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Apr 17, 2007 22:52

 We have passed the Modernism. Modernism taught that the Man is infinitely perfectible, that the world is shaped by reason, and that all problems are caused by the prejudices, obscuring the light of Reason. Sapere aude! Dare to think! And all will be good. Let the Reason rule, and it will shape the world to be perfect. As Kant teaches, the world of appearances is created by Reason, and therefore what we think is right. We don't need traditions and revelations - in fact, they are the problems, they obscure the pure light of Reason.

But by now the pure light of Reason has grown rather dim. The new ruling theory is that the world of appearances is not created by pure and good Reason, but by oppression (whose? bad dead European males? perhaps rather Demiurgos?). It is a half-baked and timid Gnosticism. We are taught to worship "The Other", but it is very difficult to learn who or what is that "Other". We can learn that forces of science are function of feelings, and that past is Geworfenheit, our being thrown into the world. But no one dares quite say that it is Jaldabaoth who created the world from rejected feelings and who has thrown stolen parts of the One into it.

Heidegger attempted to destroy language, and had quite notable successes. Now the time have come to move from the field of philosophy and use that victory to destroy the morality, that evil chain with which Jaldabaoth and his Archons managed to bind us.

But, perhaps I don't look deep enough. The essence of Gnosis does not lie in names and mythologies - each Gnostic invented his own, to show their ultimate meaninglessness. Gnosis does not mean learned knowledge. It is not pistis. It is an experienced knowledge.

It lies in the discovery of inversion. What was good is evil, and the real good is Other, Outside. That is the real point. Each ancient religion has its gnostic reflection, Christianity, Neoplatonism, Zoroastrianism, even Taoism. Perhaps now we are nearer true Gnosis than in time of the old gnostics, who were too bound with language to attain true meaninglessness.

For similarities between Gnosis and Heidegger see Hans Jonas Religion of Gnosis.

Now we see the gnostic reflection and inversion of the religion of Reason. It was rather sorry religion from the beginning, and now the inversion is nearly perfect.

There is another important element of Gnosis - the humanity is divided between Perfects and the rest, between Pneumatics, Psychics and the bestial Somatics. This is, to a degree, common point with Modernity, which divided men into Enlightened and Benighted. Benighted were to be Enlightened - whether they like it or not.

According to Gnosis, Psychics could be enlightened. Somatics, the majority, were simly naked apes, and for them there was no hope.
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