As opposed to Christianity, which was never tried (as Chesterton correctly reminded us), science was tried and failed. Such was the science of Galileo and Descartes of course; a three hundred years long experiment in the, otherwise short, history of human self-denial. There remains just one overarching question that is still waiting for an answer today: how did we get to this? How did we come to “the mess in which we find ourselves”?
In order to answer this very important question, we need to understand two objective elements, and two only; one is historical, the other counterfactual. The historical prerogative consists in knowing (to the point that it is realistic for us to know) what existed before it. The spurious effort is to penetrate (to the point that it is permissible for us to penetrate) the mind of those few men and women who saw, fugitively within, an alternative world receding into the present. Everything, you see, falls into one or the other category.
Take for example Burtt’s “The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science”, his is an insightful enquiry into the historical element. In very simple terms, he says, “we have followed Galileo and banished man [there is fragmentary evidence that in effect, he did exist before], with his memory and purpose, out of the real world.” (p.85). Similarly for, let’s say, Toynbee’s “Mankind and Mother Earth”, a meticulous account of how we came to eliminate everything that was of some biological value on Earth, until “no deadly enemy of Man now survived in the biosphere except Man himself.” (p.569).
The last two passages which you kindy quote are examples of the latter. The first could have been taken from one of the most inspired pages of “Le Comité Invisible”. The second is very sincere. We must not forget though, that the ultimate inner exploration (adhyātmavidyā) is journey of return, it culminates in samsāra for the Mahāyāna and central schools. It is either in the here and now or it is truly nowhere. As Bergson once put it, a hero is a madman who has found the way back home.
Dear Ulrich,
Thanks for your contribution, a lamppost in the adventure. Namaste 🙏🌻😊 Harrie
As opposed to Christianity, which was never tried (as Chesterton correctly reminded us), science was tried and failed. Such was the science of Galileo and Descartes of course; a three hundred years long experiment in the, otherwise short, history of human self-denial. There remains just one overarching question that is still waiting for an answer today: how did we get to this? How did we come to “the mess in which we find ourselves”?
In order to answer this very important question, we need to understand two objective elements, and two only; one is historical, the other counterfactual. The historical prerogative consists in knowing (to the point that it is realistic for us to know) what existed before it. The spurious effort is to penetrate (to the point that it is permissible for us to penetrate) the mind of those few men and women who saw, fugitively within, an alternative world receding into the present. Everything, you see, falls into one or the other category.
Take for example Burtt’s “The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science”, his is an insightful enquiry into the historical element. In very simple terms, he says, “we have followed Galileo and banished man [there is fragmentary evidence that in effect, he did exist before], with his memory and purpose, out of the real world.” (p.85). Similarly for, let’s say, Toynbee’s “Mankind and Mother Earth”, a meticulous account of how we came to eliminate everything that was of some biological value on Earth, until “no deadly enemy of Man now survived in the biosphere except Man himself.” (p.569).
The last two passages which you kindy quote are examples of the latter. The first could have been taken from one of the most inspired pages of “Le Comité Invisible”. The second is very sincere. We must not forget though, that the ultimate inner exploration (adhyātmavidyā) is journey of return, it culminates in samsāra for the Mahāyāna and central schools. It is either in the here and now or it is truly nowhere. As Bergson once put it, a hero is a madman who has found the way back home.