I love these, i had the same reflections when thinking about book trends, mainly when i discovered that most of the books that are being sold are fiction ones. I kinda fit in the "corruption knowledge" progressive trend you identify in this case, where i prioritize more true data rather than useless data, which is modern fiction. But even myself (i wouldn't call myself an atheist) started to see the corruption that "data" driven life leads to, in relationships, art, etc.
Your idea of the "Sphinx" is not new nonetheless. It´s like that old say that "smart people are not happy", but of course stereotypes don't come from the nowhere. What i seem to find in leftism is that they praise the Sphinx god, because their knowledge corrupts traditional knowledge or assumptions about gender, race, arts and almost anything. Of course this lead them to a nihilistic worldview which they are too pride to admit it sucks.
However i find a real spiritual value on the Sphinx, i think both Christians and leftists have misunderstood it. While the Christians may see a Sphinx in all the dynamics you mentioned, leftism sees it in dark academia, or the books that will turn to you into "a natzhee". Both of these religions aims to censor some type of knowledge or information because they think it will turn people into something bad that they will never come back from. If this is true, the question should be, who's right?
I personally, while i do accept that "real data" it's not the ultimate goal of life, i can't deny the value of Truth, it doesn't matter if corrupts or uplift us. There has to be some set of individuals that can take this, every relationship, band, society and families have individuals that know the ugly truths and takes care of their loved ones. The mistake in "progressive worldview" is that they thought that everyone is an Ubermensch that can learn critical theory, and they all turned out to use these philosophies to justify degeneration and nihilism, which was the thing that Nietzsche was afraid of.
When I read your works, I am always telling myself that I should not be in critiquing mode, but just take in what comes and trust in you, and assume you will take care of me and I can trust to not be wilfully misled.
From Book Tok to the Tower of Babel. What a journey! And there’s more! Bring it!
I definitely can relate with having professors who seemed to shun certain material and pushed what amounted to pretentious bloviation. The overall effect, beyond making us “critical thinkers” or whatever, was to make reading boring by dehumanizing and emptying the content.
I think that might be why the mega bookstore never really got to you. It served a lifestyle and was mainly impersonal in its function. Reading was secondary. More important was being part of the book scene with your fellow hipsters.
I guess I could think of worse things in this world. But this seems to be the opposite cultural result of what the bookstore people were probably hoping for.
I love these, i had the same reflections when thinking about book trends, mainly when i discovered that most of the books that are being sold are fiction ones. I kinda fit in the "corruption knowledge" progressive trend you identify in this case, where i prioritize more true data rather than useless data, which is modern fiction. But even myself (i wouldn't call myself an atheist) started to see the corruption that "data" driven life leads to, in relationships, art, etc.
Your idea of the "Sphinx" is not new nonetheless. It´s like that old say that "smart people are not happy", but of course stereotypes don't come from the nowhere. What i seem to find in leftism is that they praise the Sphinx god, because their knowledge corrupts traditional knowledge or assumptions about gender, race, arts and almost anything. Of course this lead them to a nihilistic worldview which they are too pride to admit it sucks.
However i find a real spiritual value on the Sphinx, i think both Christians and leftists have misunderstood it. While the Christians may see a Sphinx in all the dynamics you mentioned, leftism sees it in dark academia, or the books that will turn to you into "a natzhee". Both of these religions aims to censor some type of knowledge or information because they think it will turn people into something bad that they will never come back from. If this is true, the question should be, who's right?
I personally, while i do accept that "real data" it's not the ultimate goal of life, i can't deny the value of Truth, it doesn't matter if corrupts or uplift us. There has to be some set of individuals that can take this, every relationship, band, society and families have individuals that know the ugly truths and takes care of their loved ones. The mistake in "progressive worldview" is that they thought that everyone is an Ubermensch that can learn critical theory, and they all turned out to use these philosophies to justify degeneration and nihilism, which was the thing that Nietzsche was afraid of.
Waiting for part 3!
This is amazing!
When I read your works, I am always telling myself that I should not be in critiquing mode, but just take in what comes and trust in you, and assume you will take care of me and I can trust to not be wilfully misled.
That trust has certainly been justified.
Thanks!
Thanks man
From Book Tok to the Tower of Babel. What a journey! And there’s more! Bring it!
I definitely can relate with having professors who seemed to shun certain material and pushed what amounted to pretentious bloviation. The overall effect, beyond making us “critical thinkers” or whatever, was to make reading boring by dehumanizing and emptying the content.
I think that might be why the mega bookstore never really got to you. It served a lifestyle and was mainly impersonal in its function. Reading was secondary. More important was being part of the book scene with your fellow hipsters.
I guess I could think of worse things in this world. But this seems to be the opposite cultural result of what the bookstore people were probably hoping for.
Must fix spell checker! Tolkien is correct (1 instance), not Tolkein (5 references). Ugh, the horror!