Eric Scheske

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Existence Strikes Back Part III

Modernity was the Great Rejection: The Rejection of the Tao. Post-Modernity is a Rejection of the Great Rejection: Attempts to get the Tao back into individual lives and society. The past 200 years have seen scores of popular efforts to get back in touch with the Tao, ranging from the occult to the Beats to St. Therese Lisiuex's Little Way to Zen to psychedlics. These essays pile on the examples.

Joseph Bottum and Postmodernism

Joseph Bottum and Postmodernism

I frequently wondered what happened to Jody Bottum. I hear he was forced out of First Things after Fr. Neuhaus died. Wikipedia says it was an argument over funding and the direction of the journal. I've liked to speculate it's because he wrote a surprising piece

Distributism is the Economic Sphere Revolt Against Modernity and Left-Hemispheric Hegemony

Distributism is the Economic Sphere Revolt Against Modernity and Left-Hemispheric Hegemony

Unfortunately, it doesn't work in the modern world without big government, and big government is the celebration of the left hemisphere. Still, it's worth pondering, just as I think it's worth pondering anarchism. Neither will be attained in my lifetime, but I think such

How a Talisman Works

How a Talisman Works

All forms of magic have this in common: they try to manipulate the spiritual to direct the material.

Albert Camus Knew the Left Hemisphere was Missing Something Crucial

Albert Camus Knew the Left Hemisphere was Missing Something Crucial

He approached his philosophy of the absurd with the left hemisphere rationalist approach, but at least he recognized the rationalist's problem.

The Black Arts Have No Nonsense About Them

The Black Arts Have No Nonsense About Them

Black Magic, Witchcraft, and Other Dark Responses to Challenge

Jacques Derrida Dismantles Modernity

Jacques Derrida Dismantles Modernity

Jacques Derrida revealed modernity's dirty secret: It was always just another religion . . . or rather, a series of religions, just like the Christian sects it scorned.

Modern Existentialism is the Rejection of Modernity's Extreme Essentialism

Modern Existentialism is the Rejection of Modernity's Extreme Essentialism

Modernity is rejection of the Tao (the "Great Rejection"). Existentialist movements throughout the past 200 years have rejected the rejection . . . and proven wildly popular.

Russell Kirk: The Anti-Modernist Cerberus

Russell Kirk: The Anti-Modernist Cerberus

The author of The Conservative Mind opposed modernity in at least three ways Russell Kirk hated modernity. He rebelled against it his entire life. He hated the automobile, calling it a “modern Jacobin.” He wouldn't allow a TV in his house (though he let a hobo named “Clinton”

Four Quirky Post-WWI Utopians

Four Quirky Post-WWI Utopians

Utopian irrationalism flourished after World War I. Here's a glimpse at four such reformers.

The Revolt Against Essence

The Revolt Against Essence

Getting to know the most popular philosophy of the 20th century