1 of 8 in The Beginning1 of 470 in work
Now entering The Beginning
The Two Natures Doctrine
Julius Evola
Revolt Against the Modern World

The author asserts that the foundation of all Tradition is the 'doctrine of the two natures,' which recognizes a superior, invisible realm of 'being' as the true source and support of the visible world of 'becoming.'

...The Beginning
In order to understand both the spirit of Tradition and its antithesis, modern civilization, it is necessary to begin with the fundamental doctrine of the two natures. According to this doctrine there is a physical order of things and a metaphysical one; there is a mortal nature and an immortal one; there is the superior realm of "being" and the inferior realm of "becoming." Generally speaking, there is a visible and tangible dimension and, prior to and beyond it, an invisible and intangible dimension that is the support, the source, and true life of the former. Anywhere in the world of Tradition, both East and West and in one form or…
Let me emphasize the fact that it was knowledge and not "theory." As difficult as it may be for our contemporaries to understand this, we must start from the idea that the man of Tradition was aware of the existence of a dimension of being much wider than what our contemporaries experience and call "reality." Nowadays, after all, reality is understood only as something strictly encompassed within the world of physical bodies located in space and time. Certainly, there are those who believe in s...
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2 of 8 in The Beginning2 of 470 in work
Experience's Materialism
Julius Evola
Revolt Against the Modern World

A reflection on modern materialism not as a philosophical theory, but as a psychological limitation where human experience is strictly confined to physical bodies and immediate sensory data.

...perience and call "reality." Nowadays, after all, reality is understood only as something strictly encompassed within the world of physical bodies located in space and time. Certainly, there are those who believe in something beyond the realm of phenomena. When these people admit the existence of something else, however, they are always led to this conclusion by a scientific hypothesis or law, or by a speculative idea, or by a religious dogma; they cannot escape such an intellectual limitation.
Through his practical and immediate experiences, modern man, no matter how deep his "materialistic" or "spiritual" beliefs may be, develops an understanding of reality only in relation to the world of physical bodies and always under the influence of his direct and immediate experiences. This is the real materialism for which our contemporaries should be reproached. All the other versions of materialism that are formulated in scientific or in philosophical terms are only secondary phenomena. The worst type of materialism, therefore, is not a matter of an opinion or of a "theory," but it consists in the fact that man's experience no longer extends to nonphysical realities.
Thus, the majority of the intellectual revolts against "materialistic" views are only vain reactions against the latest peripheral effects stemming from remote and deeper causes. These causes, incidentally, arose in a different historical context from the one in which the "theories" were formulated. The experience of traditional man used to reach well beyond these limits, as in the case of some so-called primitive people, among whom we still find today a faint echo of spiritual powers from anc...
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The Invisible as Real
Julius Evola
Revolt Against the Modern World

The author explains that in traditional societies, the 'invisible' was a concrete reality that informed all aspects of life, extending the definition of nature beyond the physical.

...ajority of the intellectual revolts against "materialistic" views are only vain reactions against the latest peripheral effects stemming from remote and deeper causes. These causes, incidentally, arose in a different historical context from the one in which the "theories" were formulated. The experience of traditional man used to reach well beyond these limits, as in the case of some so-called primitive people, among whom we still find today a faint echo of spiritual powers from ancient times.
In traditional societies the "invisible" was an element as real, if not more real, than the data provided by the physical senses. Every aspect of the individual and of the social life of the people belonging to these societies was influenced by this experience. On the one hand, from the perspective of Tradition, what today is usually referred to as "reality," was only a species of a much wider genus. On the other hand, invisible realities were not automatically equated with the "supernatural." Traditionally speaking, the notion of "nature" did not correspond merely to the world of bodies and of visible forms—the object of research of…
The ancients had the sense of a dark netherworld, populated by obscure and ambiguous forces of every kind (the demonic soul of nature, which is the essential substratum of all nature's forms and energies) that was opposed to the superrational and sidereal brightness of a higher region. Moreover, the term nature traditionally included everything that is merely human, since what is human cannot escape birth and death, impermanence, dependence, and transformation, all of which characterize the inf...
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