Translation: Sophia Polyankina, Diana Shakirtianova, and Daria Seregina. The Sun of the North translator's team.»
I, Pedro, in this homage to Daria Platonova Dugina, murdered by Kiev and USA's secret services, on 20 August 2024, I've added some underlining and short notes written in portuguese, these ones between [...]. Acrescentei alguns comentários em português, entre [...] e sublinhei as partes que senti mais importantes.
«Eschatological Optimism: Origins, Evolution, Main Directions.
We remind you that you can support the project
with a donate. A link to our group on VKontakte and the site will be
sent to the chat. If you have technical problems, you can visit our
group on VKontakte or re-enter the conference. During the lecture, you
can ask questions via chat, and at the end of the lecture you will have
the opportunity to turn on the microphone. Daria, the floor is yours.
- Yes, thank you very much for the invitation. The
sound is okay, I hope you can hear me. Today I would like to give a kind
of an interactive lecture because all those theses and hypotheses,
which I'm going to share, still seem vague to me. Therefore, they are
rather such contours of thought, contours of a project, contours of a
probable understanding of the historical and philosophical process.
[Valiosa visão e compreensão da subtileza e mobilidade dos pensamento, ideias, conceitos nos processos de conhecimento histórico e filosofico.] For
this reason, I welcome questions during the lecture in the chat, I've
opened it. I'm looking at it now, so you can directly ask questions and
be active participants. Accordingly, your questions will to some extent
guide me in my reasoning. [Grande humildade da parte da Daria Dugina, de querer dialogar para aprender, ao ser capaz de se adaptar no decorrer do seu discurso, sem se perder.]
The topic of eschatological optimism is a rather
dangerous and complex topic. It is dangerous because it has never been
developed up to this point, it is fraught with many traps, many
inaccuracies. When I was trying to prepare for today's lecture, I
realized that although such a hypothesis of eschatological optimism can
explain many historical and philosophical processes, give them content
and additional dimensions, additional context and depth, there are still
a lot of questions. So while preparing, I was constantly questioning
myself and searching for contradictions. On the other hand, I thought
that I have every right to bring this hypothesis to your discussion,
because in the end, those doctrines that converge are always imperfect.
Remember Jean Baudrillard wrote that passing away, one has to leave the
world no less complicated than it was. Therefore, to a certain extent,
there are some contradictions, difficulties, some imbalances, including
the understanding of eschatology, for example, in antiquity and in the
Christian context. I think that, on the one hand, this will complicate
the current process of studying eschatological optimism. On the other
hand, it will preserve the necessity of thought, preserve its living
principle, preserve its living existence, its life.
To begin with, I would like to say that Eschatological optimism can be considered from two points of view.
- Firstly, it can be taken as a hypothesis for
getting acquainted with the historical and philosophical process and
regard certain thinkers as eschatological optimists. This will help to
highlight the two following strands in their works. These are the
recognition of the finiteness of the world that is given to us,
relatively speaking the «finiteness of the illusion», and, despite this
illusory nature and the recognition of the world given as absolutely
illusory, some positive and volitional attitude towards this illusion.
In other words, this is not just an awareness of the end, an awareness
of an eventual death, an awareness of accepting this death into your
life. This is also a moment of decision to resist it at the same time.
This is a moment of such a radical transcendence, a radical «no» to this
world and a radical «yes» to the world that is on the other side of the
illusion. [Como o desconhecmos, e em geral apenas se idealiza, é complexo.] This is a hypothesis for reading the texts, i.e. in this way
we can see how different thinkers highlight the finiteness of the
illusion, a simulacrum of what surrounds us and a positive, volitional
attitude towards the end of the illusion. We can approach the texts of
almost all historians of philosophy, all philosophers in this way.
Today, however, I will I will focus on Platonism, Neoplatonism, the
Hegelian system, Nietzscheanism and Cioranism. As you see, it is even
scary to list these schools of thought, to speak of a voluminous
heritage of the historical and philosophical tradition. It goes without
saying that each of these philosophers deserves a separate lecture or
even a course. But today we will try to try to experiment in our short
time allotted for the lecture and somehow address this issue.
- Secondly, eschatological optimism can be
understood not only as a hypothesis, not only as an interpretive grid,
not only as a code for cracking this or that text, but also as a vital
philosophical strategy. [Bom conselho de visão supra-efemeridade]. In fact, all the thinkers whom I have already
mentioned today and whom I have just brought into the focus of our
attention, they were eschatological optimists, in my opinion. Moreover,
it was them who accepted the finiteness of the world along with this
will to live. If you remember one of René Guénon's book ends with this
formula (...... la fin du monde est comme la fin des illusions) «do not
forget that the end of the world is nothing but the end of illusions». [Uma valiosa citação de Rene Guénon trazida à colação acerca do fim do mundo ser também o fim de todas as ilusões..., pelo menos na Terra, pois pode-se passar ainda com alma cheia, ou apanhada nelas, para o além...]
Accordingly, eschatological optimism, in addition
to being a code for some of the works that we will talk about today, is
also a feasible philosophical strategy in life. We are already living in
the era of the possible end of the world, of pandemic, of various
natural and political, geopolitical and philosophical disasters, we have
witnessed the arrival of a completely new element, this
deterritorialized thinking. I mean the thinking of an object-oriented
ontology. This is also, to some extent, the end of philosophy, the end
of the world. Consequently, we are in need of a life strategy of
eschatological optimism. What else can one do realizing that some
mythical substance called «Coronavirus» is spreading around like a virus
in such a rhizomatic way? In fact, now I am also isolating myself
because of this phenomenon. That’s why eschatological optimism can also
be the point, the starting point for living and for understanding the
scheme of how one can survive. Survive and live with an orientation to
something other than the given reality and illusory nature of the world. [Chamada a sermos mais heróicos e determinados no confronto com o mundo.]
The second point that is extremely important for
analysis in Plato's Republic is the seventh book, the myth of the cave. I
think I will not retell it, the listeners are all prepared, I think
they are well versed in Platonism. Here, in the myth of the cave, I will
briefly remind you what Polis means (an answer to Vladislav, Polis is
the Greek state). As for the myth of the cave, when the philosopher
leaves the cave, he breaks these shackles, rises through the ritual,
rises through a procession that carries banners, some ritual figures. He
comes out into the light and then has some kind of Theurgical, mystical
experience of his awareness of what is actually authentic and what is
not. [Valioso aprofundamento descritivo e iluminativo do mito da Caverna, pois realça que quando se sai da caverna há depois uma prática espiritual (que será tanto de teurgia de culto como de meditação e visão interior] e um acesso a um estado mais claro e penetrante da essência da realidade, que essa pessoa e agora Daria explicitará como sendo a percepção do que é o Bem, e o que são as ideias superiores, arquétipas, libertadoras e que a pessoa tentará depois implementar entre os seus próximos ou cidadãos]. In other words, he experiences a radical break with the reality
that he took to some extent for reality. The reality that he left turns
out to be illusory. After that, after his certain look at the other
world, at the world of Good, the world of ideas, he is obliged to return
to the cave. And as you remember, Socrates says that this is what
distinguishes our philosopher from other philosophers. In any other
Polis, the return would not be necessary, but in our Polis, he says to
Glaucon, such a return is inevitable and essential. And this moment of
returning to the illusion to create happiness in this illusion not for
oneself, but for others - this is the moment of eschatological optimism.
So, knowing that there, the space «there», the space «under», the space
of the cave is the space of illusion. To return there and try to open
the eyelids, to remove the shackles of the captives – this is to some
extent what I call eschatological optimism. Again, this concept of
eschatological optimism is rather poetic in nature. I do not pretend it
to be a philosophical concept. [Uma posição modesta mas acertada para dar ou permitir mais criatividade dinâmica livre]. It is rather such a metaphorical image
that will make it possible to understand what paradigmatic points are
there in the history of philosophy. Such eschatological optimism is a
kind of metaphor that just describes, from my point of view, such a sad
descent of a philosopher back into this world.
If we move on to a more interesting, hotter, even
more mystical topic as Platonism of cataphatic and apophatic theology,
we will also find the statement that God or the One is incomprehensible.
Here I am already interpreting kataphatics and apophatics through the
eyes of Neoplatonic school of thought, i.e., Proclus and his analysis of
the Commentary on Parmenides (the sixth book). In this book he analyzes
cataphatic and apophatic theology. There he argues that cataphatic is
the theology that speaks of the One, His predicates, raising each
predicate to the highest degree, i.e., the most gorgeous, the most
beautiful, the most intelligent. Apophatic theology speaks of the One,
which is on the other side of everything (επικανε της ουσίας), on the
other side of our world, on the other side of illusoriness. It cannot be
described by any word, It is absolutely transcendent.
So, when we analyze the moment of the
philosopher's return and his orientation into the world of the One, then
the pair of cataphatic and apophatic theology is a kind of model of
eschatological optimism. Optimism in this case will manifest itself
through the acceptance of the possibility to speak about the One (i.e.
cataphatics). We admit that the One can be something, some predicate in
its utmost degree, the most beautiful. The Good is the most beautiful,
the Good is the smartest. However, at the same time, we keep this
apophatic aspect in mind, too. And this apophatic aspect reminds us
that, at the same time, It is incomprehensible. So, there is a certain
eschatology. I mean there is some moment of its closeness, finiteness, from the point of view that our mind can understand the One.
Let's move gradually to the Neoplatonists. I have
already begun to move a little towards them through the location of the
cataphatic and apophatic. In general, Neoplatonism in the history of
philosophy, from my point of view, represents such an experience of
epistrophê, the experience of reversion. Shichalin, a historian of
ancient philosophy, had an example of dividing ancient philosophy into
three stages which correspond to three phases in Neoplatonic philosophy,
in the Neoplatonic triad. They are monê, proodos and epistrophê. [A Mónda inicial, a processão e a reversão ou retotno]. Monê
is the rest of the One in itself. Proodos is the procession of the One
into the world, i.e. the creation of the world, in fact, as if this is
the Divine cup. That is the cup of the One, which overflows. [Holy Grail] At this
stage, the following process of the world creation takes place: the mind
appears first, then the soul appears, then the cosmos appears.
Accordingly, epistrophê is the experience of reversion. The experience
of reversion of material, matter to its origins. It is an experience of
ascent. This is the Neoplatonic triad that Yuri Shichalin applies to the
process of historical philosophy. So, from this point of view, Plato
for him is a point of mono-matus, which simultaneously contains
everything, i.e. all doctrines, all possible trains of thought, all
possible readings are embedded in it. If we read Plato, especially if we
read him with a dramatic approach...
I think that those audience of
open lecture project Signum who heard Irina Protopopova, a wonderful
Platonist, understand what I mean by the dramatic approach the reading
of Plato's works. This means that Platonism comprises all the points.
They can sometimes contradict one another. For instance, we can see both
the recognition and denial of the One, as in Parmenides' work. Thus,
virtually everything is deducible from Plato's teaching. Just as
Neoplatonists are deduced from it, so object-oriented ontologists can be
deduced from it. If we examine the second part of Parmenides' dialogue,
where the One is denied and only the Many exists, we finally come to
the Postmodern concepts. So, accordingly, Platonism is such a huge area,
a platform, a myriad of movements. Procession in the historical and
philosophical process, i.e. proodos, according to Shichalin, is
interpreted as a fragmentation of Platonism. In other words, it is the
removal of certain new disciplines, some concepts related to rhetoric,
or logic from his corpus. This is such a fragmentation (with the
possible exception of Numenius because this author is rather closer to
the Neoplatonic tradition).
Hence, the third stage in the development of the
history of philosophy, epistrophê, according to Shichalin, is the
reversion to the second stage, i.e., procession. And here he claims that
the Neoplatonists play a special role. They turn away from this
fragmentation and try, within the framework of mystical experience, to
reverse upwards, to the One. Accordingly, this development of
Neoplatonic philosophy is the highest point in the development of the
Platonic concept. Unlike even Plato, it has a clearer hierarchy. To some
extent, even when we come across the works of Proclus Diadochus, we
meet such a strict analytical thinking, in which some mystical higher
Principle is considered to exist, and It dwells on the other side. By
the way, this is a very interesting experience of reading Proclus. Try
to read, for example, Wittgenstein first, then go to Proclus, and you
will see that, in fact, their analytical works are quite similar. But
Wittgenstein's statement "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be
silent" comes from the positivist point of view. Whereas the same
statement by Proclus is manifested from the standpoint of apophatic
theology. Thus, the Neoplatonists excelled in systematizing Plato's
discourse. Their experience of strange acceptance of the world is
extremely important there. Plotinus, when he spoke to his students,
confessed that he was very ashamed of being born, of this manifestation
of the material. He said it was painful for him. At the same time
Plotinus, if we carefully analyze his works, does not reject this
manifestation of matter in the world. On the other hand, he considers
that it is necessary in order to begin the ascent. To this extent,
Plotinus is an eschatological optimist, too. I am manifested here. But
this «here» is finite, this «here» is destructive, this «here» is
perishable. It has the ability of perishing, as well as the ability of
attracting and destroying. And this «here» is temporary. In ascension,
by epistrophê («ascension» is a very important term for Neoplatonic
philosophy), in this climbing up the ladder of virtues, up the ladder of
sciences, or prayer offerings to the gods, at each level in
Neoplatonism, there is a kind of clear attribution of God and this
level. Namely, mind, henads, soul, space. This particularly
distinguishes it from Plato. Each of these hypostases has its own god.
Plotinus' consistent faith in the ascent is eschatological optimism. We
are thrown into the world, but we can also use this thrownness as a
chance. Thus, the liberation is necessary. The experience of a mystical
exit from the contours of one's own finiteness is necessary. This
mystical experience is the experience of theurgy, i.e., the experience
of breaking with the individual, the experience of transition to the
otherworldly realm. [Visão particular de Daria, da Teurgia, como saída da limitação psico-somética habitual e experiência do mundo espiritual, embora haja muitos níveis ou subplanos de luz divina, com seus seres.] As you remember, Neoplatonic philosophy included
both more rationalistic and more mystical schools. For example, the
Pergamon school, whose member was the emperor Julian, was associated
with regular mysterious experience inspired by the works of Eastern
mystics and Hermes Trismegistus, etc. and, accordingly, hermetic works.
This experience of rupture, mysterious one, the experience of one's own
finiteness facing something unknown, which is infinite, is extremely
important for Neoplatonism.
I would like to single out Hegelian philosophy as
the next important phase in the consideration of eschatological
optimism. Today we will not consider the whole complex of Neoplatonic
influence on subsequent history and philosophy. Neither we will dwell
upon the apophatic theology in the Christian theology of Dionysius the
Areopagite. Basically, such problems as Christian mysticism, I think,
are worth a whole lecture. We will not touch upon them today either, so
as not to get confused. I'm moving on to Hegel to demonstrate what I
take to be eschatological optimism in the Hegelian model, or system.
Here, of course, the dialectic of the slave and the master and his
formula «life as a way to endure death» [ a aprendizagem da arte de bem morrer, em vida, por um certo estoicismo, propugnada por Erasmo e outros sábios] is our focus of attention. In
essence, to put it simply, there are two types of consciousness: the one
of a slave consciousness and the one of a master. The master differs
from the slave in that he takes the risk of facing death, while the
slave gives up his freedom to the master because the master takes upon
himself this encounter with death. Thus, this is eschatological
thinking, and Hegel's eschatological optimism is directly connected with
the concept of death and attitude towards it. A slave is not an
eschatological optimist. Remember, Martin Heidegger had such an
interesting formula that sounded like this: «The absence of
eschatological thinking is a pure form of nihilism.» So, Hegelian slave
doesn't have this eschatological thinking, i.e., he doesn't believe in
finiteness, he refuses to deal with that finiteness, refuses to face
death. He entrusts his freedom to the master, so that the master faces
death for him. You know, it even reminds me a little of a modern human
who, in fact, begins to trust the media to a greater extent, opens up to
this media in order for it to shape him. In other words, «if they die
from the coronavirus, then I'm also dying, as they say there; if they
don’t die from it, then it's OK.» [A trágica alienação da maioria das pessoas de tão manipuladas que são pelos meios de informação avençados e os enfluencers vendidos à Nova Ordem Mundial] This can be found in the media and in
the modern philosophy as well because, for example, the model of passive
acceptance of matter, submission to it is also one of the options for
discarding death. Acceptance of an object-oriented ontology is, in fact,
connected to this slave consciousness to a certain extent. This is not a
declaration of will, this is a declaration of postponing and entrusting
matter the right to face death. Even so. Accordingly, the Hegelian
system expressed in the formula «life as a way to endure death» is a
foundation for this position of eschatological optimism. And in the
Hegelian system, this is directly related to the concept of «master».
Next, let's move to Nietzschean philosophy, to
Nietzschean nihilism and his understanding of human as an arrow that is
thrown to the other side. In Nietzscheanism, it seems to me, this very
cry of illusion, the cry of the last human, manifests itself most
clearly and most desperately. As by a person who is not ready to face
death. The last human blinks and says he's happy. Show us the rope
dancer. At the same time, the superman is that volitional act that,
starting from the shore of illusoriness, directs his volitional gesture,
his intention towards another shore, the unknown shore. In fact, in
this volitional decision, in this Nietzsche's identification of the
volitional need to overcome the human, there is optimism to it, because
there is no certainty where this arrow is flying, where it is directed,
where it is looking. This is a gesture directed at nothing; a gesture
that is directed to where there are no poles, no horizons, no parallels.
Accordingly, in Nietzsche's works, eschatological optimism manifests
itself, from my point of view, precisely in this acceptance of the
illusory nature of the surrounding world, the illusory nature and
complete insignificance of the last human who blinks. This human is
staggered, and in this absolutely groundless, seemingly unjustified act
of calling for departure and for shooting this arrow to the opposite
shore. And no one knows what the opposite shore is, so this is some kind
of volitional act of overcoming the finiteness of the illusion.
Then, I would like to move on to an excellent
Romanian philosopher, whom I really appreciate. I am talking of Emil
Cioran. He was close to Eugène Ionesco and to Mircea Eliade. Even when I
read a short reference from a philosophical encyclopedia about him
today, it said that he was influenced by the cultural pessimists, such
as Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche and Ludwig Klages. I enjoyed
the notion of «cultural pessimism». Accordingly, the works of Emil
Cioran are distinguished by their hopelessness. By the way, I would like
to ask the audience members, who are listening to my lecture right now,
to write it in the chat if they are familiar with Emil Cioran. I'm
wondering because, for example, I first learned about him in France. I
know that not so many of his works have been translated to Russian. Only
Anathemas and Admirations has been translated, as far as I'm concerned.
I see that the audience is not familiar with him. Have you ever heard
about him? Got it. He is a Romanian nihilist, a rather frail man. His
works are written as aphorisms, quite sad ones. I'm going to quote the
one that was used in the announcement of my lecture. «On a gangrened
planet, we should abstain from making plans, but we make them still,
optimism being, as we know, a dying man’s reflex.» In fact, he had a
rather interesting... Let me share this quote in the chat. He had a
rather unusual life. He was actually brought up in a religious
atmosphere and, at first, he was engaged in religious studies. Then his
context has changed and he fell under the sway of Schopenhauer,
Nietzsche and Klages, became a kind of nihilist, and survived the war.
After that, he published several books, i.e., All Gall Is Divided, The
Trouble with Being Born, and Anathemas and Admirations. All of them are
written in an aphoristic style. His writing style is similar to Vasily
Rozanov's. In Cioran's type of eschatological optimism, as it seems to
me, there are two components. On the one hand, there are the acceptance
of the illusory nature of this world, the acceptance of its finiteness,
its absolute paradoxism and the absence of any way out of it. In other
words, he writes that he exists in the world that is condemned. We are
all condemned. We are all victims of this condemnation. There is no way
out of here; no way up and no way down because «we are condemned and
crucified on the cross of interpretation», Cioran wrote. But, at the
same time, he says that optimism is a kind of a spasm, a spasm of the
dying necessary in order to somehow maintain the status of this
universe. He claims that this optimism actually constitutes the world
being like the spasm of a dying man. However, these are actually the
healthy manifestation and reaction to the meaninglessness of the world
in which we are thrown. Cioran, in fact, does not have any religious
aspect to his writing. There is no salvation doctrine that could change
his concept and add some call to leave this universe, to make a
volitional throw from this universe towards the Absolute. He lacks this
transcendence. Nevertheless, he speculates on the crucial things: the
illusory nature of the world, the absolute meaninglessness of
everything, fatigue as a factor in human existence, and this optimism
similar to the convulsions of a dying person. Therefore, Cioran, in my
opinion, is an extremely important for understanding eschatological
optimism. Actually, the concept of eschatological optimism came to my
mind after I read Cioran in 2013 or 2012. Then I began to come across
this hopelessness and the concept of finiteness along with the need for
an optimistic, strong-willed attitude towards this end in other
philosophical works.
 |
Daria, na floresta, passando ou transmitindo o seu sermo inspirado.
|
Another work that is worth mentioning is The Forest Passage by Ernst Jünger. I think you have seen its
cover. In fact, it has been recently published in Russian during the
pandemic, with brilliant comments by Alexander Mikhailovsky. I highly
recommend that you familiarize yourself with this book. It is an old
text by Jünger, first published in 1955, where he focuses on the topic
of "leaving for the forest." He says that a time is coming for a number
of people when a human must break with the given, with such a certain
hopelessness of the world around him. He is called to some resistance,
to join the battle, to rise above the illusory reality that we witness.
Jünger has such an accurate, interesting formula in The Forest Passage. I
will quote it: "this is the forest rebel’s determination to resist, and
his intention to fight the battle, however hopeless." He says that
modern human is thrown into a space in which technology and matter
basically destroy him. Such human loses his will of rebellion and
sovereignty in the face of materiality and illusoriness. He goes on
claiming that it is necessary to rebel against the modern world, to
mount this reality, to subjugate it , to leave for the forest. By the
way, what he means by “forest” is very interesting. He does not mean
physical withdrawal into the forest. This is not some kind of guerrilla
battle. Nor it is slipping into that space where this illusion does not
reign. Because one actually has this illusion inside oneself. Forest is
something different. It is all about being at the center of this
illusory nature, at the center of the deceptive ultimate reality that
absorbs a person through technology, through the so called Megamaschine,
as Martin Heidegger could have called it and actually did. A human must
grow a certain pivot, which will contrast the illusion and the world
around him. This is the pivot of the rebellion, the pivot of leaving for
forest. He has an interesting metaphor for the one who leaves for the
forest - a metaphor of a Ship. When a Greek God Dionysus faces his
enemies on the ship, he is, as it were, in essence a clash of two
elements: forest (wooden ship) and water. He literally starts growing
the forest on this Ship. Ivy blossoms, and this helps him defeat his
enemies. Jünger uses this metaphor to emphasize the need for a human to
remain in the reality where he is given, where he is manifested, where
he is born. But at the same time, he is building up such transcendent
volitional principle, which will reject this illusion and will break
through and destroy it.
We certainly meet similar concepts in the
traditionalists' writings. First of all, Julius Evola and his concept of
"ride the tiger" and "differentiated man" come to my mind. This is the
same idea that modern human needs, who, in fact, is heavily impacted by
matter, by this technology that suppresses him, forces him to follow his
own desires. The desires, which, actually, are invasive, other people's
desires that the consumer society imposes. Human needs to subjugate
this illusory nature. This illusory has to be overcome, to be subjected
to an act of radical transcendence. So, a human finds himself, as it
were, in this world. However, at the same time, the most important focal
point of his perception, understanding, and awareness of this world is
exactly this awareness of its finiteness and the lack of an ontological
status for this illusion. Accordingly, there has to be a positive
volitional attitude, a certain gesture of a sharp break with this
illusion. Evola calls it la rottura del livello - "level breaking."
Thus, in a nutshell, if we consider those
philosophers I discussed today, we can find this experience of
eschatological optimism in all of their works. I would like to summarize
what I mean by eschatological optimism. Today, we have examined various
concepts from Plato to Julius Evola. Each of them is worth a whole
lecture, but let's try to identify the basic criteria that can be traced
in all these doctrines.
Firstly, eschatological optimism is associated
with admitting that the material world, the given world, the world that
we now accept as a reality is an illusory one. We are also aware of its
finiteness. Secondly, we are optimistic about this finiteness. We do not
resign ourselves to this finiteness. On the contrary, we speak of the
need to overcome it. In various doctrines, this finiteness can be
overcome in different ways. For instance, in Platonism, it can be
overcome by turning to the otherworldly One, to the world, which is
επική ουσίας (on the other side of essence), by taking the
apophatic-mystery path. This optimism might be manifested in the
political sphere. For example, as in Platonism, when the philosopher
returns to the finite world in order to serve the non-finite, i.e., the
infinite. In Neoplatonism, the experience of eschatological optimism
means a gradual ascent along the hierarchy of virtues and
systematization of the principles of the soul. One has to cultivate
one's soul starting from the lowest virtues to the highest, and, having
reached the highest virtue, to get out, as it were, from this finiteness
of the world, through a theurgical, mystical act. The same goes for
politics. In the political philosophy of Neoplatonism, which, by the
way, is implicitly present in the later Platonists, and more explicitly
present in the early Neoplatonists, and Plotinus, it is associated with
political virtues. The latter cooperated with politicians. For example,
the project of Platonopolis by Plotinus is incredibly interesting
despite the fact that Plotinus seems to build upon this world and to
repel this world. Nevertheless, he is constructing, or trying to
construct an ideal kingdom. And Proclus worked with political advisers
in Athens, for which, by the way, he was exiled. This demonstrates that,
in Neoplatonism, this experience of eschatological optimism can
manifest itself through the exercise of political will and political
service. In the Hegelian system, the experience of eschatological
optimism manifests itself through the concept of death and opposition to
death within the framework of the logic of the Master. There we can
find such an uncompromising “no” to death while going to the battle with
death. On the contrary, the slave consciousness is precisely that of
non-eschatological and non-optimistic nature, i.e. it is pessimism, but
not eschatological pessimism. The very alternative to eschatological
optimism, or rather its opposite is not eschatological pessimism, but
this slave consciousness. According to Nietzsche, eschatological
optimism is a concept manifested by this volitional ecstasy, exiting
oneself, exiting an illusory reality. Cioran views this eschatological
optimism as infinitely hopeless. At the same time, he perceives this
optimism as the convulsion of a dying man, i.e. some experience of an
ecstatic exit from the body, when a person is close to death, i.e. a
sort of concussion. Accordingly, in the Evoloist doctrine, this optimism
manifests itself through such a traditionalist manifesto of the level
breaking, or the submission of matter to its own will, i.e. riding the
tiger. The activities aimed at breaking the level, i.e. this limb, it
obeys an act of will. As a matter of fact, Ernst Jünger also writes in
his The Forest Passage (the book I highly recommend reading) about this
submission to “here and now”, i.e. being in the world. He doesn't mean
leaving it, but rather being in it and submitting to it. These are the
main points we have considered today. [Significativa equação do viver plenamente no presente, no aqui e agora, no modo e dinamismo de quebrar as limitações e opressão, de saber cavalgar o tigre, chevaucher le tigre, título de uma das obras de apelo ás qualidades heróicas, dharmicas, guerreiras, de Julio Evola, um khsatriya]
I would like to end my lecture with the same quote
by René Guénon "the “end of a world” never is and never can be
anything but the end of an illusion." [Eis um belo conselho, hoje, mártir, um testamento anímico da corajosa Daria Platonova Dugina: não te assutes com o fim do mundo que te prometam ou ameaçem, pois será apenas o fim de uma ilusão. Avancemos pois coraosamente, face a todas as ameaças, pois são ilusórias, perante a realidade do Um e do Bem, do Dharma, onde devemos ter o nosso ser.]
And now I already see that there are many questions in the chat, so I will answer them one by one.
Question: Is a Christian attitude towards death a
manifestation of a slave mentality?
No, I don't think so. In fact,
Christianity is inextricably linked with the Neoplatonic doctrine.
Moreover, Christian apophatic theology, for example, was entirely based
on Neoplatonic texts. It was Dionysius the Ariopagite who wrote in his
treatise on mystical theology that we need to go beyond these cataphatic
characteristics of God and to move to this apophatic contemplation.
Basically, depending on the versions of Christianity, it can also be
interpreted in different ways. If we are talking about a certain kind of
sects or certain orders, there may be different doctrines.
Nevertheless, Christian attitude, or, to some extent, Christianity
itself is eschatological optimism. There is some acceptance of the end
of the world, some recognition that everything surrounding us is not
genuine, but we have forgotten the true world, we are expelled from
there. At the same time, there is a certain need for such a positive
volitional attitude towards the end of illusions. It seems to me that
the ideal formula is the formula of the monks of Athos, authored by
Silouan of Athos, “Keep your mind in hell and despair not.” This is such
a state of mind when you are aware of death, but you do not despair. In
this very act of not despairing a human is trying to save his soul,
trying to pray to God for it to be saved. [ A oração principal, a Philocalia dos monges ortoxos do monte Athos, Bizâncio e Rússia, era "Senhor Jesus Cristo, filho de Deus vivo, tende piedade de mim, que sou um pecador", por vezes rezada sem todas estas afirmações, e que se tornava quase uma oração incessante, com a qual podiam atravessar os infernos.] This means that he does not
come to terms with death. Neither does he grant the decision about his
death to anyone. This means that he accepts this death deep down inside,
keeps his mind in hell and does not despair. This is my answer for the
first question on the Christian attitude towards death and the
manifestation of the slave mentality.
I read everything that was translated into Russian
... yes, in fact, Cioran's works were not published in Russia that
much. However, I had quite a huge collection of his works in French.
although it seems to me that Anathemas and Admirations is enough for to
get to know his philosophy.
Someone mentions Hamlet. - Yes, quite right. Indeed, there is such a thing, there is a similarity.
Breaking with the illusion of the world and
jumping into the unknown is not accompanied by more fear and despair
rather than optimism, is it? Yes, it is accompanied with these feelings,
precisely. But this is another feature of eschatological optimism. On
the one hand it is desperate; on the other hand, it still retains some
hope for salvation. In fact, a jump is a decision to jump with the hope
that there is something, but at the same time with the realization that
it is not there. Cioran wrote about this jump into the unknown,
accompanied by fear and despair, most accurately. Yes, he presents a
more desperate version of it. The way the Platonists, the Neoplatonists,
or Hegel saw it, this leap is rather accompanied not by fear, but by
optimism. But these are also different versions of eschatological
optimism; it can be various.
Question: In your opinion, is eschatological
optimism inherent in Russian symbolist poetry? You spoke about Evola’s
and Jünger’s understanding of the power of technology over man. The
Russian poet Feodor Sologub has a poem The Devil's swing with pretty
much the same idea.
- Yes, it seems to me that the Russian Symbolist
poets felt it, too. I even had a lecture the other day when I talked
about the influence of the Neoplatonic doctrine on the Symbolists and
similarities between them. I mentioned the fact that they are permeated
with the feeling of the loss of true reality, the loss of precisely the
highest reality, and that they are dreaming, dreaming about it. You
know, for some reason, I just remembered a Russian novelist and a
Symbolist poet, Andrei Bely. He also has a touch of eschatological
optimism. On the one hand, he was thrown into the world, and on the
other hand, he harbored some hope that it is possible to escape it and
that this world has to be fought. But it seems to me that he didn’t win
this fight because in his novel, Petersburg, despair wins. This dark
mystical, cybelic, space of the simulacrum city pierced by matriarchy
wins. All in all, this is an interesting question to ponder over. Bely
came to my mind first.
Question: As I understand it, eschatological
optimism implies the necessary presence of reality that exists in
parallel to the material world. Is eschatological optimism possible
outside the system of Plato and Hegel, for example, with the rejection
of God and the interpretation of reality as an illusion? Jünger's axis
of retreat into the forest, for instance, implies that man himself
creates the so-called second world. Is it a kind of an optimism for an
atheist?
- Well, by the way, I’m not completely sure about Jünger here. In
fact, in The Forest Passage he writes that religion also provides a
different reality for a person to some extent. From my point of view,
eschatological optimism is impossible if God or the One or some
otherworldly principle is rejected. [Da importância da religação à Divindade ou ao Espírito, bem realçada por Daria. Possa a Divindade brilhar bem nela!] It can be called anything, but there
has to be some transcendental Absolute. I believe that any model that
lacks the Absolute, lacks this transcendent Essence, slips away. It
collapses, and it already turns not into eschatological optimism, but
into nihilism, into some kind of non-eschatological pessimism, I would
say. That is for eschatological optimism, there must necessarily be
another reality, which is connected either with God, or with the One, or
with some other higher principle. Jünger, by the way, does not dismiss
it.
 |
|
Question: Hello, could you, please, tell where
else in our life can we come across eschatological optimism?
- I would say
in ourselves, when we live in the midst of a pandemic, we understand
that we can die at any moment, but at the same time we build some
internal existential defense against this pandemic. I am among the those
who believe that COVID-19 exists, who take it for what it is. I see it
in terms of some existential challenge, such awakening of human, some
chance for the awakening of mankind. It seems to me that this
eschatological optimism, if we read the works that I spoke about today
in a right way, if we correctly think about our finiteness, if we
understand death in a right way, if we develop a sense of the
finiteness, of the illusory nature of our body and think about what is
on the other side, then we will discover this eschatological optimism in
ourselves.
Question: Can we study eschatological optimism in
terms of politics?
Yes, we certainly can. This was an example of such an
eschatological optimist in power. It was Julian the Apostate, who, in
fact, did not strive for power at all. On the contrary, he complained
that he had to take the throne. Having become an emperor, he spent all
his nights writing philosophical works and he was very indignant that he
had to deal with some kind of political decisions. It was Julian, a
Neoplatonist, who was an eschatological optimist. Eschatological
optimism can also, for example, be recognizing that all elections or all
political decisions are falsified, but, at the same time, continuing to
vote. So, you understand that it will not be possible to make a
difference, but you still go to vote, you still voice your position. Now
I am talking more about the American elections, i.e. in general, the
Americans have rather ... an archaic system ... with electors.
Eschatological optimism in this case is when you understand that your
decision will not greatly affect this illusion, but you still, out of
some recognition of the need to cultivate political virtues in yourself,
still go and vote. You understand that it is likely useless, but you
continue anyway. Or knowing that your business is doomed, you still go
for it. But certainly this decision must be caused by some higher
motivation. It must be motivated by some transcendent guideline, or
horizon.
Question: Is it possible to call the concept of
the eternal return by Eliade eschatological optimism?
- I think it's quite
possible. The same goes for the Nietzsche's saying from Thus
Spoke Zarathustra: “There are preachers of death: and the earth is full
of those to whom desistance from life must be preached. Full is the
earth of the superfluous; marred is life by the many-too-many. May they
be decoyed out of this life by the "life eternal"! There are the
terrible ones who carry about in themselves the beast of prey, and have
no choice except lusts or self-laceration. And even their lusts are
self-laceration. They have not yet become men, those terrible ones: may
they preach desistance from life, and pass away themselves!There are the
spiritually consumptive ones: hardly are they born when they begin to
die, and long for doctrines of lassitude and renunciation." Well, first
of all, when I spoke about eschatological optimism, I spoke about this
doctrine of two people. The first type of people who ask to be shown a
rope dancer, and another type of people who accept overcoming the
illusion with a leap. Here Nietzsche can be read dramatically, so he can
have internal contradictions, which is good, it means that his thought
is alive.
Valentin wrote: Edgar Allan Poe is an
eschatological optimist, too. His last book Eureka is about our tragic
universe, the finality of which is identical to the disclosure of a
prisoner in misfortune. - Thank you for a recommendation, Valentin. I will
definitely read it.
Question: What is the role of the radical subject
in the concept of eschatological optimism? In essence, the radical
subject is the bearer of eschatological optimism. Just as there is a
differentiated Evolian man, so the radical subject is precisely the
person who, in the absence of tradition, becomes the bearer of this
tradition. This is the person who, at a time when there are no stars,
says: "Arise, My Soul!" That is why, Elena, you have a very precise
understanding. Eschatological optimism is closely connected with the
concept of a radical subject. This is exactly what I wanted to mention,
but I didn’t. You guessed it.
Question: What can you say about the works of
Stéphane Mallarmé and Charles Baudelaire (The Flowers of Evil)? -
For me,
this is also a kind of eschatological optimism. I have Baudelaire's book
My Heart Laid Bare right here. It seems to me eschatological optimism
is very much felt in this French decadence. Therefore, yes, in fact,
exactly Baudelaire, well, to a greater extent, Baudelaire is such a
representative of eschatological optimism.
Question: Thank you for answering the question,
thank you for the lecture. How do you feel about eschatological
pessimists who fanatically serve the forces of evil, darkness itself,
and play their dirty tricks here on earth? Are they your enemies, or
maybe you have a philosophical attitude towards them? - I treat them with
respect, because if a person chooses a volitional strategy, if he
recognizes the finiteness of this illusion, or even plans to destroy
this illusion, then I perceive this as an act of will. This is certainly
valuable for me. However, I prefer to stick to eschatological optimism.
Consequently, a positively volitional decision, an attempt to get out
of this illusion in the direction of some ineffable Height, some abyss
above - this concept attracts me much more, because in fact it seems
that evil is easy to find and easy to see. Paradoxically enough, but, in
order to see evil, you need to go up, not down. I mean evil and what is
really scary, what frightens can be found at the top. Now I am speaking
from the point of view of Christianity, certain Christian mysticism.
Remember, most demons attack to monks and the clergy. It is they who
experience the most terrible torment when they realize the power of
their sin and the power of their fall. Imagine, Holy people who are
tormented by demons, because when you go up, when you go in the
direction of some Absolute. Then you understand how scary it really is
and how much imperfections can be found inside you.[Embora houvesse também muita auto-imaginação nas visões que tantos monges e religiosos, inclusive os protestantes como Lutero, tiveram do diabo ou dos demónios, muitas vezes provocadas pelos seus medos, frustrações e desejos.]
Question: Did Dmitry Merezhkovsky accurately
portray the image of the emperor as an eschatological optimist in his
novel Julian the Apostate?
- I think yes, this is such an image of an
eschatological optimist. An absolutely desperate, unhappy person, who,
in fact, becomes such a victim of a new world that will replace the
beautiful world of Antiquity that is already fading.
Question: Are Gnostic systems more of an
eschatological pessimism or an optimism?
- It’s hard to say about the
Gnostics because initially I wanted to talk about them. Then I realized
that I simply couldn’t embrace all the thinkers. Depending on what
Gnostic model, it seems to me that Gnostics are eschatological
pessimists, but, nevertheless, they can still have some kind of
eschatologically optimistic pivot. We need to understand who exactly you
mean. Only Valentine comes to my mind with his fragments of the
Gnostics. It seems to me that he was quite a Gnostic eschatological
optimist. Well, but Gnosticism definitely requires a particular
attention. In this lecture, I mainly focused on Platonism. Therefore, I
think that if I'm going develop the doctrine of eschatological optimism,
at least if it seemed interesting and convincing, I will consider the
Gnostics too. Thank you for the questions, dear listeners. Today you
actually are the co-authors of my course. I'm interested in your
reactions too. Then, of course, I will develop it and pay special
attention to Gnosticism.
There is a question about my attitude to the
philosophy of fantasy and whether it is worth looking for deeper
meanings in Warhammer and The Game of Thrones. Oh, I didn’t even think
about eschatological optimism in The Game of Thrones at all. Deep
meaning must be sought everywhere, all the time and even in the
surrounding reality because what you see is nothing more than the result
of work of philosophical systems over the last three hundred years, if
not four hundred years. It is worth it because the reality that we
accept as genuine, for example, the pen in my hand and its existence...
The existence of the pen is not visible now, but if I show it to you,
its existence becomes visible. The fact that we believe in its existence
is actually the work of a huge philosophical system of the Modern Age.
If the ancient philosophers had seen it, they would have perceived it
completely differently. They would have called it partially appearing to
us, but not existing in reality. That's why, I think that you need to
look for a deep dimension everywhere, including fantasy and The Game of
Thrones, too. Watching The Game of Thrones, I prefer to consider the
problems of geopolitical confrontation between the North and the South,
the two models of civilization: civilization of Cybele and the
civilization of Apollo. I interpret it this way, talking of the deep
meaning. I don't know much about Warhammer - I haven't played this game. [Da importância de não nos deixarmos distrair por tanta desinformação, fantasia, alienção, jogo irmos antes discernindo entre o aparente e o que é autenticamente real, e assim irmos cortando, quebrando limites, amarras, ideias feitas, fobias, e desenvolvendo um optimismo escatológico vencedor.]
Someone asks if is it possible to speak of
eschatological optimism in terms of Gilbert Durand. Is eschatological
optimism a manifestation of radical deurne under conditions of totality
and finality of death? Consequently, eschatological pessimism is the
position of a mystic nocturne, isn't it? Absolutely. It is a very
precise definition, and that’s exactly what I mean. Elena has already
noticed that a radical subject and eschatological optimism are related.
If we remember the concept of a radical subject and its interpretation,
there is also this radical deurne. Eschatological optimism is precisely
the radical deurne. The models I talked about today, except maybe
Cioran's one, are exactly the concepts of the radical deurne. This is a
Platonic rebellion, Appolonism in relation to the given. This is a
Neoplatonic rising of the deurnic sense as an experience of a break.
This is Hegel with his acceptance of facing the Master’s death. This is
Nietzscheanism - an arrow thrown to the other side. This is Evola, who
defends Apollo and a truly radical solar transcendent deurne. This is
Ernst Jünger, who, in my opinion, actually proclaims it being closely
related to Evola; at least the book The Forest Passage seemed to me such
a manifesto of la rottura del livello.
Question: Is it appropriate to attribute
eschatological optimism to Pitirim Sorokin's sensate type and his
concept of supersensory reality? - Unfortunately, I can't answer you off
the top of my head. I will check it out later and I will answer you in
the next lecture. To be honest, I forgot Pitirim Sorokin's
categorisation.
Question: Darya Aleksandrovna, in your opinion,
does eschatological optimism mean facing the sacral or the profane? Is
this poetic and philosophical doctrine aimed at overcoming the material
and meeting with the Absolute?
- For me, eschatological optimism is a
certain repulsion from the profane to the sacral, which does not
necessarily involve facing this sacral. I mean, you may in fact read all
the prayers, do a volitional jump to the other side, but not have this
mystical experience. You may not expand beyond your borders, but at the
same time you may do everything to expand beyond. An eschatological
optimist is inevitably in the profane world, he is inside the givenness
and in the illusion. Nevertheless, he is aimed at the sacred. It is
unknown whether he can achieve the sacred or not; he goes to the other
side and acts, and decides to go out to the other side, not knowing
whether he will succeed or not. Here is the peculiarity of
eschatological optimism, in its relation to the concept of a radical
subject. It is a rather complex state: "I am here, I am in this reality,
it is profane, it is a profane reality, and I am heading to what might
not accept me." At your peril. It is far more interesting than being a
non-eschatological pessimist.
Question: Could you tell us a little more about
eschatological pessimism, is it completely opposite to optimism? This is
a certain model, too.
- No, it is not completely opposite because it is
eschatological, it implies the world as something finite and profane,
but, at the same time, it claims that one should refrain from any
action. In fact, such an eschatological pessimism is nihilism in its
worst manifestation. It is nihilism as acceptance of this profane world
and, to some extent, is the cooling of body. Such a sad understanding
that everything is finite. By the way, Cioran is torn between
eschatological pessimism and optimism. In some of his writings, there is
a pivot of rebellion when he says: “Everything is meaningless, so I
must nurture a resistance to this meaninglessness. Why? I don't know. It
will be meaningless, but all the same, I must cultivate this principle
in myself, I must nurture a resistance." Here, he seems to go from such a
pessimism into optimism. But actually, I plan to work on this concept
of eschatological pessimism, too. I think that within the framework of
what we have discussed today, I will come up with a scheme for the
lecture course. I will research into each of the thinkers whom I have
named today from the point of view of eschatological optimism, if this
topic really seemed interesting to you, if it seemed so peculiar, which
would allow answering some complex existential questions. That is what
I'm going to do. I'm going to explore the issue of eschatological
pessimism, to find the answer to the listener’s question on Pitirim
Sorokin. You can find me on Vkontakte as Daria Platonova and contact me,
or you can ask the question during the next lecture. I also noted down
the question about Gnosticism and its relation to eschatological
optimism.
Question: Does an eschatological optimist have to
wait for an external calling?
- No, he never waits for an external
calling, he begins his way with an internal calling. This is what
Heidegger called the “call of being”; or it may be some kind of
existential call when a person faces death, or finiteness. This may be a
call when he faces a coronavirus, either himself, or his loved ones who
die of it. Or when he faces the realisation of this painful finiteness
of everything around, such a distinctive call. This call should actually
grow from the inside - it will never be external. However, if it is
external, you will hear it only when you already have an internal
calling. In fact, it works like a prophecy - you will be able to
decipher it only when you are internally ready to do that. Otherwise, it
will remain abstract to you. For me, by the way, it’s still a mystery
how it’s possible at all in the Platonic Republic to have laws. In the
fourth book Plato writes that these laws will be the laws of Apollo, but
the laws of Apollo are the laws of Pythia, i.e. these are such koanic
statements, prophecies that still need to be deciphered. Well, this has
always been a mystery to me. If you have an internal call, if you
somehow cultivate it in yourself, then you will hear an external call.
The only thing is that you mustn't be passive in this sense, you must
try different practices - religious, some kind of existential, attentive
practices. For instance, try to pay attention to the world, to the
books. If you don’t hear this call, just read books, the ones I have
listed today: Platonists, Neoplatonists, Hegel, Nietzsche, Cioran, and
Heidegger. Through these books, this call will appear. It is so
fleeting; though it can linger in you. And if it lingers, then it would
be wonderful.
One more question: Nietzsche has the idea of
«eternal return». How is this compatible with eschatology? - I would also
like to dwell upon this question because it came to my mind too today
when I was preparing for the lecture. I view eschatology not as a
temporal finiteness of the world, but as its finiteness as an illusory,
i.e. the world that is given to us is not eternal, that's what I'm
talking about. Another world is eternal. It is the world of the One, the
world of the Good, the Divine world, the other world, the world of the
Will that is eternal. And finiteness here is understood as the
finiteness of the world not as such, but of the profane world and of the
illusory world. This was another important question to be answered.
Question: Is Nikolai Berdyaev an eschatological
optimist? So, a quote from his work: “This world is not a space, it is a
non-cosmic state of disunity and enmity, is an atomisation and
disintegration of the living monads of the cosmic hierarchy. The true
way is the way of spiritual release from the world, the release of the
human spirit from the captivity of necessity. This shadowy world is the
product of our sins." [Excelente descrição da emanação ou processão dos seres ou mónadas, embora a expressão pecados deva ser contextualizada sem recurso apenas aos ensinamentos cristãos, em que Berdiaev vivia totalmente crente.] To some extent, yes, we can call him an
eschatological optimist.
Question: It turns out that two opposite positions
of eschatological optimism as a radical non-acceptance of death and
dark and eschatological pessimism as a passive acceptance of death and
agreement with dissolution into nothing somehow combine and have similar
ratio in the end times. At first glance it is difficult to distinguish
them, it reminds of the problems of the radical subject and his double.
What do you think about it? This is a brilliant question! A very subtle
understanding. Yes, it really looks like a radical subject and its
double. I mean it seems to be the simultaneous acceptance of the
profanity of the world, its finiteness, and then, in one case, this is
the acceptance of a volitional decision to overcome the profanity of the
world, in another, it is some kind of refusal to take any action. Yes,
this is a very interesting topic. I am noting it down to also analyze it
in the next lecture. I'm going to speak about the combination of a
radical subject with eschatological optimism and pessimism.
Question: Is there any connection between Arthur
Schopenhauer's idea of "world will" and eschatological optimism? If so,
which one? - Today I read Schopenhauer right before our seminar. I’m going
to find this fragment. No, it was a fragment on cruelty that I have
bookmarked. I remember had some acknowledgement that everything around
him is meaningless, that it is a purely an act of will that creates
space. In fact, it seems to me Schopenhauer, as far as I remember his
work now based on ... I'll tell you which work I mean in no time.. On
the Vanity and Suffering of Life. This is the recognition of the
absolute absence of meaning in the reality around us, of the
impossibility to speak about another reality, of the refusal to speak
about that and ,at the same time, it is the constitution of the world of
will. In my opinion, this is also the position of eschatological
optimism.
Question: How does Dasein correlate with
eschatological optimism? - That's a tricky one. When Dasein exists
authentically, then it is in a position of eschatological optimism.
Death manifests itself to it. It faces Being. It realises the finiteness
of the world. More than that, when Dasein exists authentically, at this
moment it happens to be an eschatological optimist, i.e. this
realisation of the profanity of the world around and of the need for a
transcendent way out of this profanity - this is the authentic existence
of Dasein. I’m also going to leave this topic for the next lecture. I
didn't even plan to talk about Heidegger today so as not to overload
such a contoured introduction to the topic of eschatological optimism. I
promise that I will also spare a word for Martin Heidegger - either it
will be a speech, or a short article, or a post on VKontakte on this
topic.
Question: Is Lev Shestov an eschatological
optimist? - I don't remember well what Lev Shestov wrote, but what I
remember... no, I can't say off the top of my head. It seems to me an
eschatological optimist is such a very subtle definition, i.e., someone
has elements of eschatological optimism, but this does not mean that he
himself is an eschatological optimist. Take Cioran, for example. He has
elements of eschatological optimism, but at the same time, he cannot be
called an eschatological optimist at times. Sometimes he can already be
called an eschatological pessimist. It is you, my listeners, who have
also suggested this idea to me. I will also research into this issue.
Question: Is the opposition possible only in the
aspect of eschatology of the object-oriented ontology? What does it
mean? - I don't quite get the question? Which of the oppositions? The
opposition of what and what… Vladislav, could you expand on it a little
bit?
Question: Daria Alexandrovna, excuse me, can I ask a question about your music experiments? Yes, feel free to ask.
Question: Is Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus evidence
of eschatological pessimism? - Yes, this is exactly the moment of
eschatological pessimism. Yes, I think so.
Question: Does it mean that at the peak of the
reaching a certain spiritual state as one ascends and transcends
oneself, in essence human, the line between eschatological optimists and
pessimists is blurred, where both in finiteness and in the face of
infinite merge with nothingness?
- I would not say so because, in
principle, the state of exit, the state of transgression can be quite
similar, but at the same time, the experience of the exit of an
eschatological optimist will end up with the unity with the Divine, the
other world, with the Absolute. Whereas the experience of the
eschatological pessimist will be the experience of a collision with
nothingness. And in my opinion, here we are talking about different
nothingnesses - nothingness from above and nothingness from below. Of
course, it is very, you know, uncomfortable for me to talk about such
questions because we have already crossed the border of mysticism. The
mystics distinguish nothingness from above and nothingness from below.
But I would answer you with precisely these words that the
eschatological optimist has the goal of reaching the abyss from above,
while the eschatological pessimist has the goal of some fall to this
abyss from below. A willing fall, to some extent. I will figure it out
when I analyze eschatological pessimism. I think that there is a need to
devote a whole lecture to this, too.
Question: Are accelerationists eschatological
optimists? - It seems to me not. I think they do not associate finiteness
with matter. They accept this matter, they live by its law. They accept
the inevitability of the movement of this profane matter, so they cannot
be classified as eschatological optimists.
Question: Can Søren Kierkegaard's "leap of faith"
be considered as a sign of eschatological optimism? - Yes, perhaps
Kierkegaard has quite a few elements of this eschatological optimism.
This despair that accompanies the sacrifice of the lamb, i.e., the Son,
this awareness of the need to face death may be just the same element of
eschatological optimism.
Question: Is Georges Bataille an optimist or a
pessimist? - I think he is an eschatological pessimist as he turns his
gaze to the lower nothingness, to the lower abyss. I really like
Bataille, all his Cycles and the treatises on inner experience, and his
prose too where he analyzes mysticism and transgression. I think it is
precisely eschatological pessimism.
Question: Daria, a few months ago I wrote to you
asking to upload Mary Fuse to the Dasein streaming service. Should I
continue? - Yes, you should continue. There are some technical issues
because I haven't found these records anywhere but on VKontakte. For
now, you can use the Sound Cloud.
I think I can't answer more a couple of questions,
because I am on a lock-down, unfortunately. I feel as if I am on the
verge of eschatological optimism myself. Well, it seems that it is not
COVID yet, so I’m a little bit in energy efficient mode today. I will
have to be a super-marginal, unlike the summer stream, where we talked
for 4.5 hours. I think, in spite of everything, after some time I will
be able to record one more lecture. We have already agreed with Signum
that perhaps this will turn into a cycle of lectures.
So, I am answering the last question. Question:
How to distinguish upper nothingness from lower nothingness in the end
of the days. Aren't these two abysses ultimately one? -
I think this
question is actually so rhetorical. I'm afraid to take on the
responsibility of answering it. It's impossible to claim that the upper
nothingness is different and definable by such criteria, while the lower
nothingness is definable by others. I think that it is somehow obvious.
Apparently, a human will feel it, will understand it, or maybe he will
remain in some illusion. So the question of how to tell the upper abyss
from the lower abyss is the question that bothered many writers,
authors, and philosophers. And I think not everyone has found the answer
to this question.
Well, thank you very much, dear listeners. I would
like to say how grateful I am for your support and for the fact that
you have, actually, prompted me today to undertake such a serious
exploration of eschatological pessimism. There are really many points in
this doctrine that have not been developed enough, which need to be
comprehended. I saved all the comments and questions you asked me and I
will definitely work on them. You are welcome to contact me on
Vkontakte. I thank Signum for organising the lectures. Everything is
cool, I really enjoyed it. That is why, dear friends, I am very glad
that you were watching and helped me today to actually understand
eschatological optimism. You are very well-educated, so I will still
have to prepare a lot for the next lecture. Thank you and have a nice
weekend and a beautiful Friday evening. You still have a few hours
before going to bed. I recommend reading for example, works of Julius
Evola or Ernst Jünger's The Forest Passage.
Thank you very much, Daria, for agreeing to speak
at our lecture hall. It was a really amazing lecture. I listened to in
one breath. I hope that we will continue our collaboration. I remind the
audience that our project is supported by you, by your donations and,
of course, by our wonderful guests. I hope that you will continue to
delight us with your visits on our platform. Many thanks to all, see you
soon. A special thanks to you, Daria.
Thank you very much.
Hope we see you again.
Of course, it is inevitable now. Can we disconnect?
Yes.»
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Que a Divindade e as santas e grandes almas, mahatamas, estejam brilhando nela, e com ela nos inspirem e fortaleçam!
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