THE THIRD EARL RUSSELL by James Lewis IV* of the Temple of Set 'The secret of happiness,'

 
THE THIRD EARL RUSSELL
by James Lewis IV*
of the Temple of Set
 
'The secret of happiness,' said
Bertrand Russell during a celebration
of his 92nd birthday, 'is to face the
fact that the world is horrible.'
Since the essence of one of Russell's
teachings is that the universe cares
not one iota about our personal
aspirations, coming face to face with
the reality and then working upward
without expecting reward or
punishment from above - regardless of
whether we might feel it deserved or
not - is another way of coming into
being.  It is hardly a very pleasant
way to get started, but there is a
certain amount of following in the
sink-or-swim school of thought.  An
occasionally disturbing goldmine of
its own is his book entitled
UNPOPULAR ESSAYS [1950 ce, Simon and
Schuster] and it is one I recommend
highly for those with an interest in
not only determining reality, but
also in verifying the criteria for
the determination itself.
 
What is it that actually MAKES a
thing present?  Further, is the real
question one of whether a thing is
'there' or is it rather one of what
it is that causes us to judge
ourselves in the presence of that we
are pleased to call reality.  Russell
goes on to quote these two limericks
illustrative of the metaphysics of
the 'amiable Bishop Berkeley':
 
There once was a man who said, 'God
Must think it exceedingly odd
If he finds that this tree
Continues to be
When there's no one about in the
Quad.'
 
Dear Sir,
Your astonishment's odd;
*I* am always about in the Quad.
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be,
Since observed by
Yours faithfully,
God.
 
[It was amusing to note that one of
the Peter Davison DOCTOR WHO
episodes, 'Time-Flight,' made use of
Bishop Berkeley's philosophy of
reality as opposed to the apparent
evidence of the viewer's eyes and
indeed made a direct reference to the
second limerick.  It is worth your
time to watch the show if the episode
airs in your area.]
 
While Russell, in UNPOPULAR ESSAYS,
does not restrict himself to the
debate regarding the presence or
absence of wood, he does cover a good
range of questions and thought-
provoking answers.  The amiable
Bishop of course bases his argument
on the necessary existence and total
attention of God, the tree being an
idea in the mind of that deity.
While I understand that cleric's
train of thought which ends in there
being no truly real matter, the
proposition strikes me as somewhat
ridiculous and useful only for
confusing people you really can't
stand.  In the long run Berkeley's
argument eventually winds up with the
thought that all things are ideas in
the mind of God -- ergo, no true
originality can exist.  The overall
flaw in the entire thing is that
Berkeley is apparently pro-Cosmic
Consciousness and sees its subjective
universe as the last word in the All.
 
Russell leaves this to describe
philosophers in general as somewhat
timid people who 'dislike the
unexpectd' and who therefore attempt
to make the yet-to-be calculable at
least in its main outlines.  I'm not
too sure our Setian philosophers
could be accurately described as
timid, but I am in agreement with the
statement of that philosophy, through
logic [the theory of reasoning],
epistemology [the theory of
knowledge], metaphysics [the theory
of being], ethics [the theory of
morality], and aesthetics [the theory
of beauty], are drawn upon to make
future projections which have a
fairly good deal of accuracy about
them. After having read Russell's
recountings of the theories and
confusions therein encountered by
dozens of philosophical schools, I am
rather well pleased with the Setian
method of making use of the highest
and best from each.  His description
of Hegel's 'Absolute Idea' is very
much like our own method of
approaching problems.  UNPOPULAR
ESSAYS puts it in these words: 'Logic
(for Hegel) consisted of a series of
self-correcting attempts to describe
the world.  If your first attempt is
too simple, as it is sure to be, you
will find that it contradicts itself;
you will then try the opposite, or
'antithesis,' but this will also
contradict itself. This leads you to
a 'synthesis' containing something of
the original idea and something of
its opposite, but more complex and
less self-contradictory than either.
This new idea, however, will also
prove inadequate, and you will be
driven, through its opposite, to a
new synthesis.  This process goes on
until you reach the 'Absolute Idea,'
in which there is no contradiction,
and which, therefore, describes the
real world.'  Mind now, this upward
climbing progression is dependent on
the available knowledge of the
philosopher and the time (Hegel once
published proof that there were only
seven planets one week before the
eighth was discovered).  All of us at
one time or another have made the
error of feeling absolutely certain
that only seven planets exist and
then find ourselves faced with proof
of an eighth, so Hegel, were he alive
today, would not need to feel too
badly about the entire thing. Russell
has a rather enjoyable time relating
te occasional faux pas of the
philosophical world and I suppose all
of us tend to be like him in a way.
Academic error or not, Hegel's
self-correcting steps are invaluable
tools for the Setian Initiate to make
use of.
 
Chapter VII, 'An Outline of
Intellectual Rubbish,' is not simply
there for amusement, although it is
richly funny in places.  The chapter
has the quality of being highly
thought-provoking.  Dealing very much
with ethics, it clearly points out
the difference between looking
through the lens of objective reality
and popular nonsense.  Paul Edwards,
discussing Russell in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF PHILOSOPHY, points out Russell's
contempt for those who shape their
principles not by a respect for facts
but rather by their wishes. Chapter
VII is in places scathing and yet
turns about in order to advise on the
way out of falling into the same
trap. Personal observation is one
safeguard against indulging in
rubbish -- Aristotle, Russell says,
could have avoided the ridiculous
idea of women having fewer teeth than
men simply by asking Mrs. Aristotle
to keep her mouth open while he
counted.  Droll, but valid.  There is
a great deal of difference between
knowledge and opinion and it is a
space vast enough to produce many a
workable theory and practice
technique.
 
Place UNPOPULAR ESSAYS on your
personal list of 'to be read' and
then prepare yourself for agreement,
surprise, and a lot of comparison and
thought.
 
-----------------------------------
'The Third Earl Russell' originally
appeared in Vol III, No 9 of THE
TRAIL OF THE SERPENT.
-----------------------------------
 
The author of this article may be reached via this BBS user #4. If you
have questions or comments direct them to the author, or post them on the
OPEN FORUM. Thanks.