Mary, that was a surprising opening to your post! Thanks for this wonderful follow-up (the note link does not work however; this is the correct one https://substack.com/@ruthgaskovski/note/c-49020270). My husband Peco and I will compile a comprehensive list of all the suggested books (including those added by readers) and add them in a separate page on School of the Unconformed and Pilgrims in the Machine.
One book that I would add to the list is Peco's "Exogenesis" (Ignatius Press) that was just released last summer. It poses a unique addition because it is the first fiction novel to emerge out of the Machine conversation and embodies many central ideas in story rather than abstraction. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175736800-exogenesis
Have you ever considered starting a seminar series for your readers?
I think some of the recent writings of NS Lyons outlining developments in the techno-managerial state and the rise of "virtuals" might be relevant.
On the fictional side, while the fantasy realm is represented at least by Tolkein in the full syllabus, plenty of classic sci-fi novels would fit the bill here too. This might stretch the definition—of course it all depends on what one means by "the Machine"—but Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" might be one example. I also second the nomination for just about any Kafka, in particular The Penal Colony.
One commenter has already mentioned the novel “The Glass Bees” by Ernst Jünger. Several texts by Ernst and his brother Friedrich Georg Jünger would be great additions to such a reading list. Unfortunately, some were never translated into English and others are now out of print.
“The Worker” (1932) is an important milestone in Ernst Jünger’s thought along these lines which significantly influenced Martin Heidegger. “At the Time Wall” (1959) is an important update to the ideas expressed in “The Worker”, but I read it in Italian and I believe it is still unavailable in English. Other relevant texts by Ernst Jünger include “The Forest Passage” (1951) and the novel “Eumeswil” (1977), both of which deal with how one can live under the reign of the machine.
Friedrich Jünger’s “The Perfection of Technology” (1946) describes the reign of technology in a spiritually impoverished world in terms of “the machine”, much like the way in which Paul Kingsnorth uses the term. An English translation was apparently published in the US with the title “The Failure of Technology” (date unknown, 1950s?).
The work of both the brothers Jünger with respect to technology is discussed in some detail in Alain de Benoist’s “Ernst Jünger: Between the Gods & the Titans” (2022).
“The Abolition of Man” (1943) by C.S. Lewis, in addressing the topic of education, describes a not-so distant future dystopia in which individualism and relativism have made value judgements impossible, and public values and morals are controlled by a small elite who, a la Mosca and the Machiavellians, rule by virtue of their perfect understanding of psychology … sound familiar?
“The Crisis of the Modern World” (1927) and “The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times” (1945) by René Guénon offer a metaphysical critique of the reign of quantity (materialism) and the consequent downward drift of Western civilisation in which people are plunging headlong into a purely quantitative existence (“the pure multiplicity toward which the present world is straining with all its might”), in which only numerical distinctions are perceived or allowed.
Mircea Eliade’s ideas as expressed in “The Myth of Eternal Return” and other texts are relevant in that they explore the opposite of the machine, i.e. the concept of sacred, ritual, mythical and cyclical time as opposed to linear time - a topic dealt with, by the way, at some length in Ernst Jünger’s “At the Time Wall”.
Since we’ve come this far, I may as well throw in texts by Julius Evola, another Traditionalist in the vein of Guenon and Eliade: “Revolt Against the Modern World” (1937), “Men Among the Ruins” (1953) and “Ride the Tiger” (1961), all of which discuss conditions which have enabled the rise of “the machine”, and how to live with/under it.
Some of the texts mentioned above would probably appear on a Times Literary Supplement list of naughty books that one should not read or discuss in polite company. Which is one of the reasons why I so much prefer the bookshops and literary culture of Italy (and probably other European nations) to that of the Anglosphere. In Italy, quality bookshops typically stock a far wider range of authors and ideas than one would ever find in the Anglosphere, including everyone I’ve listed here, in a much more open marketplace of ideas.
I want to put this question in as peaceful a way as possible - as with 'woke', I have no idea what people mean when they talk about 'The Machine'. I understand the emotion and the vague ideas, but in both cases it seems vague to the point of meaningless. Woke seems to mean: every left wing idea I don't like. Machine seems to mean: all the technology I don't like, combined.
For instance, John Zerzan is quite clear and defined about what he dislikes about technology (pretty much everything). He writes about the difference between a tool and technology. I don't agree with all his views but they are presented in a very defined manner. I have yet to see a succinct definition of The Machine. Lots of circuitious, poetic, nostalgic and eleagic writing, but nothing concrete.
I'm pretty criticial of technology myself, but I have never used the phrase The Machine, and never seen the need. Is there a hidden depth and meaning I am missing?
Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul, from 1992, still holds up really well. He was focused then on the economic neoliberals, but if you substitute the woke - socially focused, left neoliberals in many respects - for them.
"The Psychology of Totalitarianism" by Matthias Desmet. This book isn't just about totalitarianism as a regime, but also covers the dangers of mechanistic thinking, how statistics can be misleading, transhumanism and how it relates to conciousness and the power of stories and social contagion.
Who here thinks Marx gave a great analysis of Capitalism? Has anyone else come so close or so accurate in describing its mechanizations? Why isn't Das Kapital taught in university economic courses?
Paul Kingsnorth’s substack series (Abbey of Misrule) on the Machine
The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton, That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis, and anything by Wendell Berry.
Mary, that was a surprising opening to your post! Thanks for this wonderful follow-up (the note link does not work however; this is the correct one https://substack.com/@ruthgaskovski/note/c-49020270). My husband Peco and I will compile a comprehensive list of all the suggested books (including those added by readers) and add them in a separate page on School of the Unconformed and Pilgrims in the Machine.
One book that I would add to the list is Peco's "Exogenesis" (Ignatius Press) that was just released last summer. It poses a unique addition because it is the first fiction novel to emerge out of the Machine conversation and embodies many central ideas in story rather than abstraction. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175736800-exogenesis
Have you ever considered starting a seminar series for your readers?
Norton, The Mountain and the River/Genesis, Postmodernism, and the Machine
This is fiction, but Junger, The Glass Bees
Pretty much all of Paul Kingsnorth's work
Rieff, esp. Triumph of the Therapeutic and My Life Among the Deathworks
I think some of the recent writings of NS Lyons outlining developments in the techno-managerial state and the rise of "virtuals" might be relevant.
On the fictional side, while the fantasy realm is represented at least by Tolkein in the full syllabus, plenty of classic sci-fi novels would fit the bill here too. This might stretch the definition—of course it all depends on what one means by "the Machine"—but Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" might be one example. I also second the nomination for just about any Kafka, in particular The Penal Colony.
One commenter has already mentioned the novel “The Glass Bees” by Ernst Jünger. Several texts by Ernst and his brother Friedrich Georg Jünger would be great additions to such a reading list. Unfortunately, some were never translated into English and others are now out of print.
“The Worker” (1932) is an important milestone in Ernst Jünger’s thought along these lines which significantly influenced Martin Heidegger. “At the Time Wall” (1959) is an important update to the ideas expressed in “The Worker”, but I read it in Italian and I believe it is still unavailable in English. Other relevant texts by Ernst Jünger include “The Forest Passage” (1951) and the novel “Eumeswil” (1977), both of which deal with how one can live under the reign of the machine.
Friedrich Jünger’s “The Perfection of Technology” (1946) describes the reign of technology in a spiritually impoverished world in terms of “the machine”, much like the way in which Paul Kingsnorth uses the term. An English translation was apparently published in the US with the title “The Failure of Technology” (date unknown, 1950s?).
The work of both the brothers Jünger with respect to technology is discussed in some detail in Alain de Benoist’s “Ernst Jünger: Between the Gods & the Titans” (2022).
“The Abolition of Man” (1943) by C.S. Lewis, in addressing the topic of education, describes a not-so distant future dystopia in which individualism and relativism have made value judgements impossible, and public values and morals are controlled by a small elite who, a la Mosca and the Machiavellians, rule by virtue of their perfect understanding of psychology … sound familiar?
“The Crisis of the Modern World” (1927) and “The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times” (1945) by René Guénon offer a metaphysical critique of the reign of quantity (materialism) and the consequent downward drift of Western civilisation in which people are plunging headlong into a purely quantitative existence (“the pure multiplicity toward which the present world is straining with all its might”), in which only numerical distinctions are perceived or allowed.
Mircea Eliade’s ideas as expressed in “The Myth of Eternal Return” and other texts are relevant in that they explore the opposite of the machine, i.e. the concept of sacred, ritual, mythical and cyclical time as opposed to linear time - a topic dealt with, by the way, at some length in Ernst Jünger’s “At the Time Wall”.
Since we’ve come this far, I may as well throw in texts by Julius Evola, another Traditionalist in the vein of Guenon and Eliade: “Revolt Against the Modern World” (1937), “Men Among the Ruins” (1953) and “Ride the Tiger” (1961), all of which discuss conditions which have enabled the rise of “the machine”, and how to live with/under it.
Some of the texts mentioned above would probably appear on a Times Literary Supplement list of naughty books that one should not read or discuss in polite company. Which is one of the reasons why I so much prefer the bookshops and literary culture of Italy (and probably other European nations) to that of the Anglosphere. In Italy, quality bookshops typically stock a far wider range of authors and ideas than one would ever find in the Anglosphere, including everyone I’ve listed here, in a much more open marketplace of ideas.
The Bible by God might be worth a read.
Omitting Lewis Mumford would be a crime.
"The Myth of the Machine: Technics and Human Development" (vol. 1) and vol. 2 "The Pentagon of Power."
I want to put this question in as peaceful a way as possible - as with 'woke', I have no idea what people mean when they talk about 'The Machine'. I understand the emotion and the vague ideas, but in both cases it seems vague to the point of meaningless. Woke seems to mean: every left wing idea I don't like. Machine seems to mean: all the technology I don't like, combined.
For instance, John Zerzan is quite clear and defined about what he dislikes about technology (pretty much everything). He writes about the difference between a tool and technology. I don't agree with all his views but they are presented in a very defined manner. I have yet to see a succinct definition of The Machine. Lots of circuitious, poetic, nostalgic and eleagic writing, but nothing concrete.
I'm pretty criticial of technology myself, but I have never used the phrase The Machine, and never seen the need. Is there a hidden depth and meaning I am missing?
A couple of additions to the reading list:
Iain McGilchrist; "The Master and His Emissary", and "The Matter With Things"
Julian Jaynes; "The Origins of Consciousness..."
Herbert Read; "To Hell with Culture" (Essay)
Walter Benjamin; "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
Neil Postman; "Technopoly"
Sol Yurick; "Metatron"
Joseph Weizenbaum; "Computer Power and Human Reason"
And, as a corrective and possible therapeutic aid to contemporary ideas about the arts, Ellen Dissanayake's "Art and Intimacy".
Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul, from 1992, still holds up really well. He was focused then on the economic neoliberals, but if you substitute the woke - socially focused, left neoliberals in many respects - for them.
"The Psychology of Totalitarianism" by Matthias Desmet. This book isn't just about totalitarianism as a regime, but also covers the dangers of mechanistic thinking, how statistics can be misleading, transhumanism and how it relates to conciousness and the power of stories and social contagion.
I hope I'm not repeating, but the 3rd of CS Lewis' "Space Trilogy" (they are all worth reading) That Hideous Strength.
Great readings.
My suggestions for additions: Kafka (The Metamorphosis or The Penal Colony) and Arendt (last chapter of The Human Condition).
I would make one important addition: GK Chesterton, "The Outline of Sanity" Ch. IV- "Some Aspects of Machinery"
Who here thinks Marx gave a great analysis of Capitalism? Has anyone else come so close or so accurate in describing its mechanizations? Why isn't Das Kapital taught in university economic courses?