Pepe Escobar has written a short essay on his favorite non-geopolitical topic: Philosophy and its history of thought, “We should all be Stoics now,” Although it wasn’t ever a requirement for any degree except for one in Philosophy, as a History Major, it made sense to take at least the Intro course, which I did from a very well-studied prof back in 1997, and was a huge challenge to merit an A from.
I was surprised to read this by Pepe but also delighted. Although I confess I had a similar experience with this one that I do with many of his pieces: I don't quite understand most of what he says and come away wondering if it is my stupidity and ignorance or his compositional style.
That said, I found that long book and downloaded it and hope to slowly work through at some point. I think the biggest differences between East and West have to do with vocabulary-language on the one hand, and the ever-changing zeitgeists we go through on the other. For example, we cannot imagine - most of us - how people viewed reality only two hundred years ago in our own nations, let alone other civilizations. Reaching back hundreds of years, or even two millennia, is quite a stretch especially, again, given serious vocabulary issues.
For example: what did people two thousands years ago in Greece mean by 'the gods'? Can it be translated into modern English in a way that we can understand what they meant by it? Doubtful. And even if so, there is a great difference between esoterically informed Christian English, materialist-modernist English, philosophical English or yogic informed English, each of which would understand the gods or neoplatonism or pneuma/spirit/prana/chi quite differently.
My impression is that strong spiritual traditions have generally travelled world wide throughout human history; in ancient times maybe it took a couple of centuries whereas now it is more rapid; but the speed of travel has less to do with travel logistics as cultural density. The less ignorant a culture the faster it can absorb new inputs; the more ignorant the less open it is to improvements or deeper wisdom and the more prone to rejecting any such new streams. I fear we are in a latter period now so despite all our interconnectivity etc., which is very real, our international modernist fixation on the materialist-mechanistic ways of viewing reality and running our societies is so entrenched that it will be quite some time before we can a) reconnect with perennial philosophy-wisdom-spirituality sufficiently to create a new international synthesis that will inform a new civilization at some point.
Time will tell. Thanks for putting that article up. Good on Pepe!!
Understanding how other people think is key to knowing what sorts of things they might have that will enhance your society--think of how trading was accomplished thousands of years ago, how embassies were established to facilitate relations beyond trade. Prehistory established what history would later record. The sailing metaphor is key.
'Launch your boat of the mind and sail away from the current reality while learning something instead of watching some mindless TV program. Your peace-of-mind and your blood pressure will thank you.'
Too busy with MoA, karlof1, and managing my finances to renew and expand on my Latin School background from more than sixty years ago. I am spending most of June in Greece and will give it a shot then.
As I implied, to few are motivated to learn how to think critically as that's the key point of philosophy, thus no deep thinkers here in the West, especially here in the Empire.
Schweitzer remarks that Stoicism was the most formative influence on him. When a high schooler, I was invited by students at the relatively new Claremont School of Theology to discuss modern theology with them. They were aghast when I mentioned that Schweitzer was a Stoic. They didn't dispute it. They marveled how I would know that and challenged my bona fides. (I read Hegel since 6th grade.)
Pepe and commenters here want to connect concepts and cultures ancient and modern. This is commendable, worthwhile. However, denigrating Christianity into the bargain is wasted effort. India is the spiritual -- in both senses Pepe identifies, breath and fire -- heart of the planet. Every philosophical, theological, and moral prius of every religion and culture ever devised by man can be traced to an Indian archetype. (This seminal truth was rediscovered most recently by the great German linguists of the 18th and 19th Centuries.)
The spirit of our age is in-gathering. What compels our condemnation is condemnation itself. Jesus spent 18 years in India and Tibet, mostly Tibet, before His crucifixion at Jerusalem, and about as many years as that after His resurrection traveling what we call Eurasia and Southeast Asia. He was poor his whole life.
Philosophers and Theologians reared in Latin Christian civilization do not grasp and so do not discuss -- yet -- that Jesus of Nazareth, The Christ of God, is a plenary soteriological Power of God but not an Avatar of God.
Nothing in Christian ecumenical doctrine -- e.g. Nicaea, Chalcedon -- is false -- albeit in language rightly may be deemed unclear, albeit by virtue of the incapacities of language itself -- useless, unnecessary, superfluous, or pernicious. It's not all good. But it is all useful.
I should mention that The Claremont School of Theology was relatively new then in Claremont. It was not relative new per se. It had been the Methodist seminary attached to The University of Southern California -- a Methodist foundation -- who secularized in the 1950s, making their School of Theology anathema to their ambitions.
I know exactly where that's at and had kin attend it. Maternal side was Methodist. Great Grandfather was a Methodist preacher who reputedly turned my Grandfather into a Stoic, but he passed away well before I could test that surmise.
I knew Gail through The Oil Drum and ASPO-USA, but the last time we talked was at Houston in 2007. I look at the energy picture and closely follow Russian and Chinese future plans in that area. On the food front, Russia is the big future player there as I'll write about in the future. My article about Putin down on the farm several months back sheds some light in that direction. The topic of your second paragraph has always troubled me since we are lied to by our parents and society at a very young age and those lies are never atoned for--Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Valentine's, Thanksgiving, and religion generally being magical thinking. Note how early belief in the Narrative is inculcated and the dilemma that raises in young minds when they realize it's all a lie. All that combined is why IMO Asian societies are healthier. IMO, we'll soon see if that's the case.
TOD had ballooned into a much bigger project than what was envisioned by the two academics that founded it. The financial dynamics of the Great Ponzi Scheme altered what was happening in the oil patch and the reality of financial fracking was beyond the ken of most commentators who were mostly engineers. TOD Archive shows just how complex it was getting and the site didn't generate its own income, which was another big issue. It was either admit ads that nobody wanted or shut it down and the latter was chosen.
When you read the Farm article, pay attention to what the farmers are saying about their potential, and not just for that region. Recovering and cleaning Great Russian lands will also add to that output.
Your comment unexpectedly reinforced an observation of mine that “as we age, the world shrinks”. The Oil Drum was what initially pulled me down the ‘blogosphere rabbit hole’- I well remember “Gail the actuary”s posts and role in administrating and moderating there- I dove in following the unfolding nightmare of the BP ‘Macondo” well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. That desire to wrap my head around the untold billions (still in litigation I’m sure) and “follow the money” brought me to Naked Capitalism, Michael Hudson, Pepe Escobar (h/t the Saker blog), Ukraine, MoA and now Karlof1. What a long strange trip it’s been - “the more you learn, the less you know”. I look forward to increasing my learning and knowledge will catch up or it won’t- the journey is the reality but I think those Stoics are on to something- another book for the pending pile 🙄!
I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression “great minds think alike” - I’ve entertained that plan for much of my life. Dimitry Orlov had a second Patreon blog where he was developing plans for a “houseboat that sails” that he dubbed the Quidnon- built with basic materials, Chinese junk sails/ rigging- he got as far as building a small working mock-up to evaluate its geometry and stability in the water- results were encouraging but efforts to bring an affordable DIY kit to market were bedeviling- last I heard, he emigrated with the missus to be a “ landlubber “ in Russia- like the Saker, he was born outside the USSR and I imagine had his fill of the Unipolar Hegemon. Haven’t looked in a while, but I’d guess the Quidnon site is still there even if inactive- the plans are pretty complete and doable without major infrastructure commitments- a worthy pipe dream imo. Go well!
I preferred the trimaran layout and almost bought a 54-foot example, but that was when I was younger and decided my duties to family were greater than my hedonistic desires. Now I'm happily stuck, but I do own a boat; it's just not an escape tool, although it's escapist at times.
I was surprised to read this by Pepe but also delighted. Although I confess I had a similar experience with this one that I do with many of his pieces: I don't quite understand most of what he says and come away wondering if it is my stupidity and ignorance or his compositional style.
That said, I found that long book and downloaded it and hope to slowly work through at some point. I think the biggest differences between East and West have to do with vocabulary-language on the one hand, and the ever-changing zeitgeists we go through on the other. For example, we cannot imagine - most of us - how people viewed reality only two hundred years ago in our own nations, let alone other civilizations. Reaching back hundreds of years, or even two millennia, is quite a stretch especially, again, given serious vocabulary issues.
For example: what did people two thousands years ago in Greece mean by 'the gods'? Can it be translated into modern English in a way that we can understand what they meant by it? Doubtful. And even if so, there is a great difference between esoterically informed Christian English, materialist-modernist English, philosophical English or yogic informed English, each of which would understand the gods or neoplatonism or pneuma/spirit/prana/chi quite differently.
My impression is that strong spiritual traditions have generally travelled world wide throughout human history; in ancient times maybe it took a couple of centuries whereas now it is more rapid; but the speed of travel has less to do with travel logistics as cultural density. The less ignorant a culture the faster it can absorb new inputs; the more ignorant the less open it is to improvements or deeper wisdom and the more prone to rejecting any such new streams. I fear we are in a latter period now so despite all our interconnectivity etc., which is very real, our international modernist fixation on the materialist-mechanistic ways of viewing reality and running our societies is so entrenched that it will be quite some time before we can a) reconnect with perennial philosophy-wisdom-spirituality sufficiently to create a new international synthesis that will inform a new civilization at some point.
Time will tell. Thanks for putting that article up. Good on Pepe!!
Understanding how other people think is key to knowing what sorts of things they might have that will enhance your society--think of how trading was accomplished thousands of years ago, how embassies were established to facilitate relations beyond trade. Prehistory established what history would later record. The sailing metaphor is key.
'Launch your boat of the mind and sail away from the current reality while learning something instead of watching some mindless TV program. Your peace-of-mind and your blood pressure will thank you.'
Too busy with MoA, karlof1, and managing my finances to renew and expand on my Latin School background from more than sixty years ago. I am spending most of June in Greece and will give it a shot then.
Lucky you! I could easily stand a month on Crete.
Thanks for the pointer Karl. Very invigorating and much food for thought. Will proceed to the Archive site register and donate as advised.
Pepe has made a couple of appearances at 'Dialogue Works'; the most recent is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ3RN6FxZ2U
The article is informative in an artful/artistic way and mirrors the aforementioned DW episode.
I was particularly taken by the image of the flame that lays down and is transformed.
Yes, ok. I personally think that we should revisits our own Western tradition and understand it…..it is far from clear that it is the case.
As I implied, to few are motivated to learn how to think critically as that's the key point of philosophy, thus no deep thinkers here in the West, especially here in the Empire.
Schweitzer remarks that Stoicism was the most formative influence on him. When a high schooler, I was invited by students at the relatively new Claremont School of Theology to discuss modern theology with them. They were aghast when I mentioned that Schweitzer was a Stoic. They didn't dispute it. They marveled how I would know that and challenged my bona fides. (I read Hegel since 6th grade.)
Pepe and commenters here want to connect concepts and cultures ancient and modern. This is commendable, worthwhile. However, denigrating Christianity into the bargain is wasted effort. India is the spiritual -- in both senses Pepe identifies, breath and fire -- heart of the planet. Every philosophical, theological, and moral prius of every religion and culture ever devised by man can be traced to an Indian archetype. (This seminal truth was rediscovered most recently by the great German linguists of the 18th and 19th Centuries.)
The spirit of our age is in-gathering. What compels our condemnation is condemnation itself. Jesus spent 18 years in India and Tibet, mostly Tibet, before His crucifixion at Jerusalem, and about as many years as that after His resurrection traveling what we call Eurasia and Southeast Asia. He was poor his whole life.
Philosophers and Theologians reared in Latin Christian civilization do not grasp and so do not discuss -- yet -- that Jesus of Nazareth, The Christ of God, is a plenary soteriological Power of God but not an Avatar of God.
Nothing in Christian ecumenical doctrine -- e.g. Nicaea, Chalcedon -- is false -- albeit in language rightly may be deemed unclear, albeit by virtue of the incapacities of language itself -- useless, unnecessary, superfluous, or pernicious. It's not all good. But it is all useful.
I should mention that The Claremont School of Theology was relatively new then in Claremont. It was not relative new per se. It had been the Methodist seminary attached to The University of Southern California -- a Methodist foundation -- who secularized in the 1950s, making their School of Theology anathema to their ambitions.
I know exactly where that's at and had kin attend it. Maternal side was Methodist. Great Grandfather was a Methodist preacher who reputedly turned my Grandfather into a Stoic, but he passed away well before I could test that surmise.
I knew Gail through The Oil Drum and ASPO-USA, but the last time we talked was at Houston in 2007. I look at the energy picture and closely follow Russian and Chinese future plans in that area. On the food front, Russia is the big future player there as I'll write about in the future. My article about Putin down on the farm several months back sheds some light in that direction. The topic of your second paragraph has always troubled me since we are lied to by our parents and society at a very young age and those lies are never atoned for--Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Valentine's, Thanksgiving, and religion generally being magical thinking. Note how early belief in the Narrative is inculcated and the dilemma that raises in young minds when they realize it's all a lie. All that combined is why IMO Asian societies are healthier. IMO, we'll soon see if that's the case.
TOD had ballooned into a much bigger project than what was envisioned by the two academics that founded it. The financial dynamics of the Great Ponzi Scheme altered what was happening in the oil patch and the reality of financial fracking was beyond the ken of most commentators who were mostly engineers. TOD Archive shows just how complex it was getting and the site didn't generate its own income, which was another big issue. It was either admit ads that nobody wanted or shut it down and the latter was chosen.
When you read the Farm article, pay attention to what the farmers are saying about their potential, and not just for that region. Recovering and cleaning Great Russian lands will also add to that output.
Your comment unexpectedly reinforced an observation of mine that “as we age, the world shrinks”. The Oil Drum was what initially pulled me down the ‘blogosphere rabbit hole’- I well remember “Gail the actuary”s posts and role in administrating and moderating there- I dove in following the unfolding nightmare of the BP ‘Macondo” well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. That desire to wrap my head around the untold billions (still in litigation I’m sure) and “follow the money” brought me to Naked Capitalism, Michael Hudson, Pepe Escobar (h/t the Saker blog), Ukraine, MoA and now Karlof1. What a long strange trip it’s been - “the more you learn, the less you know”. I look forward to increasing my learning and knowledge will catch up or it won’t- the journey is the reality but I think those Stoics are on to something- another book for the pending pile 🙄!
I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression “great minds think alike” - I’ve entertained that plan for much of my life. Dimitry Orlov had a second Patreon blog where he was developing plans for a “houseboat that sails” that he dubbed the Quidnon- built with basic materials, Chinese junk sails/ rigging- he got as far as building a small working mock-up to evaluate its geometry and stability in the water- results were encouraging but efforts to bring an affordable DIY kit to market were bedeviling- last I heard, he emigrated with the missus to be a “ landlubber “ in Russia- like the Saker, he was born outside the USSR and I imagine had his fill of the Unipolar Hegemon. Haven’t looked in a while, but I’d guess the Quidnon site is still there even if inactive- the plans are pretty complete and doable without major infrastructure commitments- a worthy pipe dream imo. Go well!
I preferred the trimaran layout and almost bought a 54-foot example, but that was when I was younger and decided my duties to family were greater than my hedonistic desires. Now I'm happily stuck, but I do own a boat; it's just not an escape tool, although it's escapist at times.