{"id":8417,"date":"2015-12-14T00:12:03","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T05:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gornahoor.net\/?p=8417"},"modified":"2021-12-14T09:47:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T14:47:07","slug":"guenon-reader-of-nietzsche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/?p=8417","title":{"rendered":"Guenon Reader of Nietzsche"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOnly literature can give you that feeling of contact with another human spirit, with the totality of that spirit, his weaknesses and grandeurs, his limitations, his pettiness, his obsessions, his beliefs; with whatever moves, interests, excites, or disgusts him. Only literature can grant you access to a spirit of a dead man in a more direct, more complete, and deeper way than you would even have in conversation with a friend\u2014as deep, as lasting as in a friendship. We never open up in a conversation as completely as when we face a blank page, addressing ourselves to an unknown reader. ~ Michel Houellebecq<\/strong>, Submission<\/cite>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In his novel, Submission<\/i>, Michel Houellebecq<\/strong> refers to a philosophy dissertation, held at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, entitled Gu\u00e9non lecteur de Nietzsche<\/em> [Guenon Reader of Nietzsche]<\/em> by Robert Rediger. Over the past several months, I have made several efforts to track down a copy. A dear friend, an employee of the State Department stationed in Brussels, managed to locate a photocopy for me. When she stopped by on the way to visit her family stateside for Christmas, I was able to inspect it during her layover at the airport. Although there was not much time, I tried to extract its main themes.<\/p>\n

The first thing to point out is the deep influence that Rediger\u2019s dissertation had on Houellebecq himself. This is shown in the main themes of the novel as expressed through the voice of Francois, his alter ego. Furthermore, the dissertation brought out several inchoate themes that were filled out in Rediger\u2019s later writings. Obviously, Rene Guenon was never a \u201creader\u201d of Nietzsche. Rediger came to that conclusion when he wrote:<\/p>\n

\nI don\u2019t think Guenon was influenced by Nietzsche especially. His rejection of the modern world was just as vehement as Nietzsche\u2019s, but it had radically different sources.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Decadence<\/h2>\n

So it is not the sources that are of interest, but rather how Guenon and Nietzsche reached similar conclusions. Specifically, there was the recognition of the decadence of Europe, the failure of Christianity to forestall it, and the rise of Islam. Francois notes this:<\/p>\n

\nThe facts were plain: Europe had reached a point of such putrid decomposition that it could no longer save itself, any more than fifth-century Rome could have done. This wave of new immigrants, with their traditional culture\u2014of natural hierarchies, the submission of women, and respect for elders\u2014offered a historic opportunity for the moral and familial rearmament of Europe. These immigrants held out the hope of a new golden age for the old continent.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The USA is likewise in a state of decomposition, although the particular circumstances are quite different. The main difference, of course, is that the European more or less recognizes his situation while his American counterpart is blithely unaware of his real situation. Even those who call themselves conservatives in the USA are in the dark. Right wing talk shows are in a tither about Muslim violence although they, of all people, should be more concerned about those who can kill the soul rather than those who kill the body. Hence, they condemn Islam for everything in it that is traditional. For example, they emphasize the West\u2019s concern for women\u2019s and gay rights, while praising the separation of any spiritual authority over political matters.<\/p>\n

Rediger wryly pointed out:<\/p>\n

\nTheir irrational hostility to Islam should blind them to the obvious: on every question that really mattered, the nativists and the Muslims were in perfect agreement. When it came to rejecting atheism and humanism, or the necessary submission of women, or the return of patriarchy, they were fighting exactly the same fight.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Patriarchy<\/h2>\n

This shows up first of all in the end of patriarchy in the West. In Francois\u2019 words, almost a direct quote from the dissertation:<\/p>\n

\nAt least patriarchy existed. I mean, as a social system it was able to perpetuate itself. There were families with children, and most of them had children. In other words, it worked, where now there aren\u2019t enough children, so we\u2019re finished.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Liberalism could overturn all the established institutions: the churches, education, the workplace, political leaderships, and so on. However, the attack on the family cannot be maintained, for without children, no society can continue to exist.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, liberalism is adamant, while birthrates plummet. There is no longer an organic community but rather a heap of unrelated consumers. Francois lists some examples:<\/p>\n