Jack Zaikos > Recent Status Updates

Loved chap 41

Army sequence is hilarious and jimmys actions in Ann’s house were… shocking

I am convinced, like Jung, that the “not just metals” the older alchemists refer to is in fact the kind of the practitioner as the more I learn about the historical practice of alchemy from the symbolism, metaphors and secrecy the more its psychological function becomes apparent. This is also why the practice was fundamentally changed when information sharing became accepted as it was no longer true alchemy.

First of all I didn’t think newton would ever feel he was successful in discovering the “philosophical mercury”.

Second the information about the breaking down of gold be considered more difficult than its construction is significant in that both represent highest alchemical pursuits.

Finally I would be really interested to see how these alchemical developments line up with newtons mathematical works

Newton incorporating the Saturn (eating the stone instead of Jupiter) myth into his experimental thinking is really cool to see

Gold being represented by a circle has activate the Jung in me

The connection with antimony to gold, lions, stars and gravity is FASCINATING

Wow this is hard to grasp as someone w no chemistry background will need to re read a couple times

I already know I’m going to lose track of all his manuscripts because of the lack of pictures coupled with the complexity of the content.

The methods for dating his texts and the significance of their content is cool to read about tho…

I struggle a little bit with the discussion as to how the contemporary figures all new eachother because it seems a little inconsequential and boring but the information about their personal opinions on alchemy, religion and science are fascinating

Descartes roll in the contemporary intellectual context is also really cool and I enjoy the criticisms of the other figures towards his ideas…

This book is right up my alley I breezed through like the first 1/3rd in no time.

The intellectual history of alchemy is so rich and interesting, I loved the role the jungian perspective takes in this analysis of the fields historical developments.

Really enjoyed the aphorisms on religion…

Don’t agree with all his reasoning but his perspective is well informed and original. I wonder what he’d have to say if he saw the modern state of the world, though I doubt he’d be suprised by it he seemed to believe science was an apostatising force inherently opposed to religion

Suprised to see just how much respect he held for Buddhism and Brahmanism

Never heard of the Kingdom of Commagene before…

Very interesting art style (I like the giant heads)

Also very impressive lineage with the king Antiochus descending from Alexander the Great on his mothers side and Darius the great on his fathers

the Mithraism religion is really cool, the continuity from India to Rome is impressive and I love the symbol of the white slain bull becoming the moon

I was surprised by just how intensely the notion of slavery repulsed him so…

I also have noticed similarities with Jung in areas like, engagement with eastern religion, the emphasis of the individual, the concept of the self the championing of Goethe

I like how determined Schopenhauer is that mankind has an ethical obligation while alive and that the world is not just purely mechanistic despite his determinism

The discussion of religion between demopheles and philalethes might be the greatest representation of Schopenhauer’s affiliation with the intellectual movement of his birth: the enlightenment

It seems philalethes position resembles the authors more closely although he may identify with both figures.

my biggest disagreement with the author is that I adore information that is unspoken, alluded to, suggested…

The importance of thinking for oneself has never been more important in perhaps the entirety of human history as it is today, in the 21st century.