand these outside of their own terms, they become difficult to understand. There are some bizarre academic and philosophical resistances to looking at these concepts as if they are what they are: mystical, esoteric cult religion.
This is very difficult material to communicate this because it's a very complicated subject. The meaning of the terminology is also something to struggle with because it may be important to understand the broader application of these definitions. Or the broader interpretation of them.
Marxism transformed into Cultural Marxism, into Critical Marxism, into Identity Marxism, into Woke. A key piece of that, as it moves into the next step (Sustainability), is that the anti-corporate/anti-business/anti-bourgeois orientation of Marxism changed in the 1960s and 70s.
The same thing seemed to happen in the Middle Ages (13th century Spain cult leader, or 15th/16th century - Marcelo Facino - commissioned with translating the Corpus Hermeticum into Latin - key religious text in the Hermetic esoteric religion). Between that and various strains of mysticism and gnosticism that were floating around in the middle ages led to a Middle Age New Age "boom". We don't call it New Age, of course, because though we could pit it on Blavatsky in 1875, or Jiddu Krishnamurti who was put up as afigure head of this sort of thing, Alice Bailey with the Lucius Trust and new Age Hippy stuff, we could blame Oprah Winfrey who mainlined a lot of it, we could blame "The Secret".
We think of "New Age" as being a hippy 1960's but maybe even early 20th century goofball progressive fraudster phenomenon, but there was a new age movement in the Middle Ages, as well, where all these kinds of esoteric religions, particularly in the circles of rich and famous, blossomed and flowered. These religions are inherently synchrotistic.
Synchrotistic
Cafeteria Christianity.
- Take this and that and make up a new religion
- Cobbled together religion
Synchrotism is the idea that, if we were to take an understanding of the "idea" of what "spiritual but not religious" may have meant at the time, though it would have been something more like "mystical but not religious". They picked and chose from things that they needed. Jewish Kabbala with Christian elements, leading to a Christian Kabbala. They took Jewish mysticism and imbued it with their mystical ideas. If they needed the Christian Trinity, they would do it, like Hegel did, and you end up with a Dialectical Process-oriented Trinity where Father gives rise to Son, Son gives rise to Spirit, Spirit re-informs and invigorates the father. Rather than 3 pieces of the God Head that are co-eternal, you have a process-driven Trinity.
Concepts of Christianity are hammered together. Or if you are of a capacity and interest, you might hammer things together and create a System dur wissenschaft - System of Science.
But Why Science?
Why Science
Plato called it that much time ago. He called his model Psientia. Science diverged and became productive when it diverged from its mystical-technocratic roots with Plato, and has come back around now with The Science which directly goes back to its mystical technocratic roots - the higher level conceptualization of how things should be - Plato called episteme and that Hegel called Vernunft (people translate as Reason) - contrary to Dianoia (technical knowledge) and Hegel's verstand.
System der wissenschaft is just a Germanization of Plato's Scientia.
Gnosticism's Meaning
Evolution
It has a distinct presentation in the modern era that is different than what it was in the pre-modern era. It doesn't pretend to be mystical religion after Hegel. Up to Hegel, arguably with Rousseau, it's pretending to be mystical religion.
After Rousseau and Hegel, it's not pretending to be a mystical religion anymore. Gnosticism takes on the clothing of whatever era in time or circumstance it is. That's why there are Christian gnostic cults that the Christians focus on, giving them a very narrow definition of Gnosticism. There was also Gnostic phenomenon of mysticism that was happening before that, maybe as far back as the 7th century BC - and that has its own mythology that sometimes borrow's from Genesis and flip it down, whereas other times it seems like it's on its own, with many components.
Gnosticism Characterizations
We were talking about private schools and schooling and he expresses that he's not clear on what's going on with Gnosticism. I tried to track that conversation in this podcast, but I also try to apply an authoritative scholarly source - Science, Politics and Gnosticism by Eric Voegelin.
Gnostic as a word, whether we could capitalize it as a proper noun, or not, matters somewhat because Gnostic refers to at least 4 distinct things simultaneously, making it very complicated to talk about it. This isn't a woke thing, where words are intentionally turned into the opposites.
It's a weird, historical accident that people say will say that it means 3 things, but I think it actually means 4 things. It's complicated to talk about. I did an explanation and I said that so the word basically has been used historically to refer to 4 different concepts that are inter-related, but are not the same. In lower case usages for it too gnosis refers to relying on gnosis in order to understand the word. That's the simplest thing you can say about it.
Gnosis
Gnosis is a special kind of knowledge. A gnostic is epistemologically grounded in gnosis.
Politics of Education
Paulo Freire refers to it as "gnosciological attitude". Special sight upon the word. A gnostic disposition.
gnosis
Lowercase and specific interpretation that is inline with our concerns here.
- The World is a prison
- Life is a prison that you've been thrown into
- You can become enlightened to this fact
- You can escape it (at least spiritually)
- "gnostic" as a descriptive term (not as a proper noun) means you rely on a special kind of knowledge (revealed knowledge which conveys a higher, ultimate or hidden truth).
- Spiritual in nature and necessary/important to man's salvation from his circumstances
Circumstances
- Flung/thrown into conditions you did not choose
- Heidegger explained being this way
- You didn't ask to be born or to have this body
- You aren't fully happy with this situation
- Pessimistic and resentful disposition
Gnostic vs Hermetic
The pessimistic disposition that you've been flung into a prison of existence that you must escape from.
Knowing you are in the prison is the first piece of secret/hidden knowledge
Dictionary
Gnosis: (American Heritage Dictionary of English) noun - Intuitive apprehension of spiritual truths. Esoteric form of knowledge sought by the Gnostics. Science Knowledge (of the highest kind - specifically, mystical knowledge) The deeper wisdom, knowledge of spiritual truths, as was claimed by the Gnostics. Merriam Webster: esoteric knowledge of spiritual truth held by the ancient Gnostics to be essential to Not just knowing - it's different
Gnosis: (Wikipedia) The common Greek word for knowledge. Is a transcendental as well as mature understanding.
It indicates direct, spiritual, experiential knowledge and intuitive knowledge. Mystic, rather than that from rational or reasoned thinking.
Gnostic means anything relying on Gnosis, but there's a narrower definition of gnostic which is important because it ties into what people typically mean as gnosticism.
Incarcerated View
This pessimistic, incarcerated view of existence and being. You're in a prison by existing at all - you didn't ask for it, and so you deserve to be set free.
There are also specific "Gnostic" definitions or groups, we have at least 2 meanings there. Gnostics may date as far back as the 7th century. May have been a rip-off of things from Genesis. It definitely drew off its synchrontistics - Babylonian and Egyption religions - spin-off sect appears to be the Hermetic religion - one which meets only some of the Gnostic descriptive terms.
Ancient Religion
There was an ancient mystery religion called Gnosticism.
- Creation myth
- Spin off of Genesis (God is a demon - serpent whispering to Eve was speaking the truth, garden created to trap Adam and Eve and keep them subject to a higher spiritual being pretending to be God - the Demiurge)
- Demiurgos: Artisan/Builder
- The Gnostic wishes to be the builder of existence
- This is a more formal version of Gnosticism
Modern Religion
A parasitic mindset which attaches to other things: Christianity, Judaism. Believes it has a secret higher truth, partly where we are trapped in a miserable world, and where the creation myth of that religion is presented as a lie that was told to you (by the powers that be - even a Divine or Falsely-Divine Power).
- Lie obscuring deeper knowledge from you
- You are ultimately a spiritual being who can be set free of bondage
- Must first "gnow" this ;)
Latches onto religions
You have your beliefs, but we know them even better. We know that you know many things, but that it's all a conspiracy to keep you trapped in your circumstances.
- Takes what is in front of it
- Knows secret meaning (Reads Genesis and understands that the serpent is the one telling truth)
- Steals your story
Last Meaning
Fourth meaning: This happened in Christianity in a number of ways as a huge rash in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Many Christian gnostic cults spun off. Valentinian cult - Put down by Irineus Sethian Cult Menecchian Cult: Good and evil are in constant interchange. Good can be done by Evil through some special mechanisms Knowing all these kinds of Gnostic cults is not the point. You will miss the boat of why it's relevant to our lives today. Christians often refer exclusively to this last variation. Some people pin origin, the early heretical church father, as being that sort of Gnostic. They expect strict mythological elements associated with these particular cults.
More Important
Understand Gnosticism as a Disposition (2nd descriptive definition given above) to understand what's going on in the world today. Also important to understand that gnostic in its broadest definition (relying on Gnosis) is critical because the word still applies. Hermeticism as an ancient mystery religion and Gnosticism as an ancient esoteric mystery religion are completely incompatible. They are different and distinct with different creation myths, different orientation towards reality, different orientation toward what it means to be alive. Hermeticism is optimistic while Gnosticism is pessimistic. They are not the same thing and shouldn't be conflated.
Due to synchronistic New Age movement in the middle ages culminating and getting codified by Hegel, they were dialectically synthesized for the Modern and Postmodern eras. It doesn't matter. The truth is that Hermeticism as a separate tradition relies on Gnosis (Secret hidden revealed knowledge), but it doesn't possess the disposition that the Universe and life is a prison.
Becomes more complicated because the Hermetic view thinks that the Divine aspect of Man (the Spirit/Soul) has been trapped inside of a mundane world, but doesn't see it as incarcerated there => it's an opportunity and Religious Duty to transform the Mundane into the Divine. Alchemical goal of turning the mundane into the Divine (lead to gold) by setting free the divine seeds/spark.
The Death (worldly/fallen) thing mitigated through claiming Eternal Life with an Elixir derived from the Alchemy. The Elixir transforms that which is mundane and should die into something that is Divine and does not die.
In Hermeticism, the Gnosis is that we are a spirit trapped into a mundane, earthly world, but the project is to transform and set it free. Transform our world (Agenda 2030). That's a religious duty in hermetcisim - you don't have that gnosticism at all. As a Gnostic, the duty is to know and deny the world and the body to become increasingly ascetic. Withdraw from the world.
The body is incarcerated and the goal is to know and spiritually advance through your knowledge, renounce the world, renounce being and existence and then, usually upon death, to Spiritually advance and escape the prison.
We could go into Buddhism and the cycle of suffering and enlightenment and the beautiful boded savas who achieved this and decided to re-enter the wheel of suffering, etc. When I read Sam Harris' Waking Up I told him he should kill the Buddah.
Dealing with it
There's complicated terminology, but there are two fundamental things that you need to know about Gnosticism that we can build off of:
- Gnosis is a special secret/revealed/sacred knowledge.
- A fundamental and carceral disposition