Preamble: Wisdom wants to know reality. A region of reality (“the Tao”) isn’t knowable. Wisdom respects reality’s unknowability while pursuing reality nonetheless. This unending pursuit reached its apex in the 13th century, then the pursuit started to decline. Modernity was the rejection of respect for the Tao. Postmodernity is the rejection of the rejection.
ESB Parts
“Existence Strikes Back” is divided into four parts:
What is the Tao? The Tao, also called “the act of existence (actus essendi),” “the first principle of Zen,” and the region on the other side of Aldous Huxley’s doors of perception, is the nameless reality that is logically, conceptually, and in reality prior to everything else. This part of ESB emphasizes “The Reality Spectrum”: The Tao-->Essence-->Existence. Part I could be called "Pre-Modernity."
What is the Great Rejection? Modernity rejected the Tao portion of the Reality Spectrum and focused almost exclusively on the “essence” part of the Reality Spectrum: things we can count, measure, and understand through reason and logic. This rejection of the Tao is the "Great Rejection.” Part II could be called "Modernity."
What is the Rejection of the Great Rejection? Reality can’t be denied so the Tao keeps bubbling to the surface, often in troubling, but occasionally good ways, as people, either purposefully or intuitively, reject the Great Rejection and the Tao reasserts itself. Part III could be called "Post-Modernity."
How do I get the Tao back into my life? This part could also be called, “How to flourish in modernity despite modernity.” It features a lot of advice for re-asserting one’s right hemisphere (our modem for the Tao and, therefore, “ground zero” for our fight against modernity). Part IV could be called "Current Times."
