The Magic of Reason: Wild Metaphysics

No doubt, instrumental reason seems to be well-suited to creating progress in all areas, and it is regarded as beneficial to various peoples globally. But a question of its attractiveness, despite all the negative consequences for the environment, rapid transportation that can spread any virus, or displace people due to lost jobs, is not answered. Resultantly, we must open another dimension of awareness which is as ancient as human understanding of the world and the way we relate to it. In this chapter, we address the ways in which magical structures (in the Gebserian sense) pervade modern rational thought and serve as a basis for artificial intelligence. The contemporary importance of the concept of identity is addressed, and its logic is disclosed as it plays a fundamental role in forming the background of the magic of reason, which we suggest is a needed correction to the idea of “instrumental reason”. The magical aspects of modern society and metaphysics are explained with examples taken from Christianity, the imagery popular among the Nazi movement, and even modern sporting events. These concepts are then applied to the current movement towards globalization. 

Keywords: Embodiment, Image, Identity, Magic, Mathematization, Metaphysics, Possibility, Reason, Signification, Thing.