As I have talked to others who share the perennialist approach to religion and spirituality, I have encountered a troubling number of far-right fanatics who adopt a Heidegger-esque dedication to the destruction of the notion that there is an intelligible universal moral truth. The popularization of this idea is blamed on Judaism, out of which emerged Christianity, and hence liberalism and secularism, and hence Marxism and nihilism -- and the interplay of these ideas ultimately lead to the empty materialist cosmopolitanism of todays West, which they believe destroys high culture, legitimate spirituality, and the ability to speak openly and honestly about differences between people. They believe it has made the world ugly and base, and has rendered people rootless and spiritually lost. Like Heidegger, they see the elimination of Judaism as necessary to this historical task of correcting this error and starting over. Why do some of these people feel attracted to perennialism? (Why were many of the Nazi Party leaders mystics?) Perhaps they feel that, by getting back to the very root of religion and spirituality, we will have a firm foundation on which to start over, a source of new myths to inspire new peoples, who unite around blood and soil, which they take to be the only legitimate basis for political society. Perhaps this demonstrates part of the danger of philosophy -- the uncovering of certain truths seems to intoxicate certain people with a feeling that they are part of a natural elect, and as such are entitled to use other human beings as tools to achieve their desired ends, the greatness of which, as members of the elect, only they have the ability to fully comprehend. As Tim Hulsey pointed out to me last night, Sartre can explain this: the Jew-hater secretly identifies with the Jew. The Jew-hater almost always believes he is an exceptional human being who suffers great persecution -- one who is set apart. I share Nietzsches description of himself: an anti-anti-Semite. Jew-haters are almost always full of resentment, frustration, and impotence, and are almost always consumed by their hatred. These fake perennialists, who often claim Plato as part of their lineage, do not understand the anti-utopian political lesson of Platos Republic: that any political attempt to make the world perfectly beautiful according to abstract doctrines inevitably results in terrible cruelty and horrible abuses of power. But then, they probably do not care, since their interest in Plato is usually limited to their ability to conscript him as an ideological foot-soldier for reactionary dogma.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 03:22:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015