Quote of the day

 

“Heroes, lovers, and believers don’t extinguish; they are rediscovered in every age, and it is in this sense myth always emerges. The situation in which we find ourselves now resembles an interlude where a curtain has fallen while a disconcerting mutation of those who transform with Will through technology is taking place.”

- Ernst Junger, Der Arbeiter (1932)

Reading Group for Summer 2025 Update

READING GROUP SUMMER 2025

Cybernetics and Forms of Life: Bios, Zoe, Kybernetos

Readings are going to be short selections from the following books: 

• Michael Naas Plato and the Invention of Life
• Gilles Deleuze: "Immanence: A Life" 
• Ruyer Cybernetics and the Origin of Information
• Excerpts other texts as assigned

Link HERE

Ernst Junger's Die Schere: Stereoscopic Vision into the Spirit World

Ernst Junger's Die Schere: Stereoscopic Vision into the Spirit World

Die Schere #27

When a "vision" takes place, the afflicted is assailed by that vague sensation which is felt by a man, who, upon returning from an excursion, is unable to give any account thereof. At the time, the vision could have passed as a dream - its realization makes one suspect that more was in play.

The scissors, appearing before only as image, can cut - this is uncanny.Perhaps memory conserves only a secondary particular, as does a note in the margin of a page whose text is smudged. Has more taken place? A similar mood can follow a heavy inebriation: the drinker does not know what drove him to it. In any case, a tie has been made - he has found his way back to his person and his norms. Drinking from the Well of Mimir is taboo.

Die Schere #29

The pre-visionary thus attended twice his own funeral, once while standing at the window, then in reality. The  relation has interlocked, the scissors of Atropos, at first seen in its potential, then took effect in actu - the scissors cut. But the visionary is hurt no more.

Second sight does not open a panoramic view, as if a curtain were ripped apart.

Instead, it is like squinting through a keyhole. The perspective is quite limited, it is mostly trifles, like a toppled inkwell, that meet the eye. However, such accidental details are perceived with great exactness. This might be explained by assuming a slight disturbance, caused perhaps by a tiny screw in the intricate mechanism of perception becoming loose - luckily merely for a moment.

E. Juenger, The Sheers (Die Schere)

What is the spirit world and what is its relation to this life?  Does the natural reflect up from within its own depths the spiritual and magical?  We are presented with options concerning the one nature and its sheered existence (Juenger).

Schelling (in his text, Clara, or On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World) offers insight into our options:

1. The spirit world enters this life.
2. The two worlds are kept completely separate.
3. There is interaction between this life and the next.
4. We may learn about the next life from carefully looking at this one.

Another question must follow.  In what way might the human be a point between these two worlds, a Schere or scissor cutting them apart?  We are not directly connected to the spiritual world, but do progress toward the spiritual through our death.  The bands of a paper cut into a moebius strip are hemmed by our perception.  

Steroscopically, the senses may zero in and unveil the magical quality of the world - the spiritual entering in through and interacting with this life.  Dreams are the direct testament to such a revelation presented before the inner senses, although others have developed the optics which, under certain conditions, perceive the truth of the revelation directly.  Whether or how this may be communicated is another story.

 

Novelist Ernst Juenger (1885-1998), friend of Martin Heidegger (and equally loathed because of his politics) is the phenomenologist of dreams, a "psychonaut."  Opening a new view of the everyday allowed him to perceive the spiritual alive in it.  Among the realities found in this new, deeper layer of reality, is the reality of liberation: freedom from the body.  Juenger's politicization of this inner pillar of freedom was called "the Anarch"; a figure whose religious orientation was psychical and Eastern, a figure whose metaphysics was libertarian and ecological.  Thus a unique prototype, the Anarch has the ability to "shape-shift" according to circumstance: the ultimate figure of freedom.  At the end of his life Juenger appears to have aligned beliefs about this prototype to an order whose aesthetic and spiritual ranking he seemed to confide in the most, the Catholic church (although Juenger never just "gave up" his freedom to the Church, if anything this was a respectful nod to the order, an acknowledgment of its spiritual aesthetics).

Juenger also found a spiritual freedom in the forest, evidenced in his novel Eumeswil, where he then develops a figure whom he titles, "the Forest Fleer."  Juenger's celebrated essay Der Waldgang ("The Forest Fleer") develops the theme of inner emigration, a transition from Anarch to Forest Fleer - the retreat to a spiritual zone found within the forest which is also a retreat into the self.  There, in the forest, there in dreams, we communicate with the dead.  We see the power of our inner freedom and the magic of the real.  The transition is from Anarch to Forest Fleer: the prototype drops its mask and reveals to the world the power of its inner freedom.  There in the forest the last stand is made.

I copy below a not-so-bad  translation of an article written about Juenger referencing several of the themes outline above.

Ernst Junger. Warrior - Psychonaut - Anarch

credit: from Science.ORF.at 13.04.2012

Ernst Jünger (1895-1998) is polarized like no other intellectual of the 20th Century. They called him a propagandist of the war and described his poems as "Mr. Reiter's prose." Nevertheless, the German poet-philosopher for some represents an appeal like that of the '68-movement.

He was "a kind of disciple to life, surrounded by the aura of intellectual obscenity," such as former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer once remarked. A report on drug-induced "paradise" and "human salamanders" is found in the work of Ernst Jünger.

Juenger re-read

To sweep the widespread stereotypes about Juenger aside, the philosopher Gerd B. Achenbach in early April held a multi-day seminar held in the Swabian monastery Heiligkreuztal. The intention of Achenbach was to undertake some investigations into the multi-faceted, subtle work of controversial the artist-philosopher, Ernst Juenger.

You should show that Juenger may well be regarded for a philosopher, if  - as Achenbach - implies, you are not confused with footnote philology and academic term papers. In an interview with science.ORF.at, Achenbach referred to Juenger's "strategy", namely looking to the phenomena and activities of daily life that are hardly noticed as a starting point for theoretical point of view excursions. They lead Juenger into "the pathless darkness of mystery."

A new view of the everyday

Documents of these expeditions into the mystery find themselves in the Juenger's book, "The Adventurous Heart. Figures and Capricchios". His aim was to wrest the surface of things and uncover a deeper meaning of reality with new or hidden dimensions. His goal was also to undermine the reality of the very means of art.

Much like the surrealist writers Juenger drew a new perspective on the everyday, which opened up surprising perspectives, "A falling to the ground of reality's tissue may be the start of an Archimedean point from which the poet [Juenger] sets in motion a whole world and opens up a world," wrote the writer Guillaume Apollinaire.

Stereoscopic sensuality

The means to transform reality is, from the stereoscopic view, to be discovered next to the usual perception of everyday objects in their magical quality, "as if an observant was controlled from the mysterious itself".

Stereoscopically one perceives words as Juenger did, to win from the same object simultaneously two sensory qualities, and indeed - this is what is important - by a single sensory organ. As an example he cites the cinnamon scent of clove, "of which not only the smell is aromatic, but also has the taste of a spicy quality."

Discover the magic of the real

The stereoscopic view stages a simultaneous layering of realities, impressions, memories and dreams, it leads to an enhanced perception of the object world, which thus takes on a magical quality.

Here, too, are echoes of Surrealist writers such as André Breton, where the stereoscopic gaze is the place of the "automatic writing" - translated, the letter automatically takes place. Artistic expeditions would expand the range of factuality and reality into the realm of the numinous, the mysterious, the wonderful advance that defies logical and rational access.

    "Often it seems to us that the sense of depth can be created only from the surface, the rainbow-colored skin in the world, where the sight moves us urgently. Then again, this colorful pattern is created solely from letters and symbols by which the depths talk to us through their secrets. " (Ernst Jünger)

The shortcomings of the administered world

The stereoscopic view is trying to evoke a sphere which was displaced in the Enlightenment by the "disenchantment of the world". Such refers to the paranoid delusion of the Enlightenment era, which tries to explain all phenomena and define all rationally - "The geometry of reason obscures a diabolical mosaic, sometimes shockingly alive world".

The will of the realm of the numinous, the wonderful world, was disenchanted into a flattened world - spoken by those who celebrate on the weekends in the supermarket's buying frenzy, - a substitute for the loss of the Saints. Jünger's critique of the one-dimensional life-world that resembles the life of lemurs, meets with the analysis of Theodor W. Adorno.

The parade intellectuals of the "Frankfurt School" deplored "the damaged life" of the individual who will be sacrificed by the late capitalist industrial society on the altar of profit maximization. For Adorno, this form of society "is completely wrong," the "hell of human existence" was a total loss of the individual, demoted to "Lurch".

The Doors of Perception

Many were convinced that the use of drugs also opens up access to the area of ​​the numinous - beyond the usual bleak one-dimensional world. With the use of hashish, opium, mescaline, cocaine or LSD, Juenger designed singular experiments where created a sense of that archaic phenomena of ecstasy, which were usually hidden in the process of Western civilization .

High on drugs, there was the unexpected, "wholly other", which was already described enthusiastically by the English author Thomas de Quincey as divine. He spoke of a God-like state that occurs after the ingestion of opium. This condition is also experienced after taking LSD, which Juenger shared with Albert Hofmann, who took the substance which he had created (Hofmann, a chemist).

In the book "Approaches and drug intoxication," Juenger said LSD was a possible access to the "divine which moves everything." Back in 1949 he had presented in his novel "Heliopolis" the spiritual adventurer Antonio Peri, in addition to his everyday life wrought by the hallucinogenic drug "artificial paradises". This "artificial paradises" now promised "good news, eleusinisches light." You can, however, find out that these experiences- "turn out to be mirages, a pretend the true oases, but without a closer reality".

Regarding the use of hallucinogenic drugs, Juenger wrote, "Once is enough, you will have gained an idea of ​​the dimensions within which they move as a blind man once plumbed the depths, the yawns among the planks of their boat."

Waldgänger and Anarch

When thinking - and living Juenger propagated the "forest transition" or "retreat into the forest" - he who defies the world and manages the consumer frenzy. The "Forest Fleer" is an outsider of civilization, one who situates their self at the edges, and is very skeptical of the normativity of common sense, who always knows that people are not "good."

The radical aversion to socially binding norms affects not only the late-capitalist society, but is directed against any religious or ideological coercion corsets. The "Forest Fleer" is simultaneously a "Psychonaut", which always seeks out extreme conditions in order to expand consciousness. He is also "Anarch", not an anarchist, who still has the illusion of being able to change the world rather than one's self.

The "Anarch" refers to Max Stirner's "unique one" who has made his cause on nothing. He defies not only every act but also any public articulation of his only developed inner secret thought:

    "When "Anarch" I am determined to get involved with anything, but not taking anything too seriously - but not in a nihilistic way - as a man's land is between tides, eyes, and ears." (Eumeswil)

"Consciousness, Technicity, and Spontaneity: Revisiting the Philosophy of Artificial Life" - Invited Talk for Schmidt Program on Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and National Power

 

Talk for Schmidt Program on Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technologies, and National Power

__________________________________________________________________________

“Consciousness, Technicity, and Spontaneity: Revisiting the Philosophy of Artificial Life”

Introduction: Contextualizing the Inquiry
Today’s discussion addresses some fundamental issues within the philosophy of artificial life and artificial intelligence, drawing on key readings from The Philosophy of Artificial Life edited by Margaret Boden. My goal is to clarify the conceptual underpinnings of consciousness and its relation to technology, particularly focusing on how the intersection between mechanical and dynamical systems sheds light on both human cognition and the limitations of artificial systems.

This analysis is not merely speculative; it explores the practical and ethical implications of advancing technologies, which should be of great interest to professionals engaged in both the philosophical and applied domains of artificial intelligence (AI), biology, and national security / defense intelligence enterprise. This examination will consider how these insights could be leveraged within the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence communities as well as provide an example of what a successfully bio-engineered conscious form of artificial life might look like. To close I consider the ethical implications surrounding this topic.

Part 1: Phenomenology and Consciousness - A Methodological Approach
At the center of this discussion lies the relationship between phenomenology and consciousness. Phenomenology, as both a philosophy and method, examines the structures of lived experience from the perspective of a conscious being. For thinkers such as Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, this approach reveals the deep connections between how phenomena appear to consciousness and the ontological categories governing reality. When extended to the study of life and artificial systems, phenomenology challenges reductive approaches that attempt to model consciousness purely through computational or mechanical means.

Consciousness is not merely an epiphenomenon of brain states; it exhibits a structure that is intertwined with the very dynamics of life itself. The presupposition of phenomenology is that consciousness and reality are contiguous: the categories that structure conscious experience reflect fundamental features of the world. In other words, if we want to understand life, cognition, and ultimately consciousness then we must engage with methods that can accommodate the spontaneity and creativity inherent in living systems navigating the world.

Mechanical Systems vs. Dynamical Systems: The Problem of Emulation
The distinction between mechanical and dynamical systems is critical when discussing the nature of living, conscious beings. Mechanical systems operate through pre-defined rules and programmed responses which renders them predictable and deterministic. Dynamical systems, however, are characterized by their adaptability, emergent properties, and sensitivity to initial conditions—traits closely associated with biological and conscious entities.

The article “Animals as Cost-Based Robots,” discussed today, highlights a key problem in AI and artificial life: the attempt to model living systems through purely mechanical means. While mechanical systems can emulate some aspects of life, they fail to capture the spontaneous, adaptive, and context-sensitive behavior that characterizes conscious organisms. For instance, in the hypothetical case of the robot R1, designed to retrieve a battery from a room with a ticking bomb, we see the limits of mechanical inference. R1 could not recognize the implications of its actions in the way a conscious, living being could. Subsequent models, designed to account for inference-making, only compounded the problem by getting bogged down in irrelevant details, ultimately failing to act effectively.

This illustrates a profound limitation: conscious organisms possess a spontaneous capacity for context-sensitive inference that goes beyond rigid programming. This spontaneity is what makes living systems fundamentally different from artificial ones. Consciousness involves not just logical deduction but a creative and adaptive engagement with the world, driven by goals that emerge organically rather than through predefined instructions.

The Technicity of Consciousness: Spontaneity as a Crucial Ingredient
Central to this discussion is the idea of technicity, which I define as the inherent “technology” or systematicity within consciousness itself. Consciousness, at its core, is engaged in a kind of dynamic problem-solving, constantly creating, revising, and deploying concepts to navigate the world. However, this problem-solving capacity is not mechanistic but rooted in the spontaneity and libidinal energy of life—what we might call “cost-based energetics.”

Cost-based energetics refers to the idea that living organisms, even at the molecular level, are driven by the need to optimize their energy expenditure. This is not merely an unconscious instinct but reflects a deeper principle: life is inherently driven by the desire to achieve the most with the least expenditure. This principle underlies both biological evolution and the development of conscious awareness.

The issue arises when we attempt to translate this spontaneous, libidinal dynamism into artificial systems. As the parable of R1 and its successors demonstrates, mechanical systems lack the spontaneous creativity necessary for true problem-solving. They can be programmed to recognize certain implications, but they cannot generate the context-sensitive, innovative responses characteristic of conscious beings. In this sense, there is a profound difference between “biological technology” and “machinic technology.” The former is rooted in life’s spontaneous creativity, while the latter is deterministic and devoid of true spontaneity.

The Paradox of Technological Advancement: Weakening Human Powers
This analysis brings us to a paradox: while technological advancements, such as calculators or automated systems, are designed to enhance human capacities, they can also lead to the atrophy of the very powers they were intended to support. When we over-rely on technology to solve problems, we risk diminishing our own imaginative and spontaneous problem-solving abilities. The more we outsource our cognitive tasks to machines, the less capable we become of engaging in the creative, context-sensitive thinking that characterizes human intelligence.

This insight resonates with Heidegger’s famous assertion that “the essence of technology is nothing technological.” Technology, when uncritically embraced, risks becoming an autonomous force that undermines human spontaneity and creativity. The challenge, then, is to strike a balance between leveraging technological tools and preserving the dynamic, spontaneous qualities of consciousness that allow for true innovation.

Applications for the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community
Given the critical insights discussed, it is worth considering how these ideas might be practically applied within the defense and intelligence sectors. The spontaneous, context-sensitive, and creative problem-solving abilities that characterize human consciousness are precisely what make human analysts invaluable in complex, high-stakes environments. While AI and automated systems can process large amounts of data and generate predictions, they lack the capacity for spontaneous insight—a capacity that often proves decisive in ambiguous or rapidly changing situations.

It is my belief that hiring individuals who understand these philosophical principles could greatly enhance the methodological frameworks used in intelligence analysis. By integrating a deeper understanding of consciousness, spontaneity, and technicity, analysts could refine their approach to decision-making, particularly in situations where the ability to adapt and innovate is critical. Furthermore, these insights could inform the development of AI systems that, rather than merely emulating human cognition, are designed to complement and enhance the unique strengths of human intelligence. Let us now consider an example of what such a conscious and spontaneously driven artificial biotechnological system might look like.

Part 2: An Example – Biological Robots

The concept of “biological robots” offers a fascinating example of how an advanced civilization might employ conscious, spontaneously driven creative biotechnological systems (programmed life) to navigate the complexities of the world, for example in the case of interstellar exploration and interaction. Here it will be helpful to touch on how such beings might be "programmed" for specific tasks and examine the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing these types of entities.

Bio-logics

The idea of programming life-forms, or "bio-logics," to carry out specific tasks may be understood as a situation where an advanced civilization designs and creates biological beings - artificial life - for specific functions. Rather than using silicon-based AI or metallic robotics, an advanced civilization could merge biological and computational principles to create living entities engineered to perform particular tasks, such as reconnaissance, data collection, or even communication. In this sense, bio-logics are biological systems that operate under pre-programmed algorithms, much like how DNA codes for proteins and cellular functions. However, these entities would be customized beyond the traditional evolutionary constraints, tailored to serve the needs of their creators in environments where standard robotics might be inefficient.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Bio-logics

There are clear advantages to employing biological robots over traditional machines or autonomous AI. For one, these entities could be biologically adapted to harsh environments, allowing them to survive in conditions that would be fatal to both humans and standard robots. They could be designed with specific sensory capabilities, cognitive processing abilities, and physical forms optimized for a wide range of missions.

Additionally, these beings could be expendable, reducing the ethical concerns associated with sending sentient beings on dangerous missions. As they are cloned or "manufactured" with specific parameters, the loss of one unit would be inconsequential to their creators. Furthermore, if these beings are simply following programmed instructions without sentience, it alleviates the moral implications of using them as mere tools.

However, there are significant disadvantages and ethical dilemmas to consider. The creation of semi-sentient beings designed to perform laborious or hazardous tasks raises concerns about autonomy and free will. Even if these entities lack consciousness, the possibility of developing a form of proto-awareness or sentience remains. An advanced civilization might face the ethical paradox of creating beings intelligent enough to perform complex functions but devoid of the capacity for self-determination. This scenario echoes familiar ethical debates in AI research regarding the rights of intelligent systems and their capacity to experience suffering.

Ethical Implications of Creating Biological Robots

The ethical implications of creating biological robots or clones revolve around the question of whether creating life for a specific purpose is inherently justifiable. If such beings are indeed artificially created and programmed by design, their existence would be entirely dictated by their programming. This scenario raises questions about exploitation, especially if these beings possess any form of consciousness, however rudimentary.

From a human perspective, the idea of manufacturing life solely for utilitarian purposes resonates with historical ethical concerns about slavery, exploitation, and autonomy. Even if these beings are designed to be devoid of suffering or self-awareness, the mere act of creating and discarding life at will could be seen as morally problematic.

Moreover, if these beings are used by an advanced alien civilization for first contact or exploration, it could indicate that their creators view life as a commodity, something to be engineered and controlled. This perspective challenges traditional views of life’s intrinsic value and raises concerns about the ethics of bioengineering in general.

The concept of biological robots offers a glimpse into how an advanced civilization might engineer life to fulfill specific tasks. The idea of artificial life rendered as a kind of bio-logics presents a unique synthesis of biology and technology, creating entities that could operate in ways far beyond what traditional machines or humans could achieve. However, the ethical implications of creating life for utilitarian purposes are significant, especially if such beings possess even a rudimentary form of consciousness.

Conclusion: Toward a Human-Centered Technicity
Combining biological components with artificial structures could offer a range of applications, utilized by our national security and defense intelligence community by way of intelligence collection, reconnaissance, surveillance, and even direct action. In national security operations involving disaster response for example, bio-logics could assist in locating survivors or hazardous materials in environments such as collapsed buildings, mines, or wilderness areas. Their biological adaptability may allow them to traverse spaces or conditions where traditional robots would fail. Bio-logics might also infiltrate physical structures to gather data from devices that are off-limits to digital hacking, thereby creating a new dimension in cyber intelligence operations. In special operations, biological robots could be used to perform covert actions that require precision and discretion. For example they could deliver payloads to incapacitate specific targets or introduce substances (such as poisons or incapacitating agents) in highly targeted and non-detectable ways, potentially as part of intelligence operations aimed at neutralizing key threats. With respect to intelligence, biological robots could become part of broader multi-domain operations, fusing data from biological systems with AI to enhance decision-making processes in the intelligence cycle. This could enable defense intelligence to combine biological insights (e.g., changes in ecosystems, or biological anomalies in humans) with signals or imagery intelligence (SIGINT/IMINT) for a more comprehensive picture of strategic threat assessment.

In conclusion, the study of artificial life, consciousness, and technicity reveals profound insights into the nature of intelligence—both human and artificial. As we move forward, it is essential to recognize the limitations of mechanical systems while preserving the spontaneous, creative powers that define conscious life. By doing so, we not only advance our understanding of philosophy and technology but also equip ourselves to address the complex challenges faced by today’s defense and intelligence communities. The path forward lies not in replacing human intelligence with machines, but in harmonizing technology with the dynamic, spontaneous capacities that are the true source of innovation and problem-solving. Inasmuch as this dynamic, spontaneous sort of power can be infused into artificially created systems, whether biological robots or other forms of “bio-logics,” the national security and intelligence community could reap substantial benefit.  

quote of the day (Ernst Junger 'Maxima Minima' 1964 - Part One)

"On methodology. The necessity of the eye’s search for twilight. The sunset rises elsewhere. Characterologically: one is an optimist or a pessimist. Optimism can also change, through radiation..."

"What is “world revolution”? The visible changes are preceded by the less visible, and also the invisible. Already, technology is rising from great depths as a modus vivendi. Mental change prevails over technical, technical over political, and political over strategic. A war can be won politically, before it has begun." 

"Winning and losing lie in the unexpected moves. For this reason alone, one must not lose faith too soon, not even in matters of power."

"A system is already shaken by the evidence that it can be viewed from a different angle – that there are other systems. The new approach shows that the belief, which founds all knowledge, is not yet sufficient and that the search must be continued. The cosmos must not become overpowering; it must deepen to the extent that it grows."

"The best point of view is that of the outsider. He who depicts must be inside and outside at the same time. This is made possible by differences of origin...and creates not only the opposing positions between the figures – according to one direction, usually both....He [the Outsider; the Anarch] has the misfortune of being a little less afraid than the others; one who has sung in the fire and comes up with things you don’t want to know."

"Where stupidity reaches degrees that become incomprehensible and exclude conversation, its significance as a phenomenon grows...demonologically....[I]t is to be assumed that very strong powers become active...The same applies to the dwindling of the metaphysical faculty. A loss within the historical landscape remains relative within the larger contexts – the universe is a house that loses nothing. One does not have to hold the place, one has to hold the bench."

"Acceleration is compressed, anticipated time. It heralds long states of rest, pauses in creation."

"The violence of a storm can be anticipated like a foehn or an earthquake. The phenomena are surprising – the avalanches, the covered houses, the spring floods. This does not preclude their underlying meaning from being heard more clearly in the overture. It gives the preliminary forms of the images, the abundance of which confuses in the upwellings."

90.3 WESS FM

Brassier and Grant on Schelling, Nature, and Reason

Ray Brassier, "The Persistence of Form: Hegel and Psychoanalysis

Object Naturalism, Subject Naturalism, Process Naturalism and Beyond | Ray Brassier

Two conversations about nature and creativity

 Featuring two theistic naturalists (panentheists), Robert S. Corrington (Drew University) and Robert Cummings Neville (Boston University).  These are two towering figures in the history of American philosophy of religion, philosophical naturalism, and philosophical theology. The conversations in these two videos span discussion of the meaning of nature, theism versus pantheism versus panentheism, creation and creativity, psychoanalysis, panpsychism, Leibniz, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Peirce, Tillich, the social and political implications of panentheistic ontologies of nature, and much, much more.