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NOTHING BEYOND THE FLESH: THE THEOCRACY OF PRIMA MATERIA
PART 2 of 5

 

 

 

Phillip D. Collins
October 7, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

The Theocracy of Science

Of course, with human knowledge apotheosized, the instruments of knowledge attain a quasi-divine status as well. Commensurate with this deification of knowledge is the virtual canonization of science. The word "science" is derived from the Latin word scientia, which means "knowing." As a form of "knowing," science is inevitably consecrated as the new incarnation of divine revelation. In fact, the consecratory processing of science was consummated years ago with the Baconian dictum: nam et ipsa scientia potestas est ("Knowledge itself is power"). As a catalyst for the potential expansion of human power, science enjoys secular humanism's deepest veneration and has been accorded absolute epistemological primacy. This is known as scientism.

Scientism is, in essence, the fetishization of science. It holds aloft the investigational methods of science as the sole criteria for establishing truth. Premised as it is upon empiricism and quantification, scientific observation is restricted to physical phenomena. Thus, only phenomena that are observable and quantifiably demonstrable are eligible for serious consideration. From the vantage point of scientism, research regarding supra-sensible entities does not qualify as a credible field of study. In his article "The Shamans of Scientism," Michael Shermer describes scientism as:

a scientific worldview that encompasses natural explanations for all phenomena, eschews supernatural and paranormal speculations, and embraces empiricism and reason as the twin pillars of a philosophy of life appropriate for an Age of Science. (No pagination)

Scientism should not be confused with legitimate science. Its epistemological rigidity would probably discourage the genuinely investigative mind. Ironically, many of the minds that shaped modern science were not nearly as rigid. Arguably, if the innovators of previous generations had labored under such pathological skepticism, then many of them would have never discovered the breakthroughs in science and technology that this current generation enjoys. Researcher Michael Hoffman makes the distinction between science and scientism in his book Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare:

Science, when practiced as the application of man's God-given talents for the production of appropriate technology on a human scale, relief of misery and the reverential exploration and appreciation of the glory of Divine Providence as revealed in nature, is a useful tool for mankind. Scientism is science gone mad, which is what we have today. (Hoffman 49)

Concerning this important distinction, Rama Coomaraswamy states:

Traditional man, placing science in a hierarchal relationship to the totality of truth, sees no conflict between what is demonstrable by measurement and what he knows from Revelation. His attitude towards the "modern scientistic outlook" with its claim to the totality of truth and its refusal to recognize any moral master is, however, quite another matter. In no way can he give his assent to irrational postulates such as progress, evolution, and the perfectability of man qua man--ideas which have their origin in man's collective subconscious rather than in God. If any conflict exists, it is not between science and faith properly understood, but between modern and traditional attitudes. (No pagination)

Convinced that their outlook encompasses the "totality of truth," the shamans of scientism are overtly hostile towards supernatural explanations. According to their criteria, all inquiry must be restricted to this ontological plane of existence. Shermer succinctly voices this so-called "modern attitude":

. . .cosmology and evolutionary theory ask the ultimate origin questions that have traditionally been the province of religion and theology. Scientism is courageously proffering naturalistic answers that supplant supernaturalistic ones and in the process is providing spiritual sustenance for those whose needs are not being met by these ancient cultural traditions. (No pagination)

Scientism is epistemological imperialism. It stipulates the ecumenical imposition of science upon all fields of study. No doubt, a majority of contemporary thinkers would regard this universal extrapolation of science as desirable. After all, science has contributed to the technological advancement of human society. It harnessed electricity through the light bulb, cured illnesses through inoculations, and traversed space through rockets. Surely, such a force could equally enhance the human condition if applied to questions of history, morality, and governance.

However, the contemporary mind, blinded as it is by its own chronocentricism, has failed to recognize a significant shortcoming in the investigational methods of science.

Michael Hoffman reveals this shortcoming:

The reason that science is a bad master and dangerous servant and ought not to be worshipped is that science is not objective. Science is fundamentally about the uses of measurement. What does not fit the yardstick of the scientist is discarded. Scientific determinism has repeatedly excluded some data from its measurement and fudged other data, such as Piltdown Man, in order to support the self-fulfilling nature of its own agenda, be it Darwinism or "cut, burn and poison" methods of cancer "treatment." (49)

Indeed, as a system of quantification, science can concern itself only with quantifiable entities. Items that defy quantification must be precluded. This prompts a disturbing question. Exactly what items must an exclusively scientific outlook omit? The answer is provided in The Report from Iron Mountain, a document purporting to be the product of a secret government think tank:

Previous studies have taken the desirability of peace, the importance of human life, the superiority of democratic institutions, the greatest "good" for the greatest number, the "dignity" of the individual, and other such wishful premises as axiomatic values necessary for the justification of a study of peace issues. We have not found them so. We have attempted to apply the standards of physical science to our thinking, the principal characteristic of which is not quantification, as is popularly believed, but that, in Whitehead's words, ". . .it ignores all judgments of value; for instance, all esthetic and moral judgments." (Lewin 13-14; emphasis added)

An exclusively scientific approach jettisons all "axiomatic values." The "esthetic and moral judgments" that preserve man's humanity must be totally disregarded in a purely scientistic society. In fact, man himself must be altered. Because man's humanity poses a problem for a state governed according to a system of quantification, that particular attribute of his being must be expunged. Hoffman provides an eloquent summation:

The doctrine of man playing god reaches its nadir in the philosophy of scientism which makes possible the complete mental, spiritual and physical enslavement of mankind through technologies such as satellite and computer surveillance; a state of affairs symbolized by the "All Seeing Eye" above the unfinished pyramid on the U.S. one dollar bill. (50)

The truncated pyramid mounted by the "All Seeing Eye" represents the blueprint according to which society is being re-sculpted. It is the standard schematic for authoritarian governments, which ride into dominance astride the epistemological imperialism of scientism.

Techgnosis: The Mastery of Man and Matter

Martin explains that the humanist precursors to speculative Masonry desired "a special gnosis" (520). They believed that this "special gnosis" was a "secret knowledge of how to master the blind forces of nature for a sociopolitical purpose" (520). The subjugation and manipulation of nature is a theme consistently recapitulated by sociopolitical Utopians. For the sociopolitical Utopian, science represents a "special gnosis" designed to master man and matter. It is an instrument for the re-sculpting of prima materia and "immanentizing the Eschaton." Raschke explains:

The well-known maxim of Bacon, nam et ipsa scientia potestas est ("Knowledge itself is power"), is often commemorated as the credo of the new science, but it also suits quite precisely the magico-religious mentality of Gnosticism. (49)

Sir Francis Bacon was a member of a secret society called the Order of the Helmet (Howard 74). The organization's name was derived from Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom who was portrayed wearing a helmet (Howard 74). Although regarded as an innovator of science by orthodox academia, Bacon's studies mostly embraced occultism. In his youth, Bacon was "a student of Hermetic, Gnostic, and neo-Platonist philosophy and had studied the Cabbala" (Howard 74).

Allegedly, Bacon was also a Grand Master of the secret Rosicrucian Order (Howard 74). The Rosicrucians were closely associated with Freemasonry (Howard 50). In fact, a Rosicrucian poem written in 1638 voices the organization's close ties with the Lodge (Howard 50). It reads, "For what we pessage is not in grosse, for we brethen of the Rosie Crosse, we have the Mason's Word and second sight, things to come we can foretell aright. . ." (qutd. in Howard 50). In other words, Rosicrucians knew the "inner secrets of Freemasonry and possessed the psychic power to predict the future" (Howard 50). [See DVD: "Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings - The New Atlantis"]

In 1627, Bacon published a novel entitled The New Atlantis (Howard 74). The pages of Bacon's book were adorned with Freemasonic symbols, such as "the compass and square, the two pillars of Solomon's temple and the blazing triangle, and the eye of God, indicating his association with the secret societies who supported his Utopian concepts" (Howard 75). The novel "describes the creation of the Invisible College advocated in Rosicrucian writings" (Howard 74). This Rosicrucian mandate for an "Invisible College" was realized with the formation of the Royal Society in 1660 (Howard 57). Author Frank Fischer provides a most elucidating description of Bacon's "Utopian concepts":

For Bacon, the defining feature of history was rapidly becoming the rise and growth of science and technology. Where Plato had envisioned a society governed by "philosopher kings," men who could perceive the "forms" of social justice, Bacon sought a technical elite who would rule in the name of efficiency and technical order. Indeed, Bacon's purpose in The New Atlantis was to replace the philosopher with the research scientist as the ruler of the utopian future, New Atlantis was a pure technocratic society. (66-67)

A technocratic society, or Technocracy, can be defined as follows:

Technocracy, in classical political terms, refers to a system of governance in which technically trained experts rule by virtue of their specialized knowledge and position in dominant political and economic institutions. (Fischer 17)

"Technocracy" is a very interesting appellation to assign such a form of governance. It is attached to the Greek word techne, which means "craft." Simply defined, "crafting" is the skillful creation of something. Hence, expressions such as "outstanding craftsmanship" or a "master of the craft." In the context of sociopolitical Utopianism, "crafting" is the skillful creation (or, more succinctly, re-sculpting) of reality itself. The "special gnosis" of science has provided the means through techne. Mark Pesce, co-inventor of Virtual Reality Modeling Language, elaborates: "The enduring archetype of techne within the pre-Modern era is magic, of an environment that conforms entirely to the will of being." (No pagination)

Commenting upon techne's role in manipulating matter, Pesce writes: "Each endpoint of techne has an expression in the modern world as a myth of fundamental direction--the mastery of matter. . ." (no pagination; emphasis added). This may, in part, explain the sociopolitical Utopian's preoccupation with the physical universe. One of its chief constituent components is matter, which can be mastered through the sorcery of science. Again, all the elements of a mystical belief system are present. All that the modern scientific materialists have done is exchange one form of mysticism for another. Technocracy is merely the modern incarnation of occult theocracies like Babylon and Egypt. It is the latest political expression for a system of manipulation through sorcery and alchemy.

Bacon's Utopian vision a technocratic world government ruled by "experts," particularly scientists was a "scientific dictatorship." In Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley defines a "scientific dictatorship" as follows:

The older dictators fell because they could never supply their subjects with enough bread, enough circuses, enough miracles, and mysteries.

Under a scientific dictatorship, education will really work with the result that most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution. There seems to be no good reason why a thoroughly scientific dictatorship should ever be overthrown. (116)

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Wielding ostensible epistemic primacy, the "experts" of Technocracy employ the gnosis of science to produce "enough bread, enough circuses, enough miracles, and mysteries" for their subjects. Distracted by all of the comforts that technology can supply, most men and women would never dream of revolting against the new theocracy of science. For part three click below.

Click Here for part -----> 1, 3, 4, 5,

Sources Cited:

1. Angus, S. The Mystery-Religions: A Study in the Religious Background of Early Christianity. New York: Dover Publications, 1975.
2. Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae. Pt. I, Qu. 86, Art. I, in Basic Writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Ed. Anton C. Pegis (New York: Random House, 1945), I.
3. Bainbridge, William Sims. "Religions for a Galactic Civilization." Excerpted from Science Fiction and Space Futures, edited by Eugene M. Emme. San Diego: American Astronautical Society, pages 187-201, 1982.
4. Baker, Jeffrey. Cheque Mate: The Game of Princes. Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1995.
5. Billington, James H. Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Faith. New York: Basic, 1980.
6. Carlson, Ron, Ed Decker. Fast Facts on False Teachings. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1994.
7. Coomaraswamy, Rama. "The Fundamental Nature of the Conflict Between Modern and Traditional Man--Often Called the Conflict Between Science and Faith." 2001. Coomaraswamy Catholic Writings. 26 August 2005.
8. de Hoyos, Linda. "The Enlightenment's Crusade Against Reason." The New Federalist 8 Feb. 1993.
9. Dubos, Rene J. Louis Pasteur: Free lance of Science. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976.
10. Fischer, Frank. Technocracy and the Politics of Expertise. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, 1990.
11. Guenon, Rene. The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times. Trans. Lord Northbourne. Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books Inc, 1953.
12. Hickman, R. Biocreation. Worthington, Ohio: Science Press, 1983.
13. Hoffman, Michael. Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Independent History & Research, 2001.
14. Hooykaas, Reijer. Religion and the Rise of Modern Science. London: Chatto and Windus, 1972.
15. Howard, Michael. The Occult Conspiracy. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books, 1989.
16. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World Revisited. New York: Bantam Books, 1958.
17. Kelly, Rev. Clarence. Conspiracy Against God and Man. Appleton, WI: Western Islands, 1974.
18. Kurtz, P. and E.H. Wilson, eds. Humanist Manifesto II. 1973.
19. Lewin, Leonard, ed., The Report from Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace. New York: Dell Publishing, 1967.
20. Martin, Malachi. The Keys of this Blood. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991.
21. Pesce, Mark. "Ontos and Techne." Computer-Medicated Magazine, April 1997
22. Pittenger, Mark. American Socialists and Evolutionary Thought, 1870-1920. Madison: Wisconsin UP, 1993.
23. Raschke, Carl A. The Interruption of Eternity: Modern Gnosticism and the Origins of the New Religious Consciousness. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980.
24. Rummel, R.J. Freedom, Democide, War. 13 March 2000. U of Hawaii. 19 September 2003.
25. Shermer, Michael. "The Shamans of Scientism." Scientific American. 13 May 2002.
26. Taylor, Ian T. In the Minds of Men: Darwin and the New World Order. Toronto: TFE Publishing, 1999.
27. Wagar, W. Warren. H.G. Wells and the World State. New Haven, CT.: Yale UP, 1961.
28. Webb, James. The Occult Establishment. Open Court, 1976.
29. Wilder-Smith, B. The Day Nazi Germany Died. San Diego, CA: Master Books, 1982.


� 2006 Phillip D. Collins - All Rights Reserved

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Phillip D. Collins acted as the editor for The Hidden Face of Terrorism. He has also written articles for Paranoia Magazine, MKzine, NewsWithViews, B.I.P.E.D.: The Official Website of Darwinian Dissent, the ACL Report, Namaste Magazine, and Conspiracy Archive. In 1999, he earned an Associate degree of Arts and Science. In 2006, he earned a bachelors degree with a major in communication studies and a minor in philosophy. During the course of his seven-year college career, Phillip has studied philosophy, religion, and classic literature.

He has recently completed a newly expanded and revised edition of The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship (ISBN 1-4196-3932-3), which is available at Amazon.com. He is also currently co-authoring a collection of short stories, poetry, and prose entitled Expansive Thoughts. It will be available late Fall of 2006.

E-Mail: collins.58@wright.edu




 

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Bacon's Utopian vision a technocratic world government ruled by "experts," particularly scientists was a "scientific dictatorship."