But to achieve this reintegration of the repressed feminine, the masculine must undergo a sacrifice, an ego death. The Western mind must be willing to open itself to a reality the nature of which could shatter its most established beliefs about itself and about the world. This is where the real act of heroism is going to be. A threshold must now be crossed, a threshold demanding a courageous act of faith, of imagination, of trust in a larger and more complex reality; a threshold, moreover, demanding an act of unflinching self-discernment. And this is the great challenge of our time, the evolutionary imperative for the masculine to see through and overcome its hubris and one-sidedness, to own its unconscious shadow, to choose to enter into a fundamentally new relationship of mutuality with the feminine in all its forms. The feminine then becomes not that which must be controlled, denied, and exploited, but rather fully acknowledged, respected, and responded to for itself. It is recognized: not the objectified “other,” but rather source, goal, and immanent presence.
This is the great challenge, yet I believe it is one the Western mind has been slowly preparing itself to meet for its entire existence. I believe that the West’s restless inner development and incessantly innovative masculine ordering of reality has been gradually leading, in an immensely long dialectical movement, toward a reconciliation with the lost feminine unity, toward a profound and many-leveled marriage of the masculine and feminine, a triumphant and healing reunion. And I consider that much of the conflict and confusion of our own era reflects the fact that this evolutionary drama may now be reaching its climactic stages.10 For our time is struggling to bring forth something fundamentally new in human history: We seem to be witnessing, suffering, the birth labor of a new reality, a new form of human existence, a “child” that would be the fruit of this great archetypal marriage, and that would bear within itself all its antecedents in a new form. I therefore would affirm those indispensable ideals expressed by the supporters of feminist, ecological, archaic, and other countercultural and multicultural perspectives. But I would also wish to affirm those who have valued and sustained the central Western tradition, for I believe that this tradition—the entire trajectory from the Greek epic poets and Hebrew prophets on, the long intellectual and spiritual struggle from Socrates and Plato and Paul and Augustine to Galileo and Descartes and Kant and Freud—that this stupendous Western project should be seen as a necessary and noble part of a great dialectic, and not simply rejected as an imperialist-chauvinist plot. Not only has this tradition achieved that fundamental differentiation and autonomy of the human which alone could allow the possibility of such a larger synthesis, it has also painstakingly prepared the way for its own self-transcendence. Moreover, this tradition possesses resources, left behind and cut off by its own Promethean advance, that we have scarcely begun to integrate—and that, paradoxically, only the opening to the feminine will enable us to integrate. Each perspective, masculine and feminine, is here both affirmed and transcended, recognized as part of a larger whole; for each polarity requires the other for its fulfillment. And their synthesis leads to something beyond itself: It brings an unexpected opening to a larger reality that cannot be grasped before it arrives, because this new reality is itself a creative act.
But why has the pervasive masculinity of the Western intellectual and spiritual tradition suddenly become so apparent to us today, while it remained so invisible to almost every previous generation? I believe this is occurring only now because, as Hegel suggested, a civilization cannot become conscious of itself, cannot recognize its own significance, until it is so mature that it is approaching its own death.
Today we are experiencing something that looks very much like the death of modern man, indeed that looks very much like the death of Western man. Perhaps the end of “man” himself is at hand. But man is not a goal. Man is something that must be overcome—and fulfilled, in the embrace of the feminine.
To Heather
Acknowledgments
The long project of writing this book has left me deeply indebted to more people than I can hope adequately to acknowledge. I am very grateful to the following men and women who read the manuscript in its entirety, in several cases more than once, and who gave me invaluable critical comment and support: Stanislav Grof, Bruno Barnhart, Robert McDermott, Joseph Campbell, Huston Smith, David L. Miller, Cathie Brettschneider, Deane Juhan, Charles Harvey, Renn Butler, Bruce Newell, William Keepin, and Margaret Garigan. I also wish to thank the many individuals who read and responded to specific sections of the manuscript at various stages of the writing, including James Hillman, Robert Bellah, Fritjof Capra, Frank Barr, William Webb, Gordon Tappan, Aelred Squire, William Birmingham, Roger Walsh, John Mack, and Joseph Prabhu. An especially important reader of the book throughout the many years of its composition has been my wife Heather Malcolm Tarnas, whose meticulous editorial eye, probing questions, and sensitive judgment have deeply influenced the final result.
There are probably few sentences in this work that could not have been footnoted in recognition of some book or essay, lecture, letter, or conversation that has influenced my understanding of an idea or how best to articulate it. The bibliography attempts to list some portion of my many intellectual debts, but brief citations scarcely do justice to the contributions of scholars such as W. K. C. Guthrie, M. D. Chenu, Josef Pieper, Ernst Wilhelm Benz, Herbert Butterfield, William McNeill, Robert Bellah, and Thomas Kuhn, to name only a few of those whose influence on this book was especially marked. In addition, a number of individuals contributed directly to my working out of the book’s overall historical conception, and here I particularly wish to acknowledge my appreciation for innumerable stimulating discussions with Stanislav Grof, Bruno Barnhart, James Hillman, Robert McDermott, Deane Juhan, Huston Smith, Joseph Campbell, and Gregory Bateson.
For the publication of the book, I am greatly indebted to my agent Frederick Hill and his associate Bonnie Nadell; to Robert Wyatt and Teri Henry of Ballantine Books; to Peter Guzzardi, Margaret Garigan, James Walsh, and John Michel of Harmony Books; and to Bokara Legendre for initiating the whole process. I am very grateful for the generous financial support provided by Joan Reddish, Arthur Young, Bokara Legendre, Christopher Bird, and Philip Delevett, as well as by members of the Tarnas and Malcolm families, which enabled me to devote sufficient time to the task of writing and research. My work on the book was also aided in important ways by Michael Murphy, Richard Price, Albert Hofmann, Anne Armstrong, Roger Newell, Jay Ogilvy, the Institute for the Study of Consciousness, and the Princeton University Press. A grant from Laurance S. Rockefeller allowed me to participate in the Esalen Project for Revisioning Philosophy, a three-year series of conferences with leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. The remarkable discussions that took place during these gatherings played a significant role in pressing me to articulate the evolutionary conception of Western intellectual and spiritual history that is set forth in the epilogue of the present book, and that was first presented at the project’s concluding conference, “Philosophy and the Human Future,” held at Cambridge University in August 1989.
These acknowledgments would be incomplete without mention of my deep appreciation for the formative role played in my life by Esalen Institute, where I lived from 1974 to 1984; by Harvard University, which I attended from 1968 to 1972; and by the Jesuit teachers of my youth. In some sense this book can be seen as the natural outgrowth of having been educated in, and having to integrate the diverse intellectual influences of, just those particular learning communities. I hope this book can also be seen as an act of gratitude to each of them, and to the many dedicated men and women who shared with me their knowledge and insights.
I also want to acknowledge my gratitude to the land and spirit of Big Sur on the Pacific coast, which nurtured, challenged, and inspired me through all the years I worked on the book.
Finally, I wish to thank my parents, my wife, and my children. Without their faith and loving support, this book could not have been written. I am
deeply grateful to each of them.
Chronology
(Dates for events in antiquity are approximate.)
2000 B.C. Migrations of Greek-speaking Indo-European peoples into Aegean area begin
1950 Hebrew patriarchs migrate from Mesopotamia to Canaan (traditional biblical dating)
1800 Early Mesopotamian astronomical observations recorded
1700 Minoan civilization on Crete at height during next two centuries, influencing Greek mainland
1600 Gradual Greek fusion of Indo-European and pre-Hellenic Mediterranean religions
1450 Fall of Minoan civilization on Crete after invasions and volcanic disasters
1400 Ascendancy of Mycenaean civilization on Greek mainland
1250 Exodus of Hebrews from Egypt under Moses
1200 Trojan War with Mycenaean Greeks
1100 Dorian invasions, end of Mycenaean dominance
1000 David unites kingdom of Israel with capital at Jerusalem
950 Reign of Solomon, building of Temple
900–700 Early books of Hebrew Bible composed Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey composed
776 First Pan-Hellenic Olympic games held at Olympia
750 Greek colonization of Mediterranean spreads
740 First Isaiah fl. in Israel
700 Hesiod’s Theogony, Works and Days
600 Thales of Miletus fl., birth of philosophy
594 Solon reforms government of Athens, establishes rules for public recital of Homeric poems
590 Jeremiah fl. in Israel
586–538 Babylonian captivity of Jews Ezekiel and Second Isaiah fl., prophesy historical redemption Compilation and redaction of Hebrew Scriptures begins
580 Sappho fl., flowering of Greek lyric poetry
570 Anaximander fl., develops systematic cosmology
545 Anaximenes fl., posits transmutations of underlying substance
525 Pythagoras begins philosophical-religious brotherhood, develops synthesis of science and mysticism
520 Xenophanes fl., concept of human progress, philosophical monotheism, skepticism toward anthropomorphic deities
508 Democratic reforms instituted in Athens by Cleisthenes
500 Heraclitus fl., philosophy of pervasive flux, universal Logos
499 Persian wars begin
490 Athens defeats Persian army at Marathon
480 Greeks defeat Persian fleet at Salamis
478 Establishment of Delian League of Greek states led by Athens Period of Athenian ascendancy begins
472 Aeschylus’s The Persians, rise of Greek tragedy
470 Pindar fl., apex of Greek lyric poetry Parmenides fl., posits logical opposition between appearances and changeless unitary reality
469 Birth of Socrates
465 Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound
460 Anaxagoras fl., concept of universal Mind (Nous)
458–429 Age of Pericles
450 Emergence of Sophists begins
447 Building of Parthenon (completed 432)
446 Herodotus writing History
441 Sophocles’s Antigone
431 Euripides’s Medea
431–404 Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta
430 Democritus fl., atomism
429 Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex
427 Birth of Plato
423 Aristophanes’s The Clouds
420 Thucydides writing History of the Peloponnesian War
415 Euripides’s Trojan Women
410 Hippocrates fl., lays foundations of ancient medicine
404 Athens defeated by Sparta
399 Trial and execution of Socrates
399–347 Plato’s Dialogues written
387 Plato founds Academy in Athens
367 Aristotle begins twenty years of study at Plato’s Academy
360 Eudoxus formulates first theory of planetary motion
347 Death of Plato
342 Aristotle tutors Alexander in Macedonia
338 Philip II of Macedon subjugates Greece
336 Death of Philip, accession of Alexander
336–323 Conquests of Alexander the Great
335 Aristotle founds Lyceum in Athens
331 Founding of Alexandria in Egypt
323 Death of Alexander Beginning of Hellenistic era (to c. A.D. 312)
322 Death of Aristotle
320 Pyrrho of Elis fl., founder of Skepticism
306 Epicurus founds Epicurean school in Athens
300 Zeno of Citium founds Stoic school in Athens
300–100 Zenith of Alexandria as center of Hellenistic culture Development of humanistic scholarship, science, astrology
295 Euclid’s Elements codifying classical geometry
280 Museum (Mouseion) built in Alexandria
270 Aristarchus proposes heliocentric theory
260 Skepticism taught at Platonic Academy for next two centuries
250 Hebrew Bible translated into Greek by Alexandrian scholars
240 Archimedes fl., develops classical mechanics and mathematics
220 Apollonius of Perga fl., advances astronomy and geometry
146 Greece conquered by Rome
130 Hipparchus fl., makes first comprehensive chart of heavens, develops classical geocentric cosmology
63 Julius Caesar reforms calendar
Cicero prosecutes Catiline conspiracy
60 Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura propounds Epicurus’s atomistic theory of universe
58–48 Caesar conquers Gaul, defeats Pompey
45–4 Cicero’s philosophical works
44 Julius Caesar assassinated
31 Octavian (Augustus) defeats Antony and Cleopatra
Beginning of Roman Empire
29 Livy begins writing history of Rome
23 Horace’s Odes
19 Virgil’s Aeneid
8–4 B.C. Birth of Jesus of Nazareth
8 A.D. Ovid’s Metamorphoses
14 Death of Augustus
15 Manilius’s Astronomica
23 Strabo’s Geography
29–30 Death of Jesus
35 Conversion of Paul on way to Damascus
40 Philo of Alexandria fl., integration of Judaism and Platonism
48 Council of Apostles at Jerusalem recognizes Paul’s mission to Gentiles
50–60 Letters of Paul written
64–68 Apostles Peter and Paul martyred in Rome under Nero First major persecution of Christians
64–70 Gospel according to Mark
70 Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by Romans
70–80 Gospels according to Matthew and Luke
90–100 Gospel according to John
95 Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria codifying humanistic education in Rome
96 First appearance of formula en Christo paideia, foreshadowing synthesis of classical humanism with Christianity
100 Nicomachus’s Introduction to Arithmetic
100–200 Gnosticism flourishes
109 Tacitus’s Historiae
110 Plutarch fl., writes Parallel Lives, comparative biographies of prominent Greeks and Romans
120 Epictetus fl., Stoic moralist
140 Ptolemy’s Almagest and Tetrabiblos codify classical astronomy and astrology
150 Justin Martyr’s early synthesis of Christianity and Platonism
161 Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor
170 Galen fl., advances science of medicine
175 Earliest extant authoritative canon of New Testament
180 Irenaeus’s Against Heresies criticizes Gnosticism
Clement assumes leadership of Christian school in Alexandria
190 Sextus Empiricus fl., summarizes classical Skepticism
200 Corpus Hermeticum compiled in Alexandria (approx.)
203 Origen succeeds Clement as head of Catechetical school
232 Plotinus begins eleven years’ study with Ammonius Saccas in Alexandria
235–285 Barbarian invasions into Roman Empire Beginning of severe inflation, spread
of plague, depopulation
248 Origen’s Contra Celsum defends Christianity against pagan intellectuals
250–260 Persecutions of Christians by emperors Decius and Valerian
265 Plotinus writing and teaching in Rome, emergence of Neoplatonism
301 Plotinus’s Enneads compiled by Porphyry
303 Final and most severe persecution of Christians begins under Diocletian
312 Conversion of Constantine to Christianity
313 Edict of Milan establishes religious toleration for Christianity in Roman Empire
324 Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History, first history of Christian Church
325 Council of Nicaea convened by Constantine establishes orthodox Christian doctrine
330 Constantine moves imperial capital to Constantinople (Byzantium)
354 Birth of Augustine
361–363 Julian the Apostate briefly restores paganism in Roman Empire
370 Huns begin massive invasion of Europe (until 453)
374 Ambrose becomes bishop of Milan
382 Jerome begins translation of Bible into Latin
386 Conversion of Augustine
391 Theodosius prohibits all pagan worship in Roman Empire Destruction of Sarapeum in Alexandria
400 Augustine’s Confessions
410 Visigoth sack of Rome
413–427 Augustine’s City of God
415 Death of Hypatia in Alexandria
430 Death of Augustine
439 Carthage captured by the Vandals, West overrun by barbarians
476 End of Roman Empire in West
485 Death of Proclus, last major pagan Greek philosopher
498 Franks under Clovis convert to Catholicism
500 Dionysius the Areopagite fl. (estim.), Christian Neoplatonist
524 Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy
529 Closing of Platonic Academy in Athens by Justinian
Benedict founds first monastery at Monte Cassino
590–604 Papacy of Gregory the Great
Passion of the Western Mind Page 58