tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post7578427797504185101..comments2024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:00Comments on Rants Within the Undead God: Introversion and the EsotericBenjamin Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-8501507985724967592018-05-14T20:02:55.832-04:002018-05-14T20:02:55.832-04:00Thanks, Joaqpataphor. I'm not familiar with so...Thanks, Joaqpataphor. I'm not familiar with some of the names you mentioned. I'll see if I can have a look at what they're about. <br /><br />I suspect something like transhumanism or posthumanism will be part of an unembarrassing, that is, naturalistic religion (secular humanism being a weak civic religion). I talk about this in the articles below, but of course there's much more to say about it.<br /><br />Is "postmodern religion" oxymoronic, I think you're asking, because such a religion would be ironic, fragmented and thus anti-dogmatic or blasphemous? I think here we shouldn't be misled by the fact that most of the major religions have been theistic. I'm thinking of religion, rather, in the sociological (Durkheimian) sense combined with the existentialist assumption that worldviews begin with leaps of faith (as in Kierkegaard, Tillich, Sartre, etc).<br /><br />So the question for me is how a science-centered culture will console itself without delusions or other forms of bad faith. Will that society inevitably disintegrate, because the cosmic truth is too horrific for the majority? Are delusions or noble lies thus indispensable for the human herd, so that the unembarrassing religion is fit only for the minority of intellectual elites and connoisseurs of horror and absurdity? I hope that's a false dichotomy and that there's a popular, exoteric version of the elite, possibly-posthuman self-conception that's superior to the traditional (obsolete), theistic wishes and mental projections. <br /><br />https://rsbakker.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/homelessness-and-the-transhuman-some-existential-implications-of-cognitive-science-by-benjamin-cain/<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2017/12/posthuman-religion-from-end-of-art.html<br /> Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-24431251169250066972018-05-13T12:45:35.816-04:002018-05-13T12:45:35.816-04:00Compliments on your blog – I have dipped into it r...Compliments on your blog – I have dipped into it routinely over the past few years and continue to. Thanks.<br /><br />While my expressive forms differ from yours I’m often aligned with your orientations and find your relatively rare call for an unembarrassing postmodern religion and (corollary?) intelligent subversion of various dominant orders refreshing.<br /><br />Taxonomies and names tend to be bubbles we blow for assorted utilitarian purposes but in addition to a predilection for philosophical Daoism I find myself naturally cavorting with tribes I could call aesthetic mysticism (apophatic aesthetics). Two of the notable (for me) classic western mystics of the 20th century are S Weil and E Jabes. Various others (TS Eliot an obvious example) flirt with that group by virtue of their confessions.<br /><br />But those who are more disoriented toward classic religious traditions also engage – from C Lispector to that strangely perfect expression of what might be an inchoate unembarrassing postmodern religion: Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet – perfect because it’s self-consciously imperfect, softly and wryly embarrassing, almost patamodern, irreligious. Yet any such formulation might (in this chaotically narrative-competitive present) be bound to be inchoate, fragmented, not recognizably religious … for we have no (or few or only vaguely oneiric) maps for such bindings. Or do we?jooqpataphornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-71309746389524086152016-11-29T10:03:24.946-05:002016-11-29T10:03:24.946-05:00i think that the best variant is introvert and ext...i think that the best variant is introvert and extrovert cooperation! <a href="http://skywritingservice.com/blog/extroverts-vs-introverts-how-to-choose-perfect-career" rel="nofollow">http://skywritingservice.com/blog/extroverts-vs-introverts-how-to-choose-perfect-career</a> has some ideas for both extro- and introverts concerning the job question!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04965006631140245737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-11092527945327994942014-05-30T17:34:23.450-04:002014-05-30T17:34:23.450-04:00I had to do a number of personality tests in schoo...I had to do a number of personality tests in school (not for medical but the school wanted to know strategies to help the students... doubt they could find any esp. for introverts who they often just claimed as being quiet or anti-social) but I came out Ambivert or lower than 10% more introvert or extrovert on them. I would love to hear what you think about Ambiverts because we seem to be not even though of. Just lumped in the closest catergory. Oh Coco!https://www.blogger.com/profile/05592067820716845029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-69375982785704541392013-10-08T17:14:40.509-04:002013-10-08T17:14:40.509-04:00Yes, the internet has changed everything.
Before,...Yes, the internet has changed everything.<br /><br />Before, a smug and complacent mass consensus had the power to isolate us, shut us out, and certainly never let us near an audience.<br />I know, because I spent my childhood exactly like that in the final years of the pre-internet age and it wasn't until connections got faster and more convenient than dial-up that the world really started to experience tremors.<br /><br />It's the biggest real change I think since the spread of mass literacy and the printing press.<br />We've haven't even begun to see its full implications...John the Peregrinehttp://kingdomofintroversion.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-73638926676417871242013-09-28T09:01:45.097-04:002013-09-28T09:01:45.097-04:00Yes, it's nice to find like-minded folks. I su...Yes, it's nice to find like-minded folks. I suspect there are more introverts than extroverts on the internet, though. For a clickable list of my main articles, check out the Map of the Rants at this blog's top-right corner:<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2013/02/map-of-rants.htmlBenjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-35219739386949608272013-09-27T23:25:05.947-04:002013-09-27T23:25:05.947-04:00I was just lead here by a commenter after I wrote ...I was just lead here by a commenter after I wrote a post today on introverts and the nihilism.<br /><br />I had no idea you were out there until now and I find myself pleased that there are others writing for introvert outsiders and trying to create worthwhile belief systems from the shambles of our consumerist society.John the Peregrinehttp://kingdomofintroversion.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-25637531822383117322013-05-08T10:03:41.631-04:002013-05-08T10:03:41.631-04:00I run a club for introverts with the most logical ...I run a club for introverts with the most logical personality types (organized through the internet as you mentioned so we can easily find one another). Everything you have written here mirrors the thoughts that I have had and that have been driving my behavior - especially the part about the creation of a postmodern religion governed by introverts. This is something that has interested me for a very long time. <br /><br />When that has actually happened, the world will be a much better place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-89461065826593786822013-02-26T19:24:38.231-05:002013-02-26T19:24:38.231-05:00Thanks! You make a number of interesting points. I...Thanks! You make a number of interesting points. I like the contrast between Byron and Gault, although strictly speaking, a libertarian should defend the individual's right to be introverted. Anyway, the denigration of introverts is largely an American phenomenon, but since American culture has the most global reach, it effects people everywhere. I'm afraid that introverts will never feel at home in American-style culture, but the silver lining is that introverts are less likely to be interested in the superficial entertainments that are celebrated in that global monoculture. There's a connection between introversion and religious asceticism, or detachment from pop cultural pastimes. I write about this in my article "Revenge of the Omega Men," which can be found here:<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2012/05/revenge-of-omega-men.html Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-59054847348979116572013-02-26T17:24:42.232-05:002013-02-26T17:24:42.232-05:00I am so glad for finding this post. I have long be...I am so glad for finding this post. I have long believed that our society has a hate/hate relationship with introverts. There is no room in it for us, unless it is as writers. There would be no literature without us. <br />The reality is that we understand extraverts. We know what it is that makes them tick, we might not be able to emulate them, but we certainly understand them, sometimes even better than they understand themselves. Unfortunately extraverts have no clue on what it is like to be us, what is worse is that they do not feel there is anything they need to understand about us <br />I often wander what the world would look like if I were an extravert. It is a fun exercise. And I can learn a lot from the experience. But extraverts cannot reciprocate. An extravert cannot see the world as one of us. Our world view is something they will never touch or know intimately. Our thoughts are forever beyond the boundaries of their experience. To them we are very much like Schrodinger’s cat, and abstraction, and abomination, something that cannot be fathom in concrete terms. <br />I wander as to the why for this one way dilemma. Your post elucidates as to the cultural causes, nevertheless it is still a bit painful to be denigrated to the pile of the obsolete, the ugly and the undesirable. <br />I think there are great parallels between introversion today and homosexuality back in the 70’s and 80’s. Both are seen as aberrations from the norm. Both are seen as a matter of choice that can be, and has to be, corrected. Both are seen as immoral; one offensive to god the other offending the market. Both can be a source of shame.<br />Unfortunate the age of Byronic heroes is over; witness the rise of the John Galts. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-24674576238401715692013-02-17T20:48:17.674-05:002013-02-17T20:48:17.674-05:00Thanks very much. Feel free to help me spread the...Thanks very much. Feel free to help me spread the word!Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-64474697886083223742013-02-17T18:04:20.349-05:002013-02-17T18:04:20.349-05:00I'd just like to say that this is easily one o...I'd just like to say that this is easily one of the best articles I've read about introversion and it's extremely well-written. It captures the essence of introversion and its relation to extroversion very well and describes the problems with how our society perceives them fantastically.<br /><br />Thank you so much for writing this and I really hope you get more publicity out of this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-32760694347260530412013-02-16T20:06:29.015-05:002013-02-16T20:06:29.015-05:00Thanks for your thought-provoking comments, Steve....Thanks for your thought-provoking comments, Steve. I've been thinking of writing something on suicide, but it's a tricky subject.<br /><br />I wonder if the emptiness you're talking about is found especially in a materialistic culture. Are all walks of life empty or just the life of consuming mass-produced products? I know what you mean, though, when you say that the anticipation is often more rewarding than achieving the goal.<br /><br />But this gets to the heart of my blog. How do we make the best of the worst-case scenario? If we take on board the dark postmodern worldview (atheistic naturalism, cosmicism, moral subjectivism, etc), what then? Is there nothing for such informed people to believe in? Nothing that deserves their worship? I'm fascinated by this question of a fitting religion/mythos for our time. There are lots of New Age contenders and also the old standbys like Buddhism, plus the upstart of New Atheistic Scientism. I've got problems with all of them, but I'm trying here in this blog to put my finger on what omegas, introverts, outcasts, seekers, artists, atheistic naturalists and the like should turn to to satisfy their spiritual/philosophical longings. <br /><br />We could use a really good story to cheer us all up. The Matrix came close for me, because of its Gnostic themes, but it's still ridden with Hollywood cliches (like the kiss that saves Neo at the end). Plus, you have to treat the whole thing as allegorical, since we're probably not brains in a vat.<br /><br />I'm glad you're getting something out of my writings. And thanks again for your comments. I do appreciate them. In fact, I've recently added a widget to this blog that puts the recent comments up near the top at the right so they can be more easily accessed. Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-61926375107481218572013-02-16T18:45:07.743-05:002013-02-16T18:45:07.743-05:00Ben,
A few months ago I was visiting two of my fr...Ben,<br /><br />A few months ago I was visiting two of my friends of who are married. They told me that their next door neighbour took his own life. I had met him before. He was a gentleman. He lived alone. He had no partner. His front garden was tended to regularly.He planted beautiful flowers and the grass was cut like a golf course. He earned good money and only recently he had been active in the neighbourhood committee. He drove a good car. He was no more than 33 years old. He left a short note. I don't know what it said. <br /><br />My friends were quite upset as you can imagine. We discussed the possible reasons as to why he made the decision to end his life. We only speculated. I had the idea that being a man in this kind of culture is not easy. I'm speaking as a man. I've no idea about women. HA.<br /><br /> How many human beings on this planet would kill to have that kind of security that he had? He was a free man. He was young and reasonably wealthy. He obviously wanted to help somehow and be part of something. What was he thinking when he came home from work that night? He may have been a closet homosexual and was too ashamed to come out. Or he may have been abused or maybe he felt that life was fruitless and there was nothing more to it. Maybe his sex life was non existent and he couldn't make excuses for it. Maybe he yearned for honest communication like we do. Maybe he saw no point in earning more money. Maybe he believed that when he attained the objects of his desire everything would fall into place. <br /><br />Or what about that emptiness that we feel? I'm sure as a human being and an insightful philosopher, you are aware of the emptiness of life? For me it comes as a shock. For a few weeks I may be saving money to buy a book or a video game or a new album. It might be a fantasy I have about what my weekend will be like after I finish college so I can finally have some time off. And whenever I acquire this object of my desire or have the experience I imagined, sometimes I have this realization of the whole emptiness of life. It's not a pleasant experience. I immediately feel the need to fill it. I think if one experiences this and stays with it to find out what it means, it can be replenishing. I think there may be real freedom in this emptiness. You can start again as if the past never mattered. <br /><br />The conflict here is that the identity has vanished. There is no 'me' to speak of and everything I thought was real turns out to be a kind of illusion. This is a fragile state to be in. Many would turn to drugs to escape it. Or become a Christian or a Buddhist. Or maybe they don't see any other way of being so they grind away in the office like the neighbour was doing until it was only a matter of time. He needs to be naive and jump off the cliff like The Fool in a tarot deck. Just like when Neo was about to get out of the car and walk down that road again :-). <br /><br />I'm not really sure what the point is of all this. It just came to me. <br />I apologize for writing an essay here. Most of the time I can't comment on your blogs. Even though I understand what you write I have a limited vocabulary so I communicate better with stories. <br /><br />Also! This is the only blog I have ever commented on in my life and probably the only I ever will. Good luck with the novel! I hope I'll have some money when the time comes. I can't even afford a pair of trousers at the moment! :-)<br /><br />SteveStevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02654670323654473931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-73798385434573064162013-02-15T11:40:57.441-05:002013-02-15T11:40:57.441-05:00Thanks very much for this feedback. I think you...Thanks very much for this feedback. I think you're really on to something especially with some points you make near the end here. I've toyed with the idea of a broader sadomasochistic dynamic in societies, based on a documentary I saw once and a book I have but haven't read through. How do extroverts see introverts? Or more broadly, how do alphas see omegas? As nuisances that should be eliminated or as slaves that inevitably aggrandize the masters just by being around and by losing in mainstream, extroverted terms? And are introverts really more self-contented so that they don't have to define themselves in relation to something foreign? These are interesting questions.<br /><br />I am writing a novel now. I've got about 100 pages so far and I'm quite proud of them. I'm planning for this book to be the first in a series.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-31712628262076490872013-02-15T11:05:26.679-05:002013-02-15T11:05:26.679-05:00Hi Ben
Are you writing a novel?! As soon as it be...Hi Ben<br /><br />Are you writing a novel?! As soon as it becomes available I will definitely buy a copy! <br /><br />When I first read your article 'Defending Existential Cosmicism" I couldn't believe that somebody was able to write down exactly how I felt about...everything! <br /><br />Since we are introverts we struggle more. Trying being more like them and whats going to happen? More anxiety and depression. So they are just if not way more delusional than we are? Why can't we accept who we are? Why can't we accept that all of us have limitations and be humble about it? Well because if we are not maintaining 'normal' career, sexual and social reputations, they look at us and say "Hey buddy maybe you need more of what we have because then you will be happy". <br /> <br />An introvert may imitate what they think is normal.This just causes anxiety. Most of my friends are probably introverts. Its not pleasant when they strive to fit into the majority. They come off as dicks and you can see right through their bullshit. It usually comes down to "How come you are not having sex as much as us?" When an introvert starts playing that game they have already lost. Imagine being just the one man in a group that sees the world differently? Imagine being the only man who can see all the angles to this thing and is accused of being weird or a loser. He knows what it is. We are too fragile. And that's not a negative.Who is it exactly that we are appeasing?. Parents? Friends? Some other group? Are they looking out for us? Do they want us to join them or do they need us where we are so they can feel better about their mediocrity? Isn't that a nice thought?. Their status is dependent upon the people who lack the traits that they have or want. Since we live by comparison it's obvious that our place in the world is so important for the rest of them. They need us here to define themselves. But we don't need to compare ourselves to them and especially not to other people like us. Its going to be a lonely life if we keep trying to become somebody else. That's not to say we shouldn't have goals or strive to be better. But by accepting who we really are, I think, is the first step to liberation.<br /><br />Ben, please excuse my grammar and spelling! :-)Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02654670323654473931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-45501021735038306352013-02-14T09:33:27.494-05:002013-02-14T09:33:27.494-05:00I'm glad it spoke to you. You might also want ...I'm glad it spoke to you. You might also want to check out my blog articles, "Revenge of the Omega Men" (May 2012) and "Defending Existential Cosmicism" (July 2012).Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-86764503924732087912013-02-13T19:11:31.181-05:002013-02-13T19:11:31.181-05:00WOW. *standing ovation*. Wow. You...great job. Exc...WOW. *standing ovation*. Wow. You...great job. Excellent. Just...bravo. I stumbled across this entry...I can't remember how, but I'm a better person for it. Just...excellent. I'll have to take some time to digest how significant all of your insight were to me, but, thank you. enigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05854589378777724357noreply@blogger.com