Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tradition and Trancendence vs. the Modern World, March 29, 2003
REVOLT AGAINST THE MODERN WORLD by Sicilian noble Julius Evola formulates the doctrines and ideals of ancient tradition as embodied in the Indo-European ("Aryan") myths and ledgends of the Hindus, Germans, Romans, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Sumerians, Chinese, Japanese, Aztecs and Incas. Christian beliefs, especially those of Catholicism, and Islam's Koran also figure in this concept. Although Evola's ideas could be categorized as being occult and esoteric, they have absoloutely no relation to the "New Age" and humanist types of belief widely popular today. There is little in REVOLT about human brotherhood and "luhv," as these modern ideas come from inferior spiritualities that were opposed to Tradition. The concept of Tradition, as being self-existent from what is "above" and which is "transcendent" is very non material and abstract, so it is rather hard to put a finger on it. Furthermore, Evola's spirituality is not for everyone, which in fact, is the whole beauty of it.Mankind, especially the denizens of the West, have lost touch with the divine, trancendent and superindividual elements in their lives and social structures. The current modern world is called the 'Kali Yuga' in Hinduism, the 'Iron Age' by Hesiod and the 'Age of the Wolf' in the Nordic Edda. The characteristics of the modern world are radical egalitarianism, confusion of gender and caste rolls and the non-functioning of divine regality. Evola is pro-caste system, showing that disorientation occurs when individuals within castes are unable to fulfill what their status in life. There are many areas in this book which differ from most occult thought. Evola is strongly anti-feminist, and disdains female based spirituality as being opposed to the masculine principles in tradition. This is evidenced by the glorification of Heracles for having killed the warrior Amazonian tribeswomen, among other examples. Female sprituality tends to be regressive, which symbolically brings people back towards the darkness and unconsciousness of the womb rather than onward to greater action in the light, as embodied by masculine orientated spirituality, the Solar principle. The fact that the word "Aryan" appears about five times on nearly every page is also not in vouge. Evola voices contempt for the breakdown of the traditional family structure, the increased rate of divorce and sexual promiscuity. In Evola's final analysis, he comes out against spectator sports as a mere plebian pastime, against dance concerts as the epitome of the mindless human mass under control, and demonizes modern day science as being the "science of dead matter." As far as religious outlook is concerned, Evola belives in some kind of myth that the ancestors of the Indo-Europeans came from a distant land in the north (Hyperborea, likely a vegetated Greenland before the Ice Age), and rejects Darwin's theory of evoloution. There are a good number of anti-Christian statements, but his assessment of Catholicism is relativly positive. As to God's Law, traditional men believed that the Law was given by the Divine from above to guide man, in keeping with the Biblical teaching. Evola is against the concept of religion as being merely moral and humanistic speculation without any unifying rites of worship. The tone throughout is very pessimistic, and his quote from a Hindu text describing the Kali Yuga that describes America down to the last detail. However there is a note of optimism: Hesiod wrote that he was glad that he was not born in the Iron Age. Evola disagrees with him. Anyone who is standing among the ruins in today's modern world in the name of what comes from above will be a greater hero then the ones in the ages before. As it was written on the Kamikaze aircraft, "You are gods who are free from all human yearnings."
|
|
|
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Restoration - The Return to Tradition., March 19, 2001
The Modern Age is falling and the West is in an era of decadence. The darkest of all the dark ages, what the Hindus called the Kali Yuga, is before us and Ragnarok (Twilight of the Gods) is at hand. Tradition has been trammeled upon by modern utilitarian, pragmatist, and collectivist thought and the once sacred has been made profane. Mass-man is so caught up in collectivist thought and meaningless activity that he cannot be saved. Only a select group of elite traditionalists preserving the traditional Weltanschauung can restore a transcendent order to the world after the fall of this era. An ascetic neoscholasticism is needed to preserve the tradition intact while this cycle comes to an end.This is the message of Julius Evola in _Revolt Against the Modern World_. In this book, Evola fully dispels the modern myth of progress and reveals it as nothing more than a cover for a decadent society. Evola spends the first part of this book and much of the second part expostulating a traditional world order based on the idea of immanence-transcendence, before it's break-up at the end of the Middle Ages. He explains how an occult band of knights, members of the warrior caste, preserved tradition in the form of chivalry, during this period. However, with the advent of modern times, this tradition has largely been lost to us. Evola develops a myth of man's origins in a Golden Age, a Hyperborean race at the pole. A conflict developed between North and South, and between "solar" and "lunar" forms of religion. This conflict was at the heart of medieval Catholicism, and was reflected in the growing separation between priest and ruler. Originally, Evola argues, the Church sanctified the monarchy (the emperor) by a special rite. However, when this practice ended it made possible conflicting national loyalties to split up the medieval picture. With the Protestant Reformation which produced a strong emphasis on individualism more damage was done to the traditional world. As such, the world of tradition was lost and covered up by a world based more and more on utilitarian, hedonist, and ultimately collectivist principles, especially as witnessed in the French and Russian revolutions. This is the grim state of affairs we find ourselves in today. (Evola leaves off with a view of Europe "enclosed in the pincers" of America and the Soviet state, with America becoming more and more collectivist in nature and thinking.) Man must return to the values which are transcendent if he ever is to create a meaningful life. And, this is precisely what is absent from today's empty, hollow society. The philosophies of radical individualism and collectivism, nationalism and communism, pervade every aspect of our existence. And, we have lost much. Only by a return to tradition can we hope to achieve a new existence with a newfound meaning. Julius Evola was a fascinating character with much of interest to the dreamer and the mystic. Unfortunately, he allied himself with fascism briefly; however this is not the true basis for his thought.
|
|
|
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Revolting Modern World, April 4, 2006
Evola examines the different ages of society as spoken of in ancient sacred texts in religions like Hindu. The golden age is ruled by sacred kings, the silver age is ruled by the warrior aristocracy, the bronze age is ruled by merchants, and the iron age is ruled by the plebs or serfs. We are currently in the age of iron, according to Evola. Evola believes in the decline of society as it moves farther from the golden age. His erudition is both broad and deep, having read most of the important works of societies from different ages all over the world. He justifies the authoritarianism and hierarchies of the golden age and he criticizes the decadent philosophies of subsequent ages. The sacred texts and traditional society advocate a hierarchal order.
He is extreme in his justifications of tradition. What about widow burning, isn't that wrong? --Well no, not really. In the traditional society, a woman is to sacrifice herself totally to her husband, so if he dies, she is to go out with him, otherwise the community would have contempt for her.
What about harems, ten women for one man, doesn't he think this is wrong?-- Well no, not really. If a woman is in a harem, she is learning to overcome her jealousy and sacrifice herself to her man, whether he is good or not. Women are to be totally dedicated as lovers and mothers, and become completely feminine, getting rid of everything masculine within them. Men are to become completely masculine, getting rid of everything feminine. This is how they perfect themselves as feminine and masculine spirits in traditional society.
What about the caste system, doesn't he think this is awful? --Absolutely not. In the traditional society, a person was considered to be born into a certain caste for good reason, the gods had determined it to be so. The birth was their karma. If the father was a barber, then his son would be a barber.
Is the caste system is unjust or oppressive? No, in the golden age, people were in total agreement about being in a certain castes. Only the outcasts or pariahs who had left their castes were totally despised. If the sacred king performed the rites to the gods in a solemn and exacting manner, society kept its connection with the divine, which kept the parts of society in good order with everyone doing their function without complaint. If the king began to regard the sacred rites as mere formality, then society began to lose connection with the divine and rebellion, discontent, and disorder began to occur.
The first to rebel would be the priest who were in the caste just below the king. If the priests rebelled wanting the authority of the king over both temporal and spiritual matters, this would begin the cycle of subversion of the castes beneath. The serfs and merchants would rebel against kings, warriors, and priests and women would rebel against men`s rule. This would start the decline that would bring us down to the iron age.
Do serfs and merchants have any real significance in this life or the hereafter? --Of course not. In the traditional society, the best of this life and the hereafter belonged to higher castes--nobles, heroic warriors, and priests. Only higher castes should own land and have privileges. In the afterlife, if a noble has lived a heroic life, he will go to Valhalla. When people of lower caste die, they merge into the totem or stock of their ancestors; their standardized personalities do not survive.
What are the characteristics of the bronze age moving into the iron age?--These ages are ruled by merchants or serfs, so the emphasis is on the economy or the common people. Society is a formless mass consumer society with hardly any distinctive noble personalities. People are restless, hopping from job to job or looking for the next thing that will thrill their bodies. There is no real transcendence; materialism and production reigns. There is a quantity of overproduced, cheap, and lousy goods. Merchant ethnics such as the Jews have power as a false aristocracy of wealth. A third estate society of merchants is America. A fourth estate society of plebs is the communist Soviet Union. Representative government, constitutionalism, and nationalism will eventually lead to a socialist and then a communist dictatorship. Communism is a wicked inverse of the legitimate rule of the king in the golden age.
What characterizes a Civilization of the Mother or a goddess-worshipping society? In the golden age, people worship a masculine and solar god. Men are from heaven, women are of the earth. The mother society worships the earth and fertility. People are buried, instead of cremated. Promiscuity rises, men are held in contempt, and the brotherhood of man is espoused as dogma. Goddess societies are inferior to God societies. Such societies are in a decadent stage.
Does Evola think Christianity is a good, traditional religion?--Catholicism is certainly superior to Protestantism and it has some good traditional elements in it, but there too much of the mother in that religion. Too much emphasis on the brotherhood of man, too much pleading and praying to God when the ancient sorcerers of the golden age commanded the gods. There is too much emphasis on equality and especially with Calvinism, the prosperity gospel and glorification of lower caste work. It also espouses the strange doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Only heroes and nobles are immortal. The commoners actually have no hope or fear in the afterlife. For them, there is no heaven and no hell, only personal oblivion.
Will decadence ever end? --Yes, according to the Vedas, the golden age shall rise again after the iron age has exhausted itself.
Evola's book is good for studying the mindset of the ancient world and of aristocrats, although egalitarians may say he has a biased interpretation or that the "sacred" texts are not to be revered because they merely justified an unjust order.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Julius Evola
See all 6 books citing this book
