In the final episode of Thou Shalt Be Gods, we ask where the Satanic Impulse manifests in today's world, and find some surprising and hidden answers.
Is there any other kind of knowledge than scientific knowledge? Not only does this way of thinking - scientism - suffer from some serious internal contradictions, it also has some dangerous consequences, and it's often the tool utilised in the pursuit of the Satanic Impulse - humanity's desire to be God.
The unholy bargain of the Satanic Impulse has monstrous effects. In this episode, Difff discusses some profound examples from literature, including Frankenstein, The Lord of the Rings, The Brother's Karamazov and Crime and Punishment.
Everyone wants to be happy, but so much of the time, we're not. In what ways do we get in the way of our own happiness? Is it possible that pursuing happiness on our own terms is a sure-fire way to never achieve it? This episode discussed the importance of accepting natural hierarchy and ordo amoris in connection to a happy life.
In the quest for an authentic life, Friedrich Nietzsche and Soren Kierkegaard identified similar problems in their mid 19th Century societies. Empty, pointless, repetitive lives determined by the pursuit of pleasure or thoughtless adherence to religious authority had robbed life of its vitality and purpose. Though while they had similar diagnoses, their remedies were completely different. One ultimately accepted there was a God and it wasn't him, while the other continued the long line of thought formed within the Satanic Impulse, and asserted humanity as the new gods.
What exactly is the mind, and how does it relate to us as subjective persons? Satan needed the belief in the mind as its own place in order to believe his creed of 'better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven'. If the mind is what we use to perceive reality, does the mind have the power to change reality? And what role does the father of modern philosophy, Rene Descartes, play in the Old Lie of man's desire to be God?
Where do words get their meaning? And does it really matter? This episode draws together the concepts from the first half of the season and connects them to an idea rampant in 21st Century society, but completely hidden to most people: metaphysical nominalism.
Ever wondered where you stop and your phone starts? If you haven't you probably should. This episode investigates the implications of transhumanism and technology, and their connection to the Satanic Impulse of 'Man as God'. By looking at the ideas of FM2030, and books The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis, we ask the question of how to determine if there is a line that technology should not cross - and what would happen if we did.
What does the despairing image of Satan frozen in the lake at the bottom of Dante's 'Inferno' have to do with the medieval sin of acedia and our modern rejection of limitations in the pursuit of freedom? All this and more in this episode of Chiron - conversations about the past to help make sense of the present.
We join Satan at the gates of Hell as he confronts two mysterious figures: Sin and Death. This episode explores the symbolic relationship between these three concepts, the 'birth' of evil and death in the world, and the self-enslaving nature of the Satanic Impulse born from pride.
The second instalment of the Thou Shalt Be Gods series, investigates the character of Satan as he is represented in Paradise Lost. Focusing in on his famous statement that it's "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven", we'll see how the Satanic Impulse trades joy for the illusion of control in a lose-lose bargain.
Conversations about the past to help make sense of the present. We live our daily lives built upon a foundation of assumptions and barely concrete beliefs about the world. Difff wants to pry these open to see where they came from, and if they really stand up to interrogation. The first historical idea unpacked is 'The Old Lie' - the desire to be God, featuring a heavy dose of Nietzsche before preparing the way for Episode Two, all about Satan.