Plato was a moralist. An ethicist. He was concerned with the primacy of action, of engagement, in a world that was deeply iconoclastic, barbarous, and savage. Love of wisdom allows for the creation of that space where ethical and loving life is possible. This means that eros must remain to any understanding of the self, world, and politeia. … Continue reading Plato’s “Symposium”: The Dramatic Trial of Love
Mythology
Catholicism and the Gothic Psyche, (2/3): Sex, Violence, and the Origins of the Sacred
Gothic horror often deals with sexuality, sexual torment, and graphic violence. One of the common polemical retorts against Catholicism is that it is obsessed with sexuality, sexual violence, and blood imagery. But how did Catholicism arrive at this nexus of the intersectionality of sex, violence, and the sacred? The Biblical account is unclear whether Adam … Continue reading Catholicism and the Gothic Psyche, (2/3): Sex, Violence, and the Origins of the Sacred
Hegel and the Archetypes of Individuals
Hegel, as I’ve said elsewhere (and as most historians and philosophers note), is probably the most important modern philosopher and one of the most influential – if not otherwise generally misunderstood – of all time. Hegel’s philosophy has influenced everything from textual criticism, philosophy of history, notions of being, political philosophy, time, the dialectic, aesthetics, … Continue reading Hegel and the Archetypes of Individuals
Friedrich Schelling’s Philosophy of Mythology
In his series of lectures on the philosophy of mythology, published as the Historical Critical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology, Friedrich Schelling achieves a paradigmatic revolution in German Romantic and idealistic thought that would be influential for later German philosophy and influential upon the psychologist Carl Jung. Schelling, a student and pupil of Fichte and Hegel, … Continue reading Friedrich Schelling’s Philosophy of Mythology
The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 3: The Conquest of Nature and the “Plant of Life”
This essay is abstracted from my lectures on the Epic of Gilgamesh, an audio recording is available below through the YT video: The episode of Gilgamesh and Enkidu slaying Humbaba is one of the more memorable (if not the most memorable) story contained in the epic. It is also a story that any student … Continue reading The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 3: The Conquest of Nature and the “Plant of Life”
The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 2: Enkidu and the Cult of Sex and Civilization
This essay is abstracted from my lectures on the Epic of Gilgamesh, an audio recording is available below through the YT video: The most memorable character of the Epic of Gilgamesh is probably Enkidu, the wild-man created by the god Aruru to rival and challenge Gilgamesh but who befriends Gilgamesh and whose death causes … Continue reading The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 2: Enkidu and the Cult of Sex and Civilization
The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 1: Gilgamesh and the Hegelian “Hero”
This essay is abstracted from my lectures on the Epic of Gilgamesh, an audio recording is available below through the YT video: The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest work of extant literature in the world as of 2018. The text was discovered in the nineteenth century and patched together into a working piece … Continue reading The Philosophy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, 1: Gilgamesh and the Hegelian “Hero”
The Spectacular Violence of the Greek Gods: Hesiod, Homer, and Greek Theodic Tradition
The decline of cultural Christianity, along with intellectual Christianity, has brought with it a debased Atheism without consciousness, inspiration, or stories. It has also been met by a renewed and vigorous neo-“paganism.” The romantic mind of these new pagans, many associated with the so-called Alt-Right, present the portrait of a redeemed paganism that was—ironically—the product … Continue reading The Spectacular Violence of the Greek Gods: Hesiod, Homer, and Greek Theodic Tradition
The Psyche of the Alt-Right: Freud, Myth, and Philosophy
For most people the Alt-Right is a pejorative term wielded by leftists and the liberal establishment who then label their opponents with it with anti-polite society connotations. The Alt-Right is racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, sexist, in order to bypass any substantial or concrete engagement with the Alt-Right. Even alternative “conservative” media misrepresents the Alt-Right, like what … Continue reading The Psyche of the Alt-Right: Freud, Myth, and Philosophy
