Knowing Nature or: Eftqfsbufmz!Tffljoh!Hsfudifo Bruce J. MacLennan University of Tennessee, Knoxville I. The Faust Twins There is an idea, with some basis in historical data, that there were two Fausts, who were brothers or perhaps even twins (Butler 1948, 122). One, Johannes, graduated from the University of Heidelberg in record time and near the top of his class, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1484 and a master’s degree in 1487 (Baron 1978, 17–22). Although we know little about him, we may imagine him as a typical Renaissance magus, on the model of Cornelius Agrippa, striving to harmonize his life with the occult powers of heaven and earth, and to unite his soul with divinity. 2 Georg (or Jörg) Faust, on the other hand, described himself on his calling card as the younger Faust, the chief of necromancers, the second magus, astrologer, palmist, diviner, etc. (c. 1507, Bates 1969, 2). He seems to have been an itinerant charlatan and swindler, who was not above petty vindictiveness and was also an accused pedophile (2–8). Apparently, he cultivated his diabolical reputation and claimed the devil as his brother-in-law (4). Around this historical seed grew the legend of the intellectual who sold his soul to gain wealth, power, sex, and other materialist benefits. 3 Interesting though these historical questions may be, for our purposes the symbolic dimension is more important, for we may see the Faust Twins as the light and dark sides of a single archetype, the Magus, who from antiquity has been viewed ambivalently (Butler 1948). Indeed, the many stories of magical duels between good and evil magicians can be read as psychological accounts of a too-good magician confronting his alienated Shadow. 4 We are said to be Faustian men and women living in a Faustian age; certainly we are ever striving, as was Goethe’s Faust. 5 The economist H.C. Binswanger (1998) writes, “Goethe’s protagonist is representative of modern man who, through science, seeks to subjugate nature and to build up a new economic realm of freedom and prosperity. … Goethe not only reveals how Faust, the representative modern man, realizes this massive project of economic progress, but also shows the existing and potential dangers associated with it.” 6 Like Goethe’s Faust, modern science, technology, and economy have some noble goals and offer us significant benefits, but they also have a shadow side, which threatens to overwhelm us. 7 The Redemption of Faust “Faust’s Vision” by Franciszek Żmurko 8 In the earliest versions of the Faust legend he is not redeemed; he dies a horrible death and his soul is hauled off to Hell. His redemption appears for the first time in Lessing’s Faust fragment (Durrani 2004, 92–4), but most famously in Goethe’s drama. 9 Perhaps this reflects recognition, at some level, that the good and wise magus and the evil and selfish sorcerer are not two individuals, but the illuminated and shadow sides of a single archetype. Thus the theme of Faust’s redemption may reflect the beginnings of a reunification of the opposites. 10 In any case, the rejuvenation of Faust by Nature is a central theme in Goethe’s Faust. The Triumph of Galatea 11 Interwoven with it are Faust’s repeated attempts to unite his ambitious, striving, egodominated psyche with the archetypal feminine principle in order to produce the alchemical child. Perhaps herein we may find means for the redemption of our Faustian world. 12 II. Natura Abscondita 13 Space prohibits more than a mention of the historical context of the Faust legend, but Merchant (1980), Easlea (1980), Hadot (2006), and others have documented in detail the transformation of humankind’s relation to Nature associated with the scientific revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Easlea 1980, 89–90). Two alternative worldviews presented themselves. 14 One was the mechanical philosophy (which advocates called “the masculine philosophy”!), promoted by Descartes and others, which treated Nature as a mathematically describable machine and a resource ripe for exploitation. 15 16 The new Masculine Philosophy shall find a way in Nature’s hidden chamber, and find the secrets hidden in her bosom. It will penetrate further, to conquer & subdue her. 17 The other was Hermeticism, which refers to the assortment of philosophies, spiritual traditions, and practices influenced by the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistos, which had been recovered in the fifteenth century. 18 Central to Hermeticism were two related ideas, divine Nature and the Anima Mundi (World Soul), both considered feminine, divine mediators between the eternal, unchanging archetypal Ideas and the perceptible world, where everything is in flux (but in accord with the archetypal Ideas). 19 There was a practical side to Hermeticism, and Renaissance magi such as Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola used its principles of sympathy and symbolic connection to design rituals for healing both body and soul and for other beneficial purposes. 20 Indeed, as Hillman (1975, 202) says, “Ficino was writing, not philosophy as has always been supposed, but an archetypal psychology.” 21 Although the Hermetic magi were interested in practical results, their relationship with Nature was primarily one of cooperation rather than exploitation, for she was seen as divine, and the entire Macrocosm was understood as an organism, of which the individual human organism, the Microcosm, was an image (Easlea 1980, 102–4, 111–12, 139). 22 Although Hermeticism contributed some ideas to science (such as hidden forces), science took its orientation to nature from the mechanical philosophy. Opposed to the scientistic juggernaut were Nature philosophers such as Goethe, who recommended an empathetic, participatory, and holistic natural science, which he called a “delicate empiricism” (zartre Empirie, Goethe 1996, ch. 5). Eschewing abstraction, Goethe advocated a phenomenological approach, resulting in a sympathetic resonance between the archetypes in the observer and in Nature (Barnes 2000, Bortoft 1996, Goethe 1996, 11, Seamon 1978, Seamon and Zajonc 1998). But Nature Philosophy could not compete with the mechanical philosophy’s materialist seductions. 23 Science of Nature has one goal: To find both manyness and whole. Nothing ‘inside’ or ‘Out There’, The ‘outer’ world is all ‘In Here’. This mystery grasp without delay, This secret always on display. The true illusion celebrate, Be joyful in this serious game! No living thing lives separate: One and Many are the same. — Goethe 24 III. Naturae Scientia Materialist science, technology, and economy — and the cultural attitudes that go along with them — have largely contributed to our environmental crisis, and will be unable to solve it on their own. Therefore, we need a societal transvaluation of our relation to Nature. 25 From an intellectual perspective we can work toward a reunification of the opposites of science and spirit, of the physical and the psychical. To state the points in brief. Depth psychology is consistent with evolutionary psychology, and they are mutually informative (Sabini 2000, MacLennan “Evol. Jung. Psych.,” 2006). One focuses on external behavior, while the other investigates the interior realm (Stevens 2003, chs. 1, 4); they coincide in their depths for, as von Franz (1974, 7) says, “The lowest collective level of our psyche is simply pure nature.” In particular, neurophenomenology will allow us to understand the neurological correlates of experience while respecting the reality of the phenomena. 26 Finally, there is now widespread recognition in philosophy and psychology that embodiment is necessary to the mind (e.g., Gibbs 2006), and our growing understanding of the inherent connection of mind and matter will eventually heal the “Cartesian split” (our dualistic habits of thought). Thus science may contribute to our understanding of the psyche, but this knowledge will not undermine the psyche’s importance. Rather, by exposing the essential role played by the archetypes in scientific practice, Jungian psychology will reveal the importance of spiritual considerations in science, thus allowing meaning and values to fulfill their important role in scientific practice (MacLennan in press). It should also show how these important considerations can be integrated into technology, ecology, and business. 27 A genuinely Pythagorean approach to science would do much to reconcile it with the spiritual dimension of Nature (MacLennan in press). By acknowledging the symbolic dimension of mathematics, it would decrease science’s abstraction and alienation from sensuous reality, while simultaneously revealing symbolic associations and connections — that is to say, sympathies — with lived human existence and the rest of Nature. Scientists would be more aware of the foundational role played by phenomenology and the unconscious in their work, and less inclined to scientific and technological hubris; it would bring true depth — profundity — to science. The world may be understood from the inside as well as from the outside, and by sympathetic engagement in Nature, she can be known through union rather than domination. 28 IV. Natura Anacalypta I will turn now from intellectual attitudes to practices. Certainly, activities that bring people into contact with Nature, such as wilderness treks and vision quests, are important, but I will focus here on approaches suggested by Hermetic philosophy. 29 Of course, we cannot become Renaissance magi; their time is past, but the practice of Renaissance magic is not so atavistic as it may seem, for it is based primarily on active imagination and consciously invoked projection. 30 Thus we can understand magical practice from the perspective of Jungian psychology, which is also compatible with evolutionary psychology, and thus will sit happily with twenty-first century science, especially if redirected in a more Goethean direction (MacLennan 2005, in press). 31 The return (or reawakening) of Nature in the world at large can be viewed as a global alchemical operation directed toward “ensouling” matter. Of course the World Soul has never been absent, but her presence is invisible to most people and unacknowledged. How can we invoke her so that she throws off her veil, so that her presence shines forth in the natural world and becomes a numinous experience for ordinary people? Here the techniques of Neoplatonic theurgy, which were well known to Ficino, Agrippa, Giordano Bruno and other Renaissance magi, can accomplish the task. “Nature Unveiling Herself to Science” by L.-E. Barrias 32 The imagination of these magi was fired by the so-called “god making passage” in the Hermetic texts (Asclepius, 37–8). More accurately, it describes creation of a sacred image and invocation of a god or daemon to reside in it. 33 The Lineage of Apollo However, as theurgists were quick to explain, one cannot compel a god to occupy an image. Rather, each god and daemon resides in a lineage of symbolically linked ideas, images, and objects. 34 By making use of these “signs and symbols” a sacred image might be made a “suitable receptacle” for the divine potency. These symbols might include images, herbs, and gems, but also hymns and prayers (Shaw 1995). 35 By analogy we may observe that a golden object does not compel yellow light to appear, but it allows the yellow color latent in white light to manifest itself so we may perceive it. Once a sacred image has been “ensouled” in this way, the god or daemon is present to the theurgist, who may engage the deity in conversation. 36 In psychological terms, the use of potent symbols invites projection of an archetype or complex onto the divine image. When this has been accomplished, the operator engages, through active imagination, with the projected components of the personal or collective unconscious (MacLennan 2005, “Indiv. Soul,” 2006). 37 To effect a worldwide recognition of the divinity of Nature, this operation must be executed on a global level. To accomplish this we need to disseminate symbols of Nature and the Great Goddess in all her forms. Art of all kinds is most useful: images, music, stories, and so forth. And these should be linked with manifestations of the Anima Mundi in the natural world: mountains, seas, forests, flocks, herds, schools, and all the rest. Further, the numinous character of all these should be openly acknowledged with reverence, awe, and ritual. This can be done in a non-sectarian way, yet without falling back into aestheticism. Further, as Jung’s story of the Taoist rainmaker shows, a relatively few people actively engaged in restoring the symbolic balance may heal the greater society. This is the true and historical role of the magus (Butler 1948). 38 V. Egregores for Gaia Occultists use the term egregore to refer to a daemon created, intentionally or unintentionally, by the thoughts and ritual actions of a group (Melton 2001, 480). It comes from the Greek word ἐγρήγορος, which means someone who is wakeful or vigilant, and this reveals the original meaning of the term, for the most common reason for intentionally creating an egregore is to protect the group or its ritual space. In ancient times a similar practice was to use a hero shrine as a focus to recruit the hero’s spirit to protect a city, sacred grove, or other locale. 39 Psychologically, an egregore is a group complex constructed and reinforced in the unconscious minds of the group members by repeated use of symbols associated with the complex and its archetypal core. In more theurgical terms, by ritual actions the group invokes a daemon in the lineage of an appropriate god. By theurgical procedures similar to active imagination the group can negotiate with the egregore, to ensure, for example, that it has a clear purpose. Most importantly, people outside the group will feel the force of the egregore to the extent that it is woven from symbolic associations that are universal or common to the culture to which the people belong. Places protected by an egregore will seem holy, sacred, numinous, and inviolable. 40 Therefore I suggest that we invoke egregores to protect the environment. They may be called to oversee a limited locale, such as a lake or city park, or they may have larger tasks, such as protecting the rain forest or an endangered species. Indeed, I think we should work toward an egregore guarding Gaia herself. Whether limited or not, the basic theurgical operations are the same. We must reinforce the symbolic associations revealing the divinity within the place or thing, especially by art — using words and images, music and dance — but also by rituals that reinforce its sacredness. These need not be in place of scientific, technological, or political protection, or opposed to them, but the symbolic and literal approaches can be woven together in an alchemical union transcending the differences. (For example, our scientific accounts can be presented in a symbolically rich manner, our technology can incorporate sacred art, and our ritual can be incorporated into the political process.) 41 An egregore will not last forever, especially if opposed by materialist institutions; it must be reinforced continually. This implies the founding of organizations and traditions analogous to the ancient priesthoods that cared for sacred precincts. For egregores of wider scope, such as Gaia’s, a better model may be the “invisible college,” in which individuals, united by an idea, cooperate in a shared purpose, but without a formal organization; they need not even know each other. 42 Natura philosophum docet As a model we may take the Rosicrucian Fraternity, the existence of which was announced in several documents in seventeenth century Germany (e.g., Yates 1972). Without getting into debates about whether the Fraternity actually existed, or whether contemporary Rosicrucian organizations are descended from it, I would like to argue that the idea of the Rosicrucian Fraternity was more important than the literal organization. 43 For the Rosicrucian documents fired the imagination of European intellectuals — especially those with a Hermetic orientation — and encouraged them to behave as though they were Rosicrucians and to found actual organizations with similar goals of Hermetic philosophy and medicine, service to humanity, and political and societal reform. Indeed Rosicrucianism became a cultural complex in the Enlightenment. 44 We can do similarly today, living as members of an invisible college dedicated to a new societal reformation, this time directed toward a global alchemical operation, the reunion of spirit and matter, and supported by theurgical practices to reveal the soul in Nature. 45 Das Ewig-Weibliche Zieht uns hinan Ultra ducet Femina Perenn" 46 Di immo#ales, data nob" scientiam Naturae. Semper eam quaeramus. Semper eam colamus. Semper ei credamus. Semper ei fidamus. E%o! 47 References Baron, Frank. 1978. Doctor Faustus: From history to legend. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. Barnes, John. 2000. Participatory science as the basis for a healing culture. In Nature’s open secret: Introductions to Goethe’s scientific writings, by Rudolph Steiner, transl. John Barnes and Mado Spiegler, 219–301. USA: Anthroposopic Press. Bates, Paul A. 1969. Faust: Sources, works, criticism. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. Binswanger, Hans C. 1998. The challenge of Faust. Science 281: 640–641. Bortoft, Henri. 1996. The wholeness of nature: Goethe’s way toward a science of conscious participation in nature. Hudson: Lindisfarne. Butler, E. M. 1948. The myth of the magus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Canto reprint. Durrani, Osman. 2004. Faust: Icon of modern culture. East Sussex: Helm Information. Easlea, Brian. 1980. Witch hunting, magic and the new philosophy: An introduction to the debates of the scientific revolution 1450–1750. Sussex: Humanities Press. Franz, Marie-Louise von. 1974. Number and time: Reflections leading toward a unification of depth psychology and physics. Evanston: Northwestern University Press. Gibbs, R.W., Jr. 2006. Embodiment and cognitive science. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. 1996. Goethe on science: A selection of Goethe’s writings. Ed. & intro. Jeremy Naydler. Edinburgh: Floris. Hadot, Pierre. 2006. The veil of Isis: An essay on the history of an idea, trans. Michael Chase. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 48 Hillman, J. 1975. Re-visioning psychology. New York: Harper & Row. MacLennan, Bruce J. 2005. Evolution, Jung, and theurgy: Their role in modern Neoplatonism. In History of Platonism: Plato redivivus, ed. Robert Berchman & John Finamore, 305–22. New Orleans: University Press of the South. MacLennan, Bruce J. 2006. Evolutionary Jungian psychology. Psychological Perspectives 49, 1: 9–28. MacLennan, Bruce J. 2006. Individual soul and world soul: The process of individuation in Neoplatonism and Jung. In Wegmarken der Individuation, ed. Thomas Arzt & Axel Holm, 83–116. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann. MacLennan, Bruce J. in press. Neoplatonism in science: Past and future. In Metaphysical patterns in Platonism: Ancient, medieval, renaissance, and modern, ed. Robert Berchman & John Finamore, 241–59. New Orleans: University Press of the South. Melton, J. Gordon, ed. 2001. Encyclopedia of occultism & parapsychology. 5th ed. 2 vols. Detroit: Gale Group. Merchant, Carolyn. 1980. The death of nature: Women, ecology, and the scientific revolution. San Francisco: Harper & Row. Sabini, Meredith. 2000. The bones in the cave: Phylogenetic foundations of analytical psychology. Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice Fall 2000, Issue #2: 17–33. Seamon, David. 1978. Goethe’s approach to the natural world: Implications for environmental theory and education. In Humanistic geography: Prospects and problems, ed. David Ley and Marwyn S. Samuels, 238–50. Chicago: Maaroufa Press. Seamon, David, and Arthur Zajonc, eds. 1998. Goethe’s way of science: A phenomenology of nature. Albany: State University of New York Press. Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. Stevens, Anthony. 2003. Archetype revisited: An updated natural history of the self. Toronto: Inner City Books. Yates, Frances A. 1972. The Rosicrucian enlightenment. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. 49 Bruce MacLennan, PhD is an Associate Professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. He investigates the mind in a way that respects both psychical and physical reality, and pursues new approaches to artificial intelligence based on neuroscience and phenomenological philosophy and psychology. His other research includes Neoplatonism and Goethean science, their relation to Jungian psychology, and how they can revitalize science. He has published papers on evolutionary Jungian psychology, theurgy and individuation in Neoplatonism and Jung, neurotheology, and Neoplatonism in science. Recently he taught “Minds and Machines,” “Goethe, Faust, and Science,” and “Selling Your Soul: Goethe’s Faust and the Modern World.” Text copyright by Bruce J. MacLennan, 2007. Images may be copyrighted by their creators. 50