You quote Blake in your response to Ruth

//“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.”//

I thought you might like the followng vision of THE INFINITE
by Leopardi

…’Dear to me always was this lonely hill
And this hedge that excludes so large a part
Of the ultimate horizon from my veiw.
But as I sit and gaze, my thought conceives
Interminable vastness of space
Beyond it, and unearthly silences,
And profoundest calm; whereat my heart almost
Becomes dismayed. And as I hear the wind
Blustering through these branches, I find myself
Comparing with this sound that infinite silence;
And then I call to mind eternity,
And the ages that are dead, and this that now
Is living, and the noise of it. And so
In this immensity my thought sinks drowned:
And sweet it seems to shipreck in the sea.

Leopardi’…
1798-1837

An outlook the vastness of the universe inspired, as revealed through the telescope…an invention of the materialistic science of man!
Wouldn’t you agree that, although science has degraded man from the standpoint of contemplation, it has exalted him from the that of action and discovery?
I would argue that the ‘love affair with scientism and materialism’ of which you write, is the outcome of a lack of trust in the design and moral purpose of nature (or the unbidden), which is blind to the child of which she has given birth (Us).
Bertrand Russell once pointed out that science offerd the possibility of far greater well-being for the human race than has ever known before, and that ‘we are in the middle of a race between human skill as to means and human folly as to ends’. How and when the story will end is open to conjecture!

Regards

paul
(osteopath and medical acupuncturist)

As the poets have mournfully sung,
Death takes the innocent young,
The rolling-in-money,
The screamingly-funny,
And those who are very well hung.

But another quote from Blake that influenced Huxley and Jim Morrison will put everything in perspective for you.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.”

Ouch!!
That article made me wince.

First off, lets dispense of 2 things…and Mencken does the heavy lifting with a brevity that would make Hemingway jealous:

1. Philosophers.
Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all others are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I should add that he also usually proves that he is one himself.
H. L. Mencken

2. Theologians
What is the function that a clergyman serves in the world? I guess it’s living by assuring idiots that he can save them from an imaginary hell.
H.L. Mencken

So the only problem we really have to anticipate is the obstetrician armed with too-superior technology. She (?He) approaches the parents-to-be:
“I’ve got good news and almost good news”:
Good: “The fetus is a male.”
Almost good: “He’s gay….”

Perhaps I would add something like:”It is God’s will….approximately (bearing in mind, based on empiric evidence, that it may just be a board of corporate directors up there).”

I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to mess with ‘the plan’. Everything is unfolding as it should….whether or not it is understood. I believe that Provocative Therapists know this very well.

Best wishes from The Empire!
Ruth.