In the olden days, the warrior, particularly if he was also a political leader, was glorified. This was embodied in the ideal of the nine worthies. There are no current figures that approach that ideal, and more recent candidates are now too outré to extend the list to include three modern worthies. The worthies represent the state of the fallen world, in which it is necessary to toil and do battle against evil. Continue reading
The being assimilates more or less completely everything of which it is conscious; indeed, there is no true knowledge in any domain whatsoever, other than that which enables us to penetrate into the intimate nature of things, and the degrees of knowledge consist precisely in the measure to which this penetration is more or less profound and results in a more or less complete assimilation. Continue reading
Sense Knowledge Sense knowledge is known through the senses and mediated by thought. There are three inner aspects involved in knowing. Sensation. The senses apprehend an object Imagination. The mind forms and image of the object Intellect. The intellect knows what the object is What the intellect knows is the … Continue reading
Magical Artist Earthly Delights Suppose you saw a seascape that reminded you wistfully of that summer you spent in Cape Code in your youth … wouldn’t you admire the artist? Now suppose there was a magical artist who, Escher-like, managed to paint you yourself into that seascape … how much … Continue reading
A Being is a mix of Act and Potency. Act is what has been actualized, or manifests, i.e., it exists. Potency refers to those qualities of the idea that have not been actualized, yet have the possibility to exist. Existing things are subject to external forces that do not emanate from its essence; these are called accidents. Continue reading
Persuasion is to be in full possession of oneself, to not depend on others, to not be driven by deficiency or lack. Continue reading
The most fundamental idea we believe is that “the world exists prior to and independent of my consciousness of it.” But what was the world like before any conscious beings experienced it? As astronomers gaze into the heavens, they identify stars, planets, asteroids, comets, moons, galaxies, black holes, and so on. But before the astronomer came into being to mark out the heavens in such a way, such things did not exist as such. Continue reading
Freedom is the opposite of compulsion. A serious man takes his life seriously. Continue reading