Adopting Schopenhauerian Ethics in the Age of Artemis
How Schopenhauerian Pessimism Can Reclaim Our Will-to-Live in the Modern Age
“The will, of course, is a will to live, and a will to maximum life. Reproduction is the ultimate purpose of every organism, and its strongest instinct; for only so can the will conquer death.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Castillo: “Be a witness to my virginity.” Cynthia praised her and said: “Keep the pledge you vowed and you will be my companions' princeps.” – Ovid, Fasti 2. 155
Artemis Embodies the Zeitgeist.
The human Will-to-Live permeates every aspect of our behavior, from every action to every forethought. Although we may not be aware of it, and in some cases even chastise it, it is the force that continues to animate humanity to overcome the material limitations posed against us in the natural world. But this drive for survival stretches further than our banal inclinations to breed. It is a creative force, continually manifesting itself in every facet of social and cultural development. More importantly, it is observable in national development. This is how Western civilization and Her cultural superiority have come about. The government apparatus is composed of individuals possessing the same Will-to-Live spirit. The seed imbedded in all political action, although deeply hidden, continues to reveal itself in the variegated functions of government, anywhere from the conquest of neighboring nations, to the acquisition of resources, to the organization of production, to, and most importantly, the application of violence – all are innately motivated by the libidinous nature of Mankind.
The rapacious need to survive and exist as a species in the face of Death, an inevitable and fearsome force of nature. However, it would be amiss of me to claim that reproduction is a wholly strategic act. In fact, in practice, it is the opposite of that. The desire to breed is only extended by the instinctual yearning for orgasmic gratification satiating physiological needs. It is through this method of satisfaction that our brain releases the pair-bonding chemical Oxytocin. Humans are piggishly determined to attenuate this experience once it is fully realized in youth; for at every point of a child’s life is a single event in which nascent sexual inclination and development occurs, generally at the onset of puberty. For the less fortunate, this process does happen much later in life, a reality all too common today. After the initial release of Oxytocin, the youth will develop into an individual that was previously unknown to themselves. This is the point at which sexual inclinations not just come into fruition, but are consciously replicated for others to interpret. It shapes one’s desire to perform in ways that characterize personal individuation. This is the ultimate desire for survival; becoming the “Beyond-Man” or Übermensch, the one that exceeds his peers in the sexual market, the one who monopolizes social bonds, the one who retains his supreme status in the community, or at least dies trying.
The concept of the Übermensch is superficially easy to understand, albeit imbued with nuanced layers of interpretation. It is the person who has “crossed over” from a previous reality to another; namely, crossing over from the comforts of his childhood and into adulthood where he is free to create his reality. Once the status of adulthood has been reached, there is no telling what one may encounter.
During this emergence of sexual behaviors in adolescence, peer-group acceptance is of utmost importance. Changes in the nature of previous relationships, particularly those romantic, are extraordinarily consequential for a teenager’s social success. It can be understood as a so-called ‘rite of passage’ for the teenager or young adult. For a young person to fulfill the obligation of his or her sexual rite of passage signals their enterprising ability to undergo the process of individuation and withstand the natural fear of expiration, flourishing in the social world. This is when one truly becomes the successful and fully realized social Übermensch. Indeed, sexual success is an exceptionally convenient way to gauge one’s usefulness and capacity for being a productive member of society; indistinguishable from the ancients participating in the communal fight for survival. Presumptive archaeological evidence has suggested the significance of these ' rites of passage’ sexual rituals, spanning back far beyond the age of antiquity. The most important rites of passage are deeply rooted in resolving biological crises and encouraging reproduction. Naturally, demonstrating one’s ability to readily perform sexual activity would only fortify the tribe and ensure the longevity and survival of its people. Arnold van Gennep, the man who originally coined the phrase “rites of passage” committed himself to explaining the nature of these rituals. He settled on the conclusion that these symbolic acts were designed to ease the experience of liminality that precedes the transition from one social role to another. It facilitates the symbolic act of breaking through the limen; Latin for “threshold,” and although not always ending in marriage, these symbolic gestures are almost hymnal. It yokes the individual to their new social role as soon as the sexual act is finalized. Ultimately, it changes the individual forever; it matures them, and by merit of maturity, endows them with a new social role. It is up to them to make something of him or herself once in that role, as the fight for survival is only beginning.
Through the act of sex, the man and woman who decidedly engage with one another have enlisted themselves in the communal struggle for survival. Neither he or she is a child any longer. They have chosen to advance themselves into a sexual being – a strapping young lad, or a nubile young woman – both playing a part in the play of survival. They have demonstrated their very own Will-to-Live.
Living in the Age of Artemis
Involuntary celibacy (incelism) is when virtue calls upon you to participate. The specter of Artemis has enraptured the contemporary sexual market and has revealed itself in the Zeitgeist.
Contemporary philosophers have articulated the significance of the sexual market in the development of civilization, and intuitively it makes sense. Breeding and sexual impulses are markedly important for the birth of civilization. In contrast to that very little of modern society concerns itself with sex and breeding.
Fertility rates are steadily dropping. Burgeoning civilizations, those characterized by patriarchal mores bent on conquest and technological innovation have successfully captured and destroyed ritualistic gynarchies and cave-dwellers (it is rather difficult to honestly label them as “societies”) and reinvented them into something more. Resulting from this are highly fragmented and hierarchical albeit advanced and cultured civilizations. Perfection; not slovenly Neolithic rites of reproduction servicing primeval vulvic fixation.
It is important to note that Artemis’ association with birthing rites has little to do with fecundity. As the “original nymph” she is represented with the knowledge of her independence from men; not out of resentment, but out of her incapacity to ascertain the significance of reproductivity.
She wants to remain a virgin, she doesn’t have a consort. She likes animals, too. Her service to nature is not unusual, given how single women adore their pets. (familiar?) She individuates herself from nature, despite understanding that she is still a part of it.
Civilizing nature ends in selectivity, perfection, independence, and chastity.
What this means for society is the unconscious desire for chastity for the sake of mirroring the individuation from nature; mirroring in the force of civilization and conquest which is tied to the practice of prolonged virginity.
The shaman or wanderer/adventurer who individuates beyond the confines of his ‘world’, tribe, community, is an octave above this. Similar fractally. The hero and shaman are internal/external adventurers stealing knowledge, bartering, communing with strange gods in other worlds; this carries tribal Will outward, or brings new Will into the tribe. Culture, memes, resemble genetics quite perfectly. Healthy evolution follows a meta pattern in all regard, inbred cultures which refuse to confront the greater World will fall apart, locked in their bubble they run out of air. Everything that is, follows the pattern of yin and yang, in breath and out breath, male and female.
Life is the generative dance of God, sex is creation.