We cannot want anything unless we think of it. So if the will moves the intellect to think by willing to think, that willing will have to be preceded by another thought, and that thought by another willing, and so on ad infinitum. But that is impossible; so the will does not move the intellect.

Aquinas replies that though every volition requires thought, not every thought is voluntary. Hence, there is no regress; but of course the question remains: what is the cause of non-voluntary thought? And the ultimate answer to that question, Aquinas says with an allusion to a mysterious passage in Aristotle’s Eudemian Ethics, is God.”

– Kenny, Aquinas on Mind.

All the way down…

“The fundamental matter with Progressivism’s cladistic roots in Calvinism is the primacy of the faith of the intellectual, i.e. faith in faith.”

Faith in faith? Or faith in reason?

Insofar as Progressivism’s cladistic roots can be traced in any permanent sense to mere ideas, it can be traced to those of Aristotle – not coincidentally known as the intellectual grandfather of science. This is clear as day. Aristotle is the intellectual forefather of Progressivism in the Western tradition.

If you don’t believe that universals are separate from, prior to, and superior to particulars, then you cannot believe in the Creator. Aristotle did not; Plato did.

If you do not believe in the Creator, you do not believe in spiritual realities beyond human comprehension. If you do not believe in spiritual realities beyond human comprehension, your religion is debased to the state of mere ideology, which is antisocial by definition and the means by which social order is disrupted, debased, and dismantled.

“This is not the case with Catholicism, especially the medieval form, where the question is one not of clinging to and holding onto a different “view” than that of Calvinism, but letting go of views.”

Absolutely.

What’s the purpose of forming views if not to communicate them? And note that explicit communication is inherently political by virtue of man’s nature.

Any religion is generally as true as it obviates the human folly of forming opinions of what ought to be.

We’re talking here about the difference between a worldview where it is considered “possible” to rationalise governance from the ground up, and one where what was, is, and ever shall be, are accepted for what they are. Existence is existence, God is God, humans are unequal and never can be made to fit a rule, and as a reactionary one makes peace with the world as it is.

Inasmuch as this is understood, the authority and natural order of life under the Church becomes self-evident. This is many layers deep, and not simply a matter of structure and formal order. I also say this not as a Catholic but as a Buddhist.

Anyway, I concur with Contemplationist. Horrorist Post of the Year.

It’s just not attractive now: you have to be gay, possibly chop your dick off [trans] and spend a lot of time listening to cracked out Schizo Vibrants babbling on and nod your head as if you’ve just listened to a lecture from Einstein. Oh and they’re out of money.

Straight White Males who aren’t schizo and have an IQ over 86 need not apply.
No, not 130. 87 is the cut off. And a merciful bar it is…

A better offer surely awaits?

NRx is indeed enveloped by the object of its critique.

Very apt – and the eternal curse of rightwing politics (yes, tender reader: identifying mere human ideas as the cause of social disorder is terribly, terribly POLITICAL and only accurate in a profoundly base and crude sense). But why is this characterization so apt? Which is to ask: how?

The neo-reactionary implicitly (though not always consciously) recognizes at least to a degree the law of original unity – that the earlier the time, the higher the degree of social order society typically exhibits and enjoys. That they describe their current foray into revelation as “dark enlightenment” simply demonstrates how many years into the past neo-reactionaries are able to see – or at least claim to see – evidence of the law of original unity.

But Calvinism did not conjure up bad ideas; human reason conjured up Calvinism and human reason is a bit more than 400 years old!

I, a secular Jew, recognize that Calvinism is mere iteration of the demonic creed of REASON that man is born with. When the neo-reactionary understands this he will also see that this “ideology” as a political movement is simply manifestation of communal disobedience to His will. As a result, the neo-reactionary will SIMULTANEOUSLY cease to be political, know that the original unity of society exhibited greatest order, and understand the several ways in which the phrase “every people has the government they deserve” is necessarily and inevitably true.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT HISTORY OR PROOF OR FACTS.

This is about epistemology and metaphysics or, rather, the proper understanding thereof.

I like to think I’m about as extreme a Platonist and rationalist (as opposed to empirist) on epistemology and metaphysics as one can be. I’m a hard dualist on the mind-body problem and believe in a priori knowledge and universals. I think that all true propositions are inherently analytic (not synthetic), that essence is prior to superior to, separate from existence. But most importantly I think that ALL THESE VIEWS ARE ONE AND THE SAME (belief in abstract/divine), come from intuition/faith, and lead not to the correct “politics” but to the right understanding of politics.

Yes it does somewhat.

Difference being in Islam Faith won decisively over reason [long before Calvin].

In Catholic Hellenism faith and reason compromised and indeed came to complement each other.

In Post-Hellenism reason won over faith, that is the Enlightenment. However very swiftly after Victory Reason dispenses with God.

And now of course the Calvinists have dispensed not only with God but reason.

Along the Way Histories Divine Charter Banking [Protestants especially England] got lazy and handed over the reins a short time ago to their Accountants and Lawyers so they could go to Europe and find themselves. Said Lawyers/Accountants instantly reverted to Histories Trolls.

There’s not much hope for Hellenistic Catholicism amongst the 3d Worlder’s who are the only young people going to Catholic Mass now…so…yep…thank you Protestants. Sure you made a lot of money but you lost Christendom doing it. Now Western Civilization which indeed it carried forward and nurtured [as Rome carried forth Hellenistic Civilization] is gone as well.

Thanks a lot Prots, praise Jesus, purpose driven lives and meth.

Western Civilization rose from the ashes of the Apocalypse at the end of the Second Bronze Age and has had about a 3000 year run. Ye Prots ran it into the ground in 300 years.