Sunday, September 11, 2022

Gravity and Levity

Our subject is both -- or "both" -- oneness and the One, i.e., the unity of the cosmos. As alluded to in the previous post, not everything that counts can be counted:

The Pythagorean numbers prove that number in itself is not synonymous with quantity pure and simple, for they are essentially qualitative; they are so to the degree that they are close to Unity, their point of departure (Schuon).

This p. of d. is the Principle, don't you know, and this same pattern is fractally present in any ordinary principle, i.e., that from which something else proceeds, and those things it entails. We are always chasing our entailments, i.e., arguing to or from principles, otherwise argument would be impossible -- as it is when arguing with an unprincipled leftist. 

Not to descend immediately into insultainment, but this absence of principles -- or constantly shifting ones, which amounts to the same thing -- is precisely why debating a leftist is like playing chess with a pigeon. 

Again, this is not mere hypocrisy, because hypocrisy requires a principle to violate, when the left's only consistent principle is power; if one's ontology begins with diversity instead of unity, there is no principle with which to arbitrate between diverse truth claims: relativism in, tenure out. Hence,

Engaging in dialogue with those who do not share our assumptions is nothing more than a stupid way to kill time.
You will have noticed that this post-philosophical (and therefore post-reality) absence of principles is both convenient and effective in getting what they want. They run circles around those of us with principles, because they possess an absurcular "freedom" entirely lacking in someone whose intellect is ordered to the One. 

Of course, this is but an inverted caricature of actual freedom, but those have been Famous Last Words ever since Socrates gulped the hemlock. We have Aphoristic confirmation:

As long as they do not take him seriously, the man who speaks the truth can live for a while in a democracy. Then, the hemlock.

Or cross, gulag, firing squad and other methods of Power.

Truthlessness is at once another word for nihilism, but it is implicitly in service to the power and self-interest that is its downward telos. Which is why leftists are always so fired up with pseudo-meaning -- i.e., the Drama of Activism -- because it is a frantic defense mechanism against the unconscious (but necessary) absence of meaning. 

In other words, no one gets excited about 2 + 2 = 4, or supply and demand, or men aren't women. But people are insanely passionate about Math is an oppressive tool of white patriarchy!, or Printing more money will cure inflation!, or Cutting off my johnson makes me a woman! (whatever that is).

Arguing will get you nowhere, because

A few lines are enough to demonstrate a truth. Not even a library is enough to refute an error.

Yesterday I read a horrible story about a young Mexican psychologist who is getting his license yanked and his PhD revoked for merely defending the traditional values that all sane human beings held until about five minutes ago. 

I can sympathize, because there is simply no way I could pass the oral exam today. Or, I could, but I would have to lie through me teeth. Think about that: you can only be granted a license to treat souls in California if you take a pledge to deny reality!

You're probably thinking Bob is exaggerating to make a point or a joke, but Bob never exaggerates, nor does he have a point (truth being its own point). I just checked the website of the California Psychological Association, which would require a library to refute, but this gives a flavor of the evil and insanity:

We believe that Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, where the therapist's intent is to direct, redirect, or influence an individual's sexual orientation, are potentially harmful and have no place as a part of legitimate psychological practice. 

In other words, they want it to be against the law to help some lost soul figure out why he thinks he's a she. But once you've ditched the principle of identity -- AKA non-contradiction -- then all things are possible. No biology, no problem!

Damn. This post is slipping away from me. UNITY. According to Schuon,

Unity is the first principle that penetrates and regulates universal Manifestation, in the sense that on the one hand it projects its reflections everywhere, and on the other hand brings phenomena back to Unity.

How does this Unity get so messed up? That's actually a good question, and I think you'll agree that there is only one conceivable being in all of creation who could possibly mess it up. I want to say that only a disordered will could fracture the unity of things, and maybe that's what it means to be "fallen."

I promise to maintain my focus in the next post, and not fall for the low-hanging fruitcakes.

26 comments:

Gagdad Bob said...

Speaking of progressive racists and the unity of reality, I see Feser has a new book called All One in Christ: A Catholic Critique of Racism and Critical Race Theory.

Gagdad Bob said...

Good thing practicing philosophy in California doesn't require a license, or Feser's would be revoked immediately.

julie said...

In other words, no one gets excited about 2 + 2 = 4, or supply and demand, or men aren't women. But people are insanely passionate about Math is an oppressive tool of white patriarchy!, or Printing more money will cure inflation!, or Cutting off my johnson makes me a woman!

There was an interesting video in last night's overnight thread, where a black man & black woman were discussing the general attitude of black women toward black men. It started with generalizations, but quickly devolved to the woman complaining that men will often tell her to smile. Astute observers in the comments were quick to note that during the whole conversation, the only time she ever smiled was when he was berating her, but when she talked about smiling she was angry.

julie said...

In other words, they want it to be against the law to help some lost soul figure out why he thinks he's a she.

Bad enough that the psychological establishment has gotten so awful, but the same madness is leaking into medicine in general.

There was a Twitter link I saw somewhere yesterday, that showed a before and after of a very young woman who had undergone top surgery. Comments were evenly divided between those who saw what was done as the horror that it is, and those who were insisting that the surgery was somehow magically transformative.

Gagdad Bob said...

They're also admitting the Diverse into medical school with grades & MCAT scores that would absolutely disqualify any white or Asian. That will turn out well.

julie said...

Yep. I weep for the future of medical advances that will no longer be possible in my or my children's lifetimes because potemkin science became all the rage.

Gagdad Bob said...

I'm reading a book on healthcare in early America called Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic, and it seems we've come full circle. A medical student from the 1840s ruefully observed that "a boy who proved unfit for anything else must become a Doctor." Credit him for honesty.

Gagdad Bob said...

"The most insecure doctors became the most vocal in their defense of extreme treatments," AKA quackery

julie said...

On the plus side, for a lot of ordinary problems I've found good solutions that help avoid a doctor visit if you know where to look. Amazon reviews can be surprisingly helpful for some things. Obviously not for major or acute issues, but sometimes things that have been hard to treat by approved means almost magically disappear when treated by something simple.

I think we've been in the days where it's good to have your own basic working knowledge of family medicine for a while, but more and more people are starting to notice.

Gagdad Bob said...

Elvis was ahead of the curve: he kept a PDR at his bedside in order to keep up with the latest medications and know what to request from Dr. Nick!

julie said...

Ha - works for me.

Hi, Dr. Nick!

Only trouble with that is how often a treatment changes from "this medication is the first line of treatment for condition x" to "don't ever use this for condition x! Use this other drug instead!" Oops. Whoopsie!

Gagdad Bob said...

I believe the first antidepressant started out as a decongestant. And decongestants such as Sudafed can cause a bit of euphoria.

Gagdad Bob said...

Sudafed and beer, the poor man's speedball.

Gagdad Bob said...

Or so says Dupree.

julie said...

I once took an energy drink shortly after taking sudafed for a cold. That was an interesting experience I don't care to repeat, but I understand now where methheads get all that energy.

Cousin Dupree said...

Sudafed + energy drink, then beer. Thanks for the tip!

julie said...

I am not responsible if you wake up in a jail cell, is all I'm saying...

Byron Nightjoy said...

Bob - do you have a link to the story about that unfortunate Mexican fellow? How appalling!

Gagdad Bob said...

Right here. Another line in the sand bas been crossed. When will people fight back and say this aggression will not stand?

Gagdad Bob said...

If only there were a professional group representing the interests of sane psychologists...

Gagdad Bob said...

Even the AMA isn't fighting the lowering of standards to admit more underachieving doctors of color, proving once again that for the left, resentment and/or virtue-signaling trump self-interest

julie said...

It's surprising to see that this is such a problem in Mexico. I hadn't realized they were already so culturally converged.

Gagdad Bob said...

The Church would already be outlawed in California if it weren't for the inconvenient fact that most of the illegal Democrats are Catholic.

Anonymous said...

Heaven and Hell are wihin our universal subconscious with most of us being in the sphere of influence of where they overlap. The Prophet channelling God and the inventor of a Weapon of Mass Destruction channelling The Devil, another example of Pro Life and Pro Choice. My Body My Choice. Whose Choice the Body of The Waiting To Be Born Child. Has a Dominant Conjoined Twin the right to kill It`s Sibling.In these end times global governing bodies are removing obstacles to Satan`s expression. End Times indeed. As Man has no knowledge as to the extent of Cosmic Order is it wise to proceed with The Space Program seeing as it whiffs of The Tower of Babel.

Cousin Dupree said...

Can I Buy Some Pot From You?

Grenn Boots said...

It's not pot Dupree. Probably something far darker and more insidious, like summit fever.

Theme Song

Theme Song