‘The world being illusive, one must be deluded in some way if one is to triumph in it.’
W.B. Yeats
Each chapter of this work is presented as a delusion. As Chapter 1 indicates, the fundamental delusion is to think that we can say anything at all about the nature of reality. Realty is an experience beyond words or logical analysis. The chances of getting anywhere near truth are therefore negligible! Reading however is an interruption to the flow of life and sometimes a word or phrase can resonate with an individual and provide some small help. That is the hope and intention here. There are also ‘mustard seed moments’, when the mind is open to new truth and some small word or thought arrives just at that time.
If truth is unknowable or inexpressible, then at least there is truth within a particular context — so far as we are able to realise this. I draw back from describing this as relative truth. The way I describe it is to recognise that when we are discussing a particular matter we do this within a context or boundary, whether this is recognised or not. Some boundaries are constructions that we make for ourselves. Some boundaries are forced upon us. Some boundaries are present but are not acknowledged or are misunderstood or denied. Only in the broadest context of Chapter 1, All is One, is there no boundary by definition. All other discussions are made therefore in opposition (but not in conflict) to this stance.
In like manner, some chapters speak of ‘economies’ and I use this word to define a bounded set of transactions, such as the ‘economy of grace’. Where such terms are employed it is again to try to sharpen our understanding of what is at stake when we use language and make assumptions unconsciously. Looking at the world in terms of distinct economies often serves as a useful tool to highlight points of contention or agreement that otherwise may be overlooked.
I make the distinction between Eros and Agapé but it is a difficult one. Eros should be spoken of mainly in positive terms, but the ‘ascendant’ aspect of Eros — always seeking higher and further goals — has to a large extent eclipsed the ‘descendant’ aspect. (Ascendancy and descendancy are terms we will be looking at in some detail within the work.) I have identified this ascendancy primarily with ‘spirit’. I do not use the word to imply any pre-existing entity who inhabits us, or some aspect of ourselves that might survive bodily death. Rather it is to try to emphasise the rarefied, aspirational aspect that is so much part of western religion, science and culture. Likewise, I use the word ‘soul’ to designate all that is ‘descendant’ in human nature and not in any sense to suggest that the soul can have a separate existence. ‘Descendant’ is used by way of contrast to ‘ascendant’. However, the notion of going ‘down’ and embracing the Earth and other people is perhaps somewhat difficult. In a way we are already ‘down’ — or more properly we are in the midst, surrounded, enfolded, embraced and cherished by nature. However, as we so often assume the hierarchical role of ascendancy, then we need some going down just to bring us back to where we really are. We need to acknowledge our true relation with nature and culture. In contrast to Eros, Agapé is probably closer to the descendant aspect of life.
Where to begin then, in trying to explain what the aim of this book is about? Well, two things:
I want to celebrate life — my body, my relationship with other people, my place in nature and my place within the wider universe. This is the erotic nature of life seeking expression. But various things seem to prevent me from fully realising this goal. How can this be resolved? Added to this, I see the suffering of others. I want to help meet their needs. Again though, this desire is frustrated. My own search for happiness and the suffering of others are difficult problems to relieve. What can be done to remedy this?
In essence, these two questions are the premise of the work. Personal happiness — explored best perhaps in psychoanalysis — and happiness for the many, the Marxist ideology. Desire and need.
Psychoanalysis literally means ‘letting the butterfly go free.’ And Freud spoke of the ‘will to pleasure’. Meanwhile the frustration of this quest is succinctly observed by R.D. Laing in The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise. He says: ‘To adapt to this world, the child abdicates its ecstasy.’ Recovering ecstasy then is the first quest of this work.
As for the second issue — satisfying the needs of others — we have to face the fact that the political solution has not been ultimately realisable and address our concerns accordingly.
Our culture tends to see questions as either/or questions. It tries to reduce everything in the world to such black and white choices. The alternative to this dualistic, polemical approach is a ‘dialectic’ – a discussion that looks at both/and. I hope that what follows will be such a dialectic. Always, the ‘delusions’ we discuss are not to be abandoned wholesale. Of particular note is how we might ‘bring home’ each subject to real life and how it might inform us of our response to ourselves, others and to the world.
Finally, of course, I am not pretending to ‘solve’ the delusions discussed here. They are probably unsolvable. If you are looking for answers then stop reading now! If however, you are content with ‘going nowhere in a timeless moment’ then read on!