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(G. Bataille).
The INTRODUCTION. How the Philosophy returns to its sources.
1) Will to Death.
THE INTRODUCTION.
«When one who is listening does not understand another man, who is speaking,
and the speaker does not know what he means, - it is a philosophy»
(Voltaire)
It becomes obvious for everybody now, that the so-called academic philosophy has
fallen outside own limits in which the philosophy was generated in the Ancient
Greece, and has turned to dead system of ritual spells, called "a philosophical
discourse». But right now, when the world changes into one big poststructuralist
project, the philosophy comes back to native sources, presenting an example of
universal model of eternal returning.
The philosophical creativity has turned to some kind of technology using which a
thinking person adjusts itself on the corresponding relation to a life, and checks,
how much it was possible to him. Proceeding from the nature of philosophy,
position of the independent thinker, who is not pursuing the aims of material
welfare and office advancement, not only provides to him a relative anonymity, but
also denies all the conventional understanding of philosophy as an infinite process
of senseless chatter. This process quite corresponds to the specificity of
modern philosophy, as product of a contemporary civilization with decayed
institutes of information violence.
Now our time has provided return of philosophy to the primary environment of its
dwelling. That forces us to speak about a style instead of habitual for the academic
propagation "a professional approach". Moreover, such kind of the exaggerated
professional approach began to testify not only about provincialism of its
supporters, but — owing to inadequate habit to estimate everything around it—
about an imitating character of the professional philosophy as a whole.
Thus, the last one for a long time already represents itself as a comfortable
convention replacing a sacral aesthetics of philosophical spirituality by conformist
chatter of philosophizing handicraftsmen. However, it is premature to bury them
yet, for they in a latent form, carry out an important sense-creating function - so far
as they brightly reflect the processes of fatal disintegration of a decaying chimera
of the modern world.
CHAPTER 1.
"The wise person does not possess humanity. All the people are like straw dogs
for him".
(Lao -Tzu).
This text is written in the spirit of Edgar Poe, but it is completely not terrible.
Sentenced man has lay down on a medical table for reception of deadly injections.
His execution consists of three stages, during which three solutions are entered into
his vein, the first deprives him of consciousness, the second stops a work of his
lungs, and the third stops his heart.
According to Jaspers, a person sees world of human activity as a state with its
ruthless inflexibility. Beginning with the times of Socrates institute of democracy
was unshakable to infringers of the convention, which unmasked its
cruel character. A difference between theatre and democracy consists on the
fact that the theatre fairly and truthfully recognizes that it is only a theatre.
Meanwhile, democracy, unlike theatre, deceitfully tries to hide a fact that it is a
theatre too. As to so-called Russian democracy, it represents itself not as a theatre,
but as a circus of clowns.
Expecting execution, the condemned man wrote some letters for his friends and
some kind of essay - for the purpose of publication. According to his opinion, his
essay should give an irrefragable answer on a question: why he has made his
action. Having studied the foreign policy of the state, I have decided to send a
signal, intended to our power, because it became more and more aggressive. If
somebody tries to estimate it according to moral and strategic sense, then my
action is obviously equivalent to the air blows on cities and peaceful population of
different countries, which were obviously incapable to protect themselves". It
means that the state in vain appropriates a monopoly for legitimate using
violence.
Many witnesses, who were present on the execution, recollected as the following:
“- He looked so, as if he wished to tell us: he would receive not that he has
deserved, but just the same that he wanted. I feel deceived”.
“- I hoped that, when facing his own death, he will tell us something like "an
excuse", but I could not read anything of a kind on his sight”.
“- Without having told words, he has reserved a last word for himself”.
However, his last word all the same has been told. In two days before his
execution, he has extended a poem, written by English poet William Ernest
Henley, - "Invictus "("Invincible"):
... "It is better let the spark of my life to go out, brightly having flashed, than to
decay eternally in a dust. It is better to shine as a meteor, than to be a gloomy
eternal moon. I would like to be ashes, but not a dust". Jack London, 1906.
CHAPTER 2.
I can name a last sight of some person as a most true moment of all his life.
The dying person obviously sees that a lot deal of his fears were absolutely vain.
Daily overtaking death, a person comes to understanding of this true during his
lifetime. So thinking without fear begins.
A person possesses capability of thinking and so, unique of all living beings,
knows about his own finiteness. A presentiment of death, which is peculiar to an
animal, in human thinking becomes philosophy. So, a bible thinker Ecclesiastes
has fairly noticed that «multiplying knowledge - multiplies grief». Probably,
therefore the person became a unique being on the Earth, regularly and
purposefully destroying himself and his own relatives. It became for us like one of
illusory ways of finding of a freedom in choosing. «To know that you are mortal,
means to die at least twice, no, means to die every time at thought that you should
die», - thus a Romanian thinker Emil Cioran wrote. And it is interesting: what is
more awful – an endless horror or an awful end? A whole horror consists of that
the people, without excluding even small children, are compelled to undergo both
that and another. And now a well - known philosophical paradox of Epicure
(according to which death for a person does not exist, for while he is alive, death
has not come yet, and when there has come death — there is no person) hardly
probable will help. Certainly, Epicure aspired to overcome not death, but only fear
of death, which, on his opinion, along with fear of gods poisons a human life and
does people unfortunate. Epicure most likely was mistaken concerning gods,
because all representations about gods exist for the aim to help people with
overcoming of fear of death. And people really are afraid not so much death, but
terrible tortures connected with it. Thereupon it is possible to consider as a good
luck those episodes when death comes suddenly.
A woman here dies. At first she has turned yellow, then her stomach was inflated
and she began to moan terribly. After a while she has сamе то аn agony, but some
more days continued to moan and groan. At last, a blood has rushed from her
throat, and she has died, but even after that blood continued to exude. If this
suffering body is a strange kind of animal, where is our
grandmother? Perhaps, any force, observing our sufferings, makes experiments
over people?
(Michael Naumenko)
The death destroys all. If a person could die only by means of ordinary effort of
will, the mankind would disappear very quickly. But the mechanism of self-
development and self-damage provides every possible dodges, with which forces
people to cling to a life while, at last, all of them with disgusting rotting does not
fall prey of sepulchral hearts. Someone from philosophers has told that any life is a
dying stretched in time. Every instant death approaches more and more close to
victim, including a serial murderer of children and Lev Tolstoy, and leading both
of them to absolute zero. So the Non-existence represents itself as such universal
and unique reality that life appears as illusory visibility. Life is present only
yesterday and today, while the Non-existence was, is and will be always.
During an epoch of Zenon and Epicure in the Ancient Greece there lived
philosopher Hegecius nicknamed the Teacher of Death. It belonged to
philosophical school, a founder of which, Aristippes, learnt that a sense of life
consists in pleasures, and at the end of his life has committed suicide. Hegecius
was convinced that a suffering reigns in the world. The best that a person can do is
to try not to mourn about it, and to show insensibility to death. Hegecius so
convincingly showed to people a pettiness of life that his many listeners have
committed suicide and as a result, he has forbidden to propagate his teachings.
However, Hegecius, also as Arthur Schopenhauer, who denied will to live and has
lived to a ripe old age, did not call for immediate suicide at all – he preached only
a contempt for a life and will for death, which meant his readiness to die in any
minute. After all, as told Fales, between life and death there is no difference.
However, when he was asked – why he, in that case, will not die, he has
reasonably answered – just for this reason. In the history of philosophy one more
will – nietzschean will to power - which is usually considered, as a statement of
a life is known. However, according to Nietzsche, his will to power does not
mean a banal tendency to domination. It is some kind of aspiration to fall outside
the limits of sensation and to leave an incompleteness of our daily existence.
Developing the concept of Nietzsche, it becomes possible to tell that will to
power simultaneously represents itself as will to death or will to the Nothing, in
which process is more important than result. This existential imperative has
extremely clearly sounded in G. Bataille's statement: “Die, as a dog!” A
philosophical substantiation of will to the Nothing as a further logic development
of will to power can be found in Heidegger's philosophy: “To will the Nothing - it
does not means to will absence of all valid. On the contrary, it just means to will
valid, but only such kind of valid, which destroys everything, i.e. to will
destruction. And in such Will, the power still provides possibility to be a master”.
(M. Heidegger. “Nietzsche and the Void”). And what is the all-conquering
Nothing? For the purpose to understand this, it is It is represented useful to
consider some related concepts. In particular, in philosophical literature one can
often meet with distinctions between three related blocks of concepts, such as: “the
Non-Existence", "the Nothing” and “the Void”. It is necessary to note at that these
three concepts are very close among themselves. However, it is necessary to make
the reservation of that the listed concepts of the substantial relation are rather close
among themselves. Therefore, their differentiation has a conditional character.
Simple people trust only in those phenomena which they can see or hear. Some
difficulty in definition of a non-existence consists of a spirit which has no any
representation about the Nothing. It stops before this line behind which both
contemplation and understanding disappear. Thus it is impossible to create neither
an image, nor a concept about the Nothing - it is situated outside all definitions
because the Nothing is a spirit. So dissolution of spirit in emptiness of the Non-
existence is a spiritual consciousness of itself.
1) The Non-existence is more absolute than life in the same measure in what
the substance is more absolute than it’s conditions;
2) Casual is absolute, and every law is relative, because any law cannot provide
all cases. Generally speaking, for a case there is no law. The law is only for
cases;
3) The Non-existence in which all contrasts are destroyed is more absolute than
these contrasts. We can recollect at least zero density in the Universe, for
example;
4) Everything present is only a small part of that is absent and of that which
will be, i.e. of the Non-existence;
5) The moving body is in one, final part of space, and it is not in another,
infinite part of space; any body exists in a final part of space and does not exist
in its infinite part;
6) All arises for a while, and perishes forever. Occurrence and destruction
possess various strength. So far as time is not a phenomenon, but an essential
property of life, so far as everything is short-lived, the Non-Existence is
absolute, and life is quite relative. (And, hence, the doomsday is inevitable).
Thus, Chanyshev considers that the underlying all Non-Existence (the Void)
illusory acts as the world with its seeming variety. A Non-Existence initially
represents a world normal state, while life - only a time deviation, the form of
existence of a non-existence. A non-existence of the Non-Existence is life. As the
Non-Existence exists, without existing, and does not exist, existing, it compounds
a time. Only the Non-Existence can be both an original cause and self-reason: as it
does not exist, then it does not demand the reasons for the existence. The
Increasing speeds, more and more high rates of a life, more and more distant
flights in space, - unless it not an aspiration of life at least for an instant to come
off the Non-Existence?
“All of us go on thin ice over ocean of the Non-Existence. The more life becomes
intensively, the more it become fragile, and the more strongly subject to
destruction of life there appears “, - Chanyshev speaks. – “A Love is an attempt to
be hooked for another's life and to make the life steadier by that “. Also a love for
God from here originates: after all just when meeting intolerable physical and
sincere sufferings people address to God, trying to be hooked for His eternity.
As everything real is unity of two aspects — life and essence, so far the Nothing
serving by negation of aspect of definiteness, simultaneously acts as a negation of
life. But the Nothing is not quite equal to the Non-Existence". Analyzing these
concepts, we can see different senses of negation. Thus the Nothing is a negation
of definiteness, and the Non-Existence is a negation of existence. For this reason in
philosophical and religious mysticism a concept of the Nothing is often considered
as a kind of existence deprived of definiteness. This got to the Nothing some
positive sense, which is unusual for the Non-existence. This means that a material
“nothing" simultaneously became a spiritual “everything".
So, Plato, Hegel and others recognized the Nothing as a key category of
philosophy (such as “God”, “life”, “absolute” and others), denying a principle
according to which “from anything nothing arises” (“ex nihilo nihil fit”).
Within another approach which originates from the Ancient Greek philosophy, the
Nothing results from formal negation and is defined as a formal-logic concept. The
great Greek thinker Aristotle has been convinced that philosophy begins with a
surprise. Probably therefore philosophers can not cease to be surprised with a Life,
which is given a person for the sake of the Nothing. Some philosophers consider
that "the Void", "the Nothing" and so forth – all these terms are possible only as
the concepts existing in consciousness of a person. In materialistic philosophy
concept of "the Nothing" is not a philosophical category as if it contradicts with
principles of eternity and unity of a material world. From the Christian point of
view the eternal Nothing is a display of divine strength and everywhereness. Just
from the Nothing have been created by God both angels and the visible Universe.
Thereupon a book of bible skeptic Ecclesiastes, in which there is no hint on
continuation of a life after death, is interesting. Ecclesiastes does not think out
consolations like habitual for us representations about eternity and about a life
which does not die even at the moment of death. His quite unusual for the Bible
position is summarized by a rhetorical question: “What advantage is received by a
worker from results of his work?” (3,9). For the acknowledgement of his views,
Ecclesiastes takes a best of all possible scenarios of human destiny: he tells about a
tsar, who has possessed both wisdom, and riches, and power. This tsar has
succeeded in all his affairs, it has constructed his own world and he has received
everything that a person only can wish from a life. But even “a most successful
life” cannot avoid its final end, which is death (2, 13-17). And results of works
inevitably are gotten into alien hands after death and they can become property of
madmen. (2, 18-22). Sometimes this occurs already during ones lifetime, but, in
any case, last destiny of a person is darkness and misfortunes (2, 21-23). Finally
Ecclesiastes comes to conclusion that even in the most ideal case nothing in life
belongs to a person. We will add – with exception for the Nothing itself. A concept
of the Nothing is so universal after all, that it becomes possible to explain a nature
of God with it. So, according to the Spanish philosopher Miguel Unamuno, “We
create God for the aim to rescue the Universe from the Nothing”. But probably is it
to relieve the Nothing from itself?
The Nothing is partly connected with a key concept of a Judaic Cabbala – “Ein
Sof” which means "Boundless", the Deity, giving rise and extending. Ein Sof is
written also as “En Soph” and “Ain Suph”, but anybody, even rabbis, are not sure
of a writing of vowels. According to early cabbalists Ein Sof is defined as
something “without form and existence", "not having similarity with another”
(Frank, “Die Kabbala”). That Ein Sof was never considered as "Creator", it has
been said by such an orthodox Jew, as Filon, who named "Creator" as Logos
following for "The Boundless", and even as “the Second God". "This second God
is a wisdom of Ein Sof”, stated Filon (“Quaest et Solut”). Thus, according to
religious metaphysics of Hebrew philosophers, the Principle of Uniformity was an
abstraction. However, some modern cabbalists with the help of sophism and
paradoxes have rather succeeded in explanation of Ein Sof as the “Supreme God”.
The Deity is the Nothing; it is nameless and consequently is named “Ein Sof”,
because this “Ein” just means "The Nothing". (Franc “Die Kabbala”).
So, if to follow the idea about primary and substantive character of the Nothing
which in this context can be equated to the Absolute, then we will receive that the
Nothing (the Non-existence), passing through it’s own comprehension and
negation by means of conceiving life, as a result Anything comes back again and
definitively to a condition of the Absolute Nothing, or to the Non-Existence in it’s
most finished and perfect form. Thus the Absolute Nothing is considered as a
substantial something, or, in other words, as the Spiritual Everything. But “spirit
reaches the Truth, only finding itself in an absolute rupture”, - as Hegel confirmed.
So, this interpretation of the Hegel’s system allows undertake preliminary
approach to understanding of objective meaning of materialization of the Nothing
in a form of the rupture of continuity, that is, a time transition of the Non-
Existence in existence and back. We see that if existence exists in time, the Non-
Existence exists out of time, i.e. in eternity, and their dialectic interaction translates
the Absolute on qualitatively more perfect step of substantive transformation. Thus
the Absolute Nothing can be considered as an objective beginning of everything.
One more, but much less known German philosopher living in 19 century - Phillip
Mainlender, considered himself as a follower of pessimist Arthur Schopenhauer,
has been convinced that philosophical pessimism is necessary not only in theory,
but also in practice. So, Mainlender, after having published his only book “The
Philosophy of expiation” in which he has given a sense to existence of the world
for the aim that than with a quiet conscience to leave it, with feeling of deep
satisfaction has committed suicide. In his book he has written that “God has died,
and his death became a life of world”. Therefore a state and a society should aspire
to such organization in which the culture of understanding of aimlessness of a life
and cooperation with God in His aspiration to the Nothing would be formed.
It is quite obvious that Heidegger spoke about “terrible empty wisdom of the
Nothing” as it was told above. The philosopher underlines primary and basic
character of the Nothing in it’s relation with existence as a whole, and in relation to
subjective perceptions of life by a person: «Only on a basis of primary displaying
of the Nothing a human presence is capable to approach to real and to penetrate
into it... A human presence means putting forward into the Nothing …And putting
of our life into the Nothing on the basis of undercover horror is an exit above the
limits of reality, or a transcendention. Our asking about the Nothing urged to show
us metaphysics in itself”. Thus, according to Heidegger, the essence of
metaphysics compounds immersing in Horror of the Nothing. And without this
immersing metaphysics is quite impossible - irrespective of, whether people who
try to argue metaphysically understand this point. Simultaneously there appears a
fresh wording of the basic question of philosophy: "Why in general there is reality,
instead of the Nothing?" Thus is the basic maintenance of the doctrine of
Heidegger concerning parity between existence and the Nothing.
The various thinking on this theme we also meet in creativity of the French
existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, in particular, in his composition “The Existence and
the Nothing”. In this treatise Sartre adheres to traditional for the European
philosophy views about the maintenance of the Non-existence (the Nothing) as
deprived of an independent essence and representing itself only as an antithesis to
the substantial existence: “So, the Nothing is absent. We can tell about it only
because it possesses visibility of the life, borrowed life … An existence by means
of which the Nothing comes to the world, there should be it’s own Nothing”.
Actually, as we can tell, the Nothing creates the world, as well as a whole
existence, as its own time anomaly. We always find out the Nothing – in every
place and at every time - as the unique prospect and inevitability. Basically, each
life represents its own Nothing, which exists only for the reason of non-existence.
No less than the substantive Absolute Nothing exists owing to the non-existence,
constantly absorbing isolated fragments of life. After all movement is an eternal
process of destruction. Such is the basic function of the Nothing: it destroys.
And at last, in the Eastern philosophical tradition the concept close to the Nothing
(but not identical with it) is usually designated as "the Void".
Existing steams of philosophical categories, such as a truth and an error, a life and
a death, a freedom and a slavery, a beauty and an ugliness, a pleasure and a
suffering, a love and a hatred, a destruction and a creation and others, represent a
reflection of the Absolute Void by two mirrors.
The Sunnata (it is literally means —the Void, the Nothing, the Non-Existence) is a
concept of the Buddhism believing absence of own nature of things and
phenomena (Dharmas) for the reason of their conditionality and interdependence.
“For whom the Void is clear, all becomes clear”, - the Buddhist philosopher
Nagarjuna living in India in 3 century told. He taught that outside of a network of
dependent origin of causes and effects there is the Void. According to his views,
Buddha preached two Truths. The first – the truth of worldly conventions, created
by Buddha with compassion to people: to help those who are on a way to the
second, final truth of the Void. The human reason is powerless in knowledge of a
world which is not present. Besides, a reason for itself also is incomprehensible
and empty. There is a search of causality on the basis of human knowledge of the
world. However “neither existing, nor nonexistent thing cannot have a reason: a
reason of what is a condition if a thing does not exist? And if a thing really exists,
for what any reason is necessary then?” (Nagardjuna "Mule-madhjamika-kariki").
It seems paradoxical, but just emptiness of all reality does it possible. Followers of
a Buddhism of Mahayana recognize that physical elements and physical bodies
consisting of them have no final value. Their doctrine of the Non-Existence or
Universal Void is simultaneously a doctrine of universal relativity. Identity of
phenomenal and absolute, caused and untied, Sansara and Nirvana is real only
from positions of eternity. Everything becomes a reality only after removal of
phenomenal illusion. While this illusion exists, the Absolute Non-Existence is
inherent in the shown world only as possibility, but not as the validity. The person,
who has got rid of phenomenal illusion, becomes involved in the existence of
Absolute, which means to be involved in eternity of the Universal Void. It is
possible to tell something like this and concerning all the mankind which is
capable to familiarize with eternity only on a basis of disposal of all illusions.
The concept of the Void is also present at the Islamic mystical doctrine of Sufizm,
where we can find out representations about the Universal Void, which is
metaphorically designated as “a bottomless sea», deprived of a form and absolutely
non- accessible for rational understanding and even for mystical comprehension.
This Non-Existence is often named as “not shown essence” or the Allah, covers all
existing world and serves as a support to it. All potential possibilities of universe
are settled down in the Non-Existence.
The Eastern idea of the Void has also found development in Western philosophy
where its meaning is approached with a concept of “nihil” – the Nothing. So,
according to reflections of the German thinker Ernst Junger: “We have nicely
worked on a field of nihilism... We march for a long time in a direction to magic
zero point, and only one who possesses other invisible sources of power would
cross through this point … We put our hopes on a revolt against the domination of
a cosiness, for which purpose a weapon of destruction directed against the world of
forms is required”.
Recently American astronomers have found out great empty space in material
Universe in the extent 1 billion light years (for comparison, the distance from the
Earth to the Sun consists 8,3 light minutes). Opened by scientists from University
of Minnesota the empty space represents huge Nothing in which there are no usual
space objects: neither planets, nor galaxies, nor even “black holes”. It is natural
that astronomers do not understand value of this Void. The similar phenomena
were also met earlier, but the found site in one thousand times surpasses all spheres
of emptiness that were earlier known to a science. One of pioneers of Great
Nothing, researcher Lawrence Rudnick, has been shaken by the seen. «We not
only have found emptiness which has appeared more than others before known -
we have found such huge space Void which we could not imagine”, - he has
declared. His colleague Lily Williams has commented their discovery on the same
way: “That we have found out – abnormally “.
It is known that the Universe is filled by stars, a dust and gas, so its most part is
invisible. Scientists know that in a concrete point there is any object when they
notice gravitational effect proceeding from so-called “dark matter”. But in the
found out Void there are no even latent weights. A reason of occurrence of such
huge empty space stays unknown for scientists. However, it is quite clear that in
this field of the Universe Absolutely Nothing is present. Probably there is just the
same area of Absolute Nothing or pure spirituality from which once all has
occurred and which would sometime extend and dissolve so-called shown world?
And then there will be a great triumph of the Nothing. Actually, its inevitability
already now, in obvious or in latent forms, defines all course of our life, and, in
particular, releases mankind from insolvent illusions concerning its own
importance. After all, when learning the Absolute Nothing, a person is released
from everything, even from necessity to exist in a herd and to glorify his shepherd.
And in this question everyone has very small choice (according Kierkegaard, a
choice between “or” and “or”) - to leave herd and pass in a spiritual emigration, or
to identify itself with herd and, as a result, to become follower and simultaneously
slave of the shepherd looking after herd. The Great Emptiness bares emptiness and
inconsistency of authority of the shepherd, in spite of the fact that he frightens herd
with his long whip. It is quite enough to increase space for the aim to destroy a
deceptive visibility of someone's greatness. «If everything is empty - who would
glorify and would receive glorifications?” - "Mahayana" rhetorically asks.
Such concepts as: “the Non-Existence”, “the Nothing” and “the Void” are
independent and simultaneously form unity. Each of these concepts has definite
features. However, for the purpose of designation of a fundamental principle of
life, concept "the Nothing" looks more comprehensible, because it, besides a
designation of a pure absence, confirms a presence of independent, self-sufficient,
through also uncertain, essence. Such interpretation of The Nothing is similar to
the ideas, which are presented in the works of the ancient European theists.
The history of the Universe and the history of mankind is a circulation of the
Nothing and final returning to completeness of absoluteness. A life of every person
is a small model of universal circulation which comes to an end on the terms of its
connection with the Nothing. Mankind aspires to strengthen its positions in
physical world, developing artful environment of material and pseudo-spiritual
culture. It does not notice illusiveness of progress – this artful unsteady soil is
inevitably feels under its feet, and each new generation returns again to a zero for
the purpose to give way to following one. Therefore, it is a time to mankind to
recollect basic ontological mission, which is concluded in comprehension of
Absolute Nothing. In such terms, to will the Nothing - means to saddle death, to
realize its sense-creating function and to transform it from inevitable definitive
accident into basic means of the intrinsic self-realization. The will to death means
possibility not to submit, but to rule over it, and to become the master itself. Come
in the stead of the Overman, which just has lost in a pursuit of consumption his
Will to the Power, our new hero, the Overnoumen (it is a term of Russian
philosopher AZsacra Zarathustra) – wills death, which means to will Nothing to
him.
The Overnoumen, being inseparable with the Nothing, daily overtakes death, but,
like Buddha, definitively comes back to itself only after performance of this main
ontological function: to dissolve existence in the Void. After all, the consciousness
of Spirit is not a banal biological death, but steady will to death, denying
everything, and, in its final result – denying death too. A total character of nihilism
leads to that the meeting with the Absolute demands scale victims. At final step of
its grate expansion, the Nothing denies itself, including its inner world. There will
be a disappearance of the disappearance. Therefore, “definitive future is an excess
of all rates of death” (Azsacra Zarathustra), or a Spiritual horizontal of the
Nothing.
"Having opened the anthology of religious texts, I was attacked by the saying of
Buddha: "Any subject is not necessary to wish ". I have immediately closed the
book for what to read after that?"
(Emil Cioran)
To fill own life with a sense - gradually it becomes basic attitude and outlook. The
everyday life is left on the second plan.
What occurs around us is not surprising, but that from what all undertakes and
where disappears. A person, being a part of the world programmed on self-
destruction, is steadily directed together with it in the Nothing. The objective
maintenance of all processes occurring in the material Universe consists of
annihilation and returning to initial zero. How is possible with the account of this
to construct a new spiritual line connecting a person with the Nothing? To answer
this sense-creative question, it is necessary to address again to existential decisions
offered by the Russian philosopher Arseny Chanyshev. Thus, in the very end of his
apology of the Non-existence he comes to following conclusions:
10. Occurrence and destruction possess with various strength. All arises for time
and perishes forever.
11. The attribute of life is its absolute disastrous character (its banefulness)
14. Using memory consciousness gets visibility of its own substantive character.
22. The horror forces consciousness to deny not only illusory “consciousness of
life”, but also a life.
26. To know that all passes, and at the same time not to run into horror - this is
confirmed by true philosophy of the Non-existence
We can see that Chanyshev has absolutely fairly noticed that comprehension of
inevitability of the Non-existence causes a person in suffering. Therefore, and also
because the reality is directly opposite to human views on justice, people transfer
their hopes concerning restoration of justice and familiarizing with eternity into
spiritual area. However, already Hegel derided an idea that all-powerful God
steadfastly watches each action of shoemaker Johann, carefully fixing his senseless
daily acts. This illusion is quite empty, as well as all various other myths,
generated by sufferings of self-conscious life. On the other hand, religious
consciousness comprises centuries-old experience of overcoming of fear and
sufferings which it is possible and it is necessary to use. So, in Christian tradition a
fear before Divine acts as the beginning of knowledge. The main principle consists
of that if something is difficult for avoiding, it is necessary to change our relation
to it, having transformed inevitable sufferings from a source of humiliation in
sense-creative factor. But Chanyshev, having denied an existence of God, could
not overcome fear before the Non-existence - therefore his fear constantly passed
into horror. And it is not that Horror discovering and explaining the Nothing about
which Heidegger wrote in his early works, but it is a horror of hopelessness,
aspiring to find decision of the problem, without falling outside a principle of
material unity of the world. (“I exist because it horrifies me that I exist, - Sartre
says. – It is just me who takes me from the Non-existence to which I aspire”).
According to philosophical materialism a death is a biological phenomenon so it is
possible to delay it only by scientific means. “But whether the science can
sometime make people immortal? - The Russian philosopher Vladimir Ern asked
in the beginning of 20 century. – “There is necessary to notice that it is quite
impossible. As to an idea of infinity in progress of science – it cannot help us,
because a science, developing and progressing, at the same time with more and
more definiteness learns its own borders. Developing in one direction, science was
narrowed in another and threw back all that was alien to its principles. To speak
about possibility for a science to destroy death - it means to ignore main principles
of science itself”. However, Chanyshev, owing to features of his philosophical
views, probably did not suppose possibility of overcoming of biological death.
“One day Nasreddin has come into a shop, and dealer has approached him.
-About a main thing, first of all: have you seen, how I entered? - asked him
Nasreddin.
I am anybody, I have won my own “Me” rightfully exclaims a Sufi mystic. So, his
way is overcome and he has reached a third, last one step of self-development.
This is the "Hakikat", or a Final Truth. Here the essence of Truth is intuitively
learnt, and consciousness of a person is dissolved in an object of contemplation.
The latent sense of a Sufi Way mysteriously sounds in inspired lines by Rumi:
“Join a brotherhood and you will feel a pleasure of real life. Walk on destroyed
street and look at distraught owners of ruins. Drink an excitement bowl for you do
not feel a shame of consciousness. Break an earthen idol to see other idols.
Whether it is necessary to marry an old woman for the sake of the big dowry?
Whether it is necessary to sell itself in slavery for three pieces of bread?
As it has already been told, a person can collect things to be closed by them from
contemplation of definitive truth. “Things parade themselves, calibrating a
foulness of their existence for each other. I have understood that middle between a
non-existence and a languished redundancy is absent, - Sartre has noticed
thereupon. Therefore it is not casual that, since an antiquity and up to our days,
numerous religious and philosophical doctrines call for ascetic self-restriction.
Only having rejected material, a person releases his spirit for connection with the
Nothing. The more a value of the Ego decreases, the more a true essence of the
Non-existence as general universal basis of spirituality which do not have neither
the beginning, nor the end is become opened. These positions can look banal
enough, but they are supported by centuries-old spiritual experience of best
representatives of mankind which in practice have proved their validity. After all,
according to statement of Jorge Luis Borges, actually there are only some key plots
at cultural space of mankind. And all the rest plots represent their variations.
There are creators who show to us unearthly worlds of the Nothing. Thus, in the
beginning of 20 century the Swiss artist Hodler drew many portraits of his dying
wife. A simple horizontal becomes on his pictures a visible sign of definitive
moment of truth. “All subjects, - he spoke, - gravitate to horizontal plane aspire to
be stretched by the ground as a water which spreads more and more widely on it”.
The dying woman is left in play of paints, as in streaming happiness – between
vertical falling and horizontal rest. Thus Hodler celebrates disappearance of her
flesh. Therefore our new spiritual vertical also develops on a descending line,
reminding a turned letter Т. It differs from all other programs of spiritual self-
improvement of mankind because most fairly declares general tendency into the
Nothing:
1. Not to be born.
After a person manages to overtake death (for what it is absolutely not obligatory
to die physically), vertical of his perfection directed downwards incorporates to the
Spiritual Horizontal of the Nothing.
We see that Chanyshev is wrong - the God surely exists, but He exists outside of a
life, so He is the Non-Existence. Spirituality also really exists, in spite of the fact
that, among modern adherents of "a scientific picture of the world” transformed in
object of religious worship, the concept of Spirituality is considered as a kind of
medieval atavism. Actually the spiritual area of the Nothing is unique authentic
reality, and”…every spiritual being is free from contradictions, accidents and
illusions of a material life” (Alistair Crowley). The world, certainly, will be lost,
but this event becomes a moment of definitive clearing of spirit from oppression of
matter and a great triumph of the Non-existence. The life is a suffering - as first
noble truth of the Buddhism teaches us, hence the destruction of sufferings consists
of the destruction of matter. After all, “to comprehend process of clearing and to
make possible settlement of freedom into a kingdom of causality and
conditionality, it is necessary to recognize a principal possibility of destroying
death as an external fact” (Vladimir Ern). When a person overtakes death, he
transforms it into a fact of his own spiritual life, that is, in the internal fact. To
know that all passes, and to feel happiness –just in this a higher step of spiritual
self-development or the Spiritual Horizontal of the Nothing consists.
The Nothing also is that many medieval mystics named God. The Nothing exists
by means of everything: by means of you, and by means of all the rest, by means
of everything that is perceived and unperceived. In spite of that all around us is
divided, there is the only united form of life in the Universe – the Non-existence. A
sense can be defined with relation to something. And relation arises, when there is
a division. But if the Nothing is everything, Uniform, if there is no division - how
to find sense? Hence, the required sense contains in the Nothing itself, which is
equivalent eternity. After all, if to cease to consider the Non-existence only from
one point of view - concerning a life – there is possible to understand eternity of
the Non-existence. And for this purpose reason should leave a condition of
absorption in daily occurrence, transforming a life into obviously hopeless
“struggle for existence". "I exist – here is my unique trouble”, - one of the Sartre's
heroes speaks. Actually a person struggles not for existence, but exclusively with
his own understanding of the Non-existence. People care of their bodies and do not
know that their nature is uniform with the Void. For a limited consciousness of
mediocrity the Non-existence reveals as a threat while threat and sufferings are
born by a life. After arrival to true understanding of the Non-existence, all that is
perceived as loss actually turns around clearing. No losses in time, biological
existence can be compared by that is got as a result of this clearing. And an
understanding of the Absolute Nothing which presents already here is got. It is
present at you. It is you, and you are it, even if yet do not understand it. The
required understanding will mean termination of a senseless competition of a
person with associates and with itself.
The God of Absolute Nothing is born owing to destruction. The creation the
Nothing by means of death consists in daily overtaking death. Our life is too short
to spend it for a life.
According to Lev Tolstoy’s doctrine – both riches, and power, and life, that is
everything that people with such a diligence equip and protect, if all of this values
something, but only a pleasure to reject it. “To win freedom and sacred "Not" even
in spite of a debt - it is necessary, for this aim, to become a Lion”, - thus the
nietzschean Zarathustra spoke. The direct action expressing Great Refusal -
here is unique kind of an act which is not humiliating. A pleasure from Refusal in
is similar to paradoxical delight of despair. Thereupon history of life and death of
Japanese writer Yukio Mishima is very indicative.
During his rather short life (1925-1970), Mishima also became famous also as a
sportsman-body builder, a director, an actor of theatre and cinema, a conductor of
symphonic orchestra, a pilot, a traveler and a photographer. On November, 25th,
1970 he has made an attempt to monarchic revolution and, having suffered defeat,
has made hara-kiri. Philosophical views of Mishima are most full expressed in his
comments to the medieval code of Samurais “Hagakure Njumon”.
The initial point of Mishima’s reasonings: the Way of the Samurai - is a death way.
Thereupon Mishima contemptiously responds about modern men who, on his
opinion, are weak and cowardly. Therefore they are unworthy neither for lives, nor
for death. A loss of tradition and, as consequence – a feminization of men and their
growing avidity are guilty in it. “The majority of young men which serve today,
are afflicted with petty aspirations. They look around with mean sights of
pickpockets”. Misihima is deeply convinced that in the modern world there is
impossible neither to live beautifully, nor beautifully to die, as militant platitude
everywhere has affirmed. He proclaimed an opposed to sexual revolution ideal of
secret love: “The stated love inevitably loses its advantage. The original love
reaches its highest ideal when a person carries away his secret into a tomb”. Only
death is an effective medicine for suffering soul, though the modern civilization
aspires to suppress a natural instinct for death in a person. But, even suppressed, it
inevitably clears up and then death prevails, but already in rough and ugly forms,
as together with tradition a person has lost also the culture of death. “We are not
able to take a noble essence from death and to force it to work for us”. How to
restore the lost tradition? We need a determination first of all. To achieve an
objective is necessary even if you know about inevitable defeat. Proclaiming
determination, Mishima professed his extremism. He considers that a confluence
of an extreme measure can serve as a spiritual springboard for comprehension of
value of death. Usually the philosophy is based on calculations in which life is
considered as an acquisition, and death as a loss - to turn this cosy and habitual
world, it is necessary to ennoble violence over ones own common sense and
intelligence. That is why Mishima stands on anti-intellectual positions which in
some ways related his views with the early forms of the European fascism.
“Intellectuals hide their feebleness and avidity behind conversations and
philosophizing”, - he contemptiously notes. Unlike them, Mishima acts as a
supporter of extremism and of a direct action. “Fidelity and honouring will come
together with obsession”, - he said, opposing to empty philosophizing his ideas
concerning power and spontaneous harmony of pure action. Only if a person has
reached a high degree of obsession, then gate of death opens before him. Thus
there are no distinctions between voluntary and compelled death. It is impossible
to die “for the sake of a just cause” as a nature of death is absolute, and any
purpose is relative.
Staying at the crossroads between life and death the Samurai chooses ANY death.
… The condensed silence was broken off by his shout: "Long live the Emperor!"
Having exhaled last words, he has driven edge of a sword with a great force into
his stomach. He felt as if a heated rod has pierced him through. Burning like an
ice, a heat of a wound was instantly replaced by an intolerable pain enveloping all
his body. He has seized steel with both hands and, having ploughed guts, has
finished an edge to the right part of a stomach. According to custom it was a
second (“kayshaku”) who should stop torments of the Samurai. Моritha in
excitement could cut out his head only with a third blow. But other sources assert
that he could not make it, and other Samurai has finished business. A head of
Mishima, spoiling with blood, has swept on a red state carpet. Moritha, executing
his debt, has unstitched to himself a stomach too. Then stupid and scared police
has rushed at last into the office filled in with blood.
“Even a senseless death which will no bring neither flowers, nor fame - possesses
an advantage of the Death of Person. If we so highly appreciate advantage of a life
how we can not appreciate advantage of death? Nobody dies in vain”. (Yukio
Mishima).
“Once in the morning people will wake up and, having opened windows, will be
surprised by some terrible sense which has taken root into things and waits for
something. It would seem these are trifles but if the situation lasts, people will
start to make mass suicides… And then I will burst out laughing and I will shout to
running by: “What have you achieved with your science? What have you achieved
your humanism? And where is your advantage, a conceiving reed?”
Just with an expectation of approach of this fine day, full with delight of despair,
people, following an example of the first Christians, take cover in vaults from time
to time. It is requires a certain kind of internal scope for a purpose to cripple ones
own life.
The CONCLUSION.
Whether a pleasure to roll stones in steep depth is familiar to you? And whom you
do not learn to fly, than learn them to fall faster!
(Friedrich Nietzsche).
1. Such concepts as "the Non-existence", "the Nothing" and "The Void" are quite
independent and simultaneously form trinity.
3. The Universe is a lost life of the primary Void in which existence and non-
existence did not resist each other. The absolute Nothing realizes itself by means of
human thinking (or God learns itself by means of its creation), and thus existence
of world becomes comprehended. As a result a function of the Universe is
finished.
4. The God of Absolute Nothing is born owing to destruction. It is necessary to
dare not to be at all for the aim to be perfect. The creation the Nothing by means of
death consists in daily overtaking death. Our life is too short to spend it for a life.
5. All our life and all our sufferings are illusory, because the Non-existence is
present, so life is absent. A position of some person in his life offers nothing from
his position in a coffin. A person is captured by fear when he hopes. He is afraid to
die, because hopes for a life. But a hope dies first. Hopelessness is a property
accessible only by very strong.
10. The Outcome is an act, opposite to creation. The Universe disappears, when
human Spirit is quiet and clarified. Mankind forgets everything and comes back in
a Non-existence, which was prior to beginning of time. What can be better for a
person, rather than worthy death? Also what can be better for mankind, rather than
light and joyful doomsday, or an apocalypse?
11. At a final step of its expansion the Nothing denies itself, denies not only visible
(material) world, but also an inner world. There will be a disappearance of
disappearance. Therefore “definitive future is an excess of all rates of death”.
12. Any compromise not only does not comprise, but also directly excludes sacral
purposes of the Non-existence.
Our meeting in the Nothing is inevitable.