Evola online

Troy Southgate has posted links on his NR Forum to online pdf editions of two of the three principle works of the Sicilian nobleman, neo-pagan and tradionalist philosopher, political activist and soldier Baron Julius Evola.

I have not previously read Evola.  He is a little too Tolkienesque in his mysticism for my taste.  And to be frank, I am a little put off by the accent on the spirit of race, and on the decision for cultural restoration - as opposed to racial or ethnic preservation - which that triggers.  Nonetheless, as one of Nature’s more irredeemable lateral thinkers and someone who regards the European sociobiology as philosophically inevitable, I have to take an interest in a thinker who “seeks to restore the order, not of 100 or 200 years ago, but of literally thousands of years ago” (see below).

Revolt Against The Modern World

From a brief review by John Reilly:-

“Revolt Against the Modern World” is usually cited as the best general introduction to Evola’s thought. Generically, Evola’s ideas are an adaptation of René Guénon’s philosophy of Tradition. In this context, the Tradition in question is not so much the historical heritage of the West, or of any particular society, but rather of the archetypal forms of society, the state, and spirituality. Evola uses particular histories and particular myths chiefly to illustrate these ideal forms.

Evola claims to have little use for “apocalypticism,” which he regards as an example of spiritual degeneration that is both demotic and demonic. He also has little use for the principle of historical determinacy; for him, whatever happens in history is at least proximately the result of someone’s will. Nonetheless, one cannot help but notice that this book describes a model of history in which the modern world is at the very end of a dark age, the Kali Yuga. He offers the hope, though not the assurance, that an elect might come through the final collapse.

The book is divided into two parts: “World of Tradition” and “Genesis and Face of the Modern World.” The first is chiefly concerned with describing the archetypes that inform the world and history. The second describes how these forms have decayed over time, but with occasional revivals of “tradition” that interest the author keenly.

Men Among The Ruins

From Wikipedia:-

Evola argues for a radical restructuring of society based on his view of Tradition. Evola takes as his jumping off point Italian Fascism and to a lesser degree German National Socialism and describes the ways that the two failed to achieve his ideal. As in Fascism and Nazism, Evola champions a powerful state unified under a rigid code and caste system.

Despite similarities, Evola’s ideas differ dramatically from those of the fascists and, while preserving an appreciation of militarism, focus less on modernity than tradition, less on the technological than the spiritual, less on the masses than the person (which Evola distinguishes from the individual). In this work, Evola develops his radical reactionary philosophy. Reactionary is an important word for him, one that he seeks to own. In fact “reactionary” could be seen as an understatement in his case as he seeks to restore the order, not of 100 or 200 years ago, but of literally thousands of years ago.

This work constitutes Evola’s only attempt at a book-length explicitly political work and, as such, he regarded it as a failure.

The third of Evola’s core works is “Ride The Tiger”, which doesn’t appear to be available in online.  The following commentary explains the Evolian line on renewal which he dates, interestingly, from 2012:-

Once, in pre-history, there was a Golden Age. It was followed by a Silver Age, evincing lunar spirituality as contrasted with solar (gold) spirituality. The Bronze Age was an over-reaction against the Silver Age. The Bronze Age is the time of giants, the wolf, the Luciferian revolt, and Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. “The last age is the Iron Age, or, according to the corresponding Hindu term, the Dark Age (Kali Yuga). This age includes every deconsecrated civilization, every civilization that knows and extols only what is human and earthly.”

Some people “belong to the wrong time.” These types represent the other ages (Golden, Silver, Bronze) and are out-of-place living here, now, in the Kali-Yuga. Evola speaks to such persons, offering a “testimony” for “those who are different”: l’uomo differenziato. For those “who are different”, Evola emphasized that these different persons should not turn their backs on the world. On the contrary, they should seat themselves on the back of this ferocious, predatory world. They should ride the tiger.

The year 2012 marks the precession of the equinoxes, which only occurs every 25,000 years or so. This equates with the Hindu time cycles, called Yugas, one of which “completes in synchrony with the Mayan end date.”

The year 2012 is not the “end of the world.” It is the beginning of the world. Or rather, 2012 marks the end of their Kali-Yuga world, which ought not distress l’uomo differenziato (those who are different). So, to the Kali-Yuga persons who do belong to this time, G. De Giorgio sits atop the tiger and exclaims, “Go ahead! Achieve all your goals! Break all the dams! Faster! You are unbound. Go ahead and fly with faster wings, with an ever greater pride for your achievements, with your conquests, with your empires, with your democracies. The pit must be filled; there is a need for fertilizer for the new tree that will grow out of your collapse.” (qtd. in “Revolt Against The Modern World”, op. cit.)

I believe there are other Evola writings online, among which our American readership might find American Civilisation interesting.

Posted by Guessedworker on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 04:23 AM in Political Philosophy
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