Yearning for Good, Old-Fashioned Paganism
Give me the dawn of the Greek golden age in philosophy and not the setting of reason’s sun in the gloom, doom and nihilism of postmodernism.
At first thought, while reading the heading, one would think...why paganism...they were mystical barbarians with no conscience. But as you read this short piece you begin to get a sense of what the author is yearning for...and in some cases...so do we.
What's attractive and stunning about the Greek civilization is not their wars, their buildings, not their humanitarian failures nor their form of governance...no that's not it at all...it was a glorious time because for the first time, the delusional voices of the gods ceased and out of all that confusion came some men, for the first time in history, that could begin to think for themselves, by themselves.
As Julian Jaynes reveals, mankind in this region upon earth could finally see the light at the opening of that long mysterious tunnel...the subconscious, a place foreboding until then...as mankind crawled up the steps of consciousness and into his mind, for the first time, he could "begin" to make sense of existence, his behavior, his morals and his actions... guided from that time on... by his own mind.
That must have been an amazing time...to see one's existence for the first time and to investigate all it's nuances.
What was particularly amusing to me was that the author calls the "post modernist", (liberals and progressives)... Neo Pagans...haven't I and others been saying the same thing?...(preconscious pagans with no means of self control... The Alaistar Crowley "be what ever you will" generation.)
At first thought, while reading the heading, one would think...why paganism...they were mystical barbarians with no conscience. But as you read this short piece you begin to get a sense of what the author is yearning for...and in some cases...so do we.
What's attractive and stunning about the Greek civilization is not their wars, their buildings, not their humanitarian failures nor their form of governance...no that's not it at all...it was a glorious time because for the first time, the delusional voices of the gods ceased and out of all that confusion came some men, for the first time in history, that could begin to think for themselves, by themselves.
As Julian Jaynes reveals, mankind in this region upon earth could finally see the light at the opening of that long mysterious tunnel...the subconscious, a place foreboding until then...as mankind crawled up the steps of consciousness and into his mind, for the first time, he could "begin" to make sense of existence, his behavior, his morals and his actions... guided from that time on... by his own mind.
That must have been an amazing time...to see one's existence for the first time and to investigate all it's nuances.
What was particularly amusing to me was that the author calls the "post modernist", (liberals and progressives)... Neo Pagans...haven't I and others been saying the same thing?...(preconscious pagans with no means of self control... The Alaistar Crowley "be what ever you will" generation.)
