Monday, August 24, 2020

An intellectual great power



Sten Lindroth was a Swedish intellectual historian and historian of science. He was also a member of the Swedish Academy. Shortly before his death, Lindroth was working on some kind of magnum opus in which he tried to cover Swedish intellectual history from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century. Of the projected five volumes, only three were published during Lindroth´s lifetime. A more slender fourth volume was published posthumously by one of Lindroth´s associates. This is a review of the second volume, published in 1975.

"Svensk Lärdomshistoria. Stormaktstiden" is an imposing volume, dealing with everything even remotely "intellectual" or "scientific" that transpired in Sweden during the so-called Great Power Period, roughly the 17th and early 18th centuries. I admit that I was impressed. It´s all there: Lutheran orthodoxy, Syncretism, Pietism, Ramism, Aristotelianism, humanism, Hebrew studies, "Gothicism" (göticism), Rudbeck´s Atlantica, Pufendorf, Cartesianism (including Descartes himself - he died in Sweden), Queen Christina´s academies, Urban Hiärne, and Swedenborg (in his earlier role as scientist). And many others!

It´s difficult to be objective towards the crazed flights of fancy of Olaus Rudbeck and the Gothicists, early Swedish nationalists who claimed that the Swedes were descended from the Goths of Antiquity. Indeed, Rudbeck went so far as to claim that Sweden was, ahem, Atlantis. That particular thesis was hard to believe already 400 years ago! But while Lindroth simply has to point out that Rudbeck´s Atlantid speculations were crackpot, the author is surprisingly objective when describing other thinkers often regarded as equally cranky by posterity. I´m refering to the occultists who gilded the Swedish intellectual landscape during the period in question: Sigfridus Aronus Forsius, Johannes Bureus, Georg Stiernhielm, Friedrich Menius and indeed the previously mentioned Urban Hiärne. The dividing line between science and the occult was by no means clear, and Lindroth therefore devotes some time to magic, astrology, alchemy, Paracelsus, Hermetism and even folk occultism most people would regard as rank superstition. There is also a section on the 17th century witch-burnings.

What struck me most when reading this volume of "Svensk Lärdomshistoria" was how diverse Swedish intellectual life was during the Great Power Period, despite constant attempts by the Lutheran Church to dominate the universities and stop all the "heresies". It seems the monarchs, despite being good Lutherans (except Christina, who converted to Catholicism), nevertheless understood that for pragmatic reasons, the budding great power simply must keep in touch with all the latest developments in Europe. Cartesianism seems to have been particularly contentious, with many churchmen insisting on the truths of Aristotelian cosmology. Cartesianism won the day anyway...

I haven´t read literally all of this huge door-stopper, but it was fascinating to dive into a period in intellectual history when things hadn´t been "finally" decided yet, with Christians, esotericists and de facto skeptics all taking their wares to the marketplace of ideas. A new period of this kind is very much wanted! OK, maybe without the Atlantica. 

86 comments:

  1. Off topic https://kiremaj70.blogspot.com/2020/08/konspirationsteoretiker-donlad-trump.html

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  2. Off topic. Is Kim Jong-un dead? Or just hiding, like a certain Dem presidential candidate?

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  3. Hmmm...

    I didn't know the EU had a partnership deal with Belarus.

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  4. I find the name "Belarus" problematic. I mean, it literally means "White Russia". Or "White Swedish Place". If Belarus joins EU, we need a conversation about a name change! Reaching out.

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  5. Is Kamala Harris the fall girl? Will she leave the race?

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  6. Straight up from now on: Harris drops out, Biden dies, Trump debates Kanye in Kenosha, Trump wins 80% of vote, makes Kanye governor of Wisconsin!

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  7. Maybe I was wrong about Dem conspiracy, maybe real con is that Dems *don't want* to win. That's why they choose Kamala as VP nominee. Fall girl?

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  8. Nobody voted for Harris in primaries, so she can be sacrificed.

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  9. Why *would* the Dems want power in 2020? Or is it scorched earth tactics?

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  10. If they can't have it, they rather destroy it?

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  11. Or are Dems CURSED by BASED CHAOS MAGICIANS in the name of Kek and ERIS?

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  12. That's almost a serious question at this point, although scorched earth seems more likely.

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  13. Globo-liberals ready to destroy everything rather than let populists take power? Is that it?

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  14. If that's the deal, shit will end really badly.

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  15. What if Pinochet or Pol Pot becomes only alternatives on a planet with wars, pandemics, locust swarms, heat waves and extreme weather events?

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  16. Next intelligent species on planet Earth: cockroach fairies who emerge in 3000 AD to claim everything?

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  17. Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?

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  18. What if nature doesn't want to be redeemed? Or if its redemption looks very different from that proposed by Paul in the Bible?

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  19. How does the redemption of Nature look like? No humans, hotter climate, more carbon dioxide in the air?

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  20. Bet you didn't see that coming.

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  21. Rena inbördeskriget i Kenosha, beväpnade grupper på båda sidor hotar varandra. Guvernören har tackat nej till Trumps erbjudande om att skicka fler soldater från Nationalgardet. Media ljuger och påstår att protesterna är "fredliga". Intressant att demokraterna fortfarande inte förstår att detta gynnar Trump. Brända jordens taktik?

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  22. Jag börjar misstänka att demokraterna insett att spelet är förlorat, och därför inte har något emot ytterligare sex månader av selektiva karantäner och våldsamma kravaller. De bränner hellre ner skiten...

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  23. Vad händer om Trump sätter in militär mot "protesterna" i ett läge där vanliga väljare kan tänkas stödja honom? Det kanske är det han väntar på...

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  24. Insurrection Act har en ironisk historia. Användes av Grant för att spöa KKK, begränsades av Rutherford som eftergift till sydstaterna...

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  25. Jag funderar på att ta "time out" när det gäller politiska kommentarer om USA. Nätet kommer att vara FUCKING HYSTERISKT från cirka mitten av oktober till cirka januari.

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  26. Har en hel del annat att kommentera... :-)

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  27. Den här bloggen kommer att låta väldigt snäll i ungefär ett halvår, ha ha.

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  28. Fick denna QAnon-video skickad till mig på en av mina blo0ggar. Den som gjort den verkar sympatisk, men det är en gåta att han kan tro att Trump är lösningen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmML_1EeUyw&feature=youtu.be

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    1. Har kollat lite på hela kanalen. Den verkar väldigt eklektisk och ser lite amatörmässig ut. Politiskt stödjer den mycket riktigt Trump och QAnon.

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  29. Trump will send National Guard to Kenosha. Governor caved. Happening as we speak.

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  30. Kenosha city council requested 1,500 National Guardsmen. Not sure how many Trump will deploy.

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  31. In other news, NYT published a pro-paedophile article. I'm sure they also attacked QAnon...

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  32. Isabella Lövin tvingades avgå från posten som Miljöpartiets ena språkrör eftersom hon faktiskt ville bedriva miljöpolitik. Det ville inte resten av partiet. De satsar allt på öppna gränser istället...

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  33. Vad bra, då kanske vi slipper Miljöpartiet i fortsättningen?

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  34. Jag betvivlar inte att Lövin är en god globo-liberal, men hon tvingades avgå ändå. Tänk er nu en *verkligt* hård motsättning mellan radikal miljöpolitik och öppna gränser? Gissa hur MP kommer att ställa sig?

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  35. Will Trump dump TQ in favor of LGB?

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  36. "Fiery but mostly peaceful protests". Media descending into complete insanity during Kenosha riots. Good. Let them feel the burn!

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  37. It will be interesting to see how far the MSM will descend into madness...

    Yes, I have the luxury of not living in the United States...

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  38. Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds. New edition, when?

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  39. Twitter is good for something. You can follow the Curse of Eris in real time.

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  40. Just read about Bachofen and Schuler, my reaction like "wtf am I reading"?!

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  41. https://kiremaj70.blogspot.com/2020/08/triump-har-inte-de-basta-sangerna.html

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  42. Han har kanske de bästa tweetsen?

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  43. Has the color revolution in US failed?

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  44. Tycker Peter Wolodarski fortfarande att "Sverige aldrig har varit tryggare"? Om inte, vad fick honom att ändra sig? Låt mig gissa. Corona?

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  45. Glenn Beck just endorsed Donald Trump. I think the broad populist coalition can do without *him*, but I suppose even the Mormon kook vote counts in a close race...

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  46. Does Beck believe that Trump is the One Mighty and Strong?

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  47. Richard Spencer and Bob Avakian endorse Biden, Glenn Beck endorse Trump...

    What a race.

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  48. The Chad Kook versus the Virgin Loco.

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  49. Socialist Alternative has endorsed the Green Party.

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  50. Probably a wise choice, since Biden will either loose badly or become care taker president after globalist coup. Leftists who support Dems will go down in flames either way. I feel sorry for Chairman Bob already...

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  51. I wonder if Kamala Harris has realized that she isn't the next president? She is the FALL GIRL. Can't back out now, will be blamed for Dem defeat either way!

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  52. Maybe there was a reason why DNC choose a nominee who got ZERO votes in the primaries? She is Hillary Clinton's bitch and FALL GIRL.

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  53. If coup succeeds, Hillary Clinton will step forward and take real power. If it fails, Harris will be blamed. If Harris drops out of race tomorrow, she will also be blamed. She took the wrong job!

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  54. My self-imposed time out from political commentary hasn't begun yet...

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  55. Amerika har aldrig varit tryggare.

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  56. Det finns en enkel lösning på alla samhällsproblem. Hårdare tag!

    Kom inte och säg att det inte går. Det går visst!

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  57. The Chad QAnon versus the Virgin Antifa.

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  58. Vill Belarus och Hong Kong verkligen ansluta sig till västvärlden som den ser ut idag?

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  59. Den där demokratiska revolutionen 1989-91 gick visst inte så bra, istället ser Östeuropa ut ungefär som det gjorde innan kommunismen...

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  60. Det gick inte så bra i Irak och Libyen heller..

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  61. Who could *possibly* have foreseen this?

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  62. "Western Idea of Progress": two world wars, Holocaust, Gulag, Mao, mass starvation, global warming, overpopulation, Mutually Assured Destruction...

    HA HA HA.

    What a fraud!

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  63. But muh UN declaration of human rights!

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  64. 21st century will be even worse, just wait. "Progress" is a religion, not an empirical reality.

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  65. We killed 200 million people (or whatever is the number) but since it's proportionately less than the number of deaths during Mongol Invasion or bubonic plague, we are MAKING PROGRESS hooray

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  66. Communism killed 50 million people but the Western Idea of Progress is still true cuz reasons. After all, they weren't killed by Rand Paul or Coca Cola!

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  67. Communist Voice är aktiva fortfarande, och de skriver om covid-19 och Black lives Matter, men de verkar vid en snabbkoll inte bry sig om valet.

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  68. Har kollat. CVO ger ett märkligt intryck. Trots att de ständigt attackerar resten av vänstern låter de själva som en ganska typisk vänstergrupp circa 1992 eller så. Det nya är det starka betonandet av klimatfrågan. De stödjer dessutom coronakarantänen. Men detta skiljer inte ut dem från resten av vänstern heller.

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  69. Den största skillnaden är att de så totalt ignorerar Donald Trump och valet. *Det* är en glasklar skillnad gentemot resten av vänstern, men varför? Något uppenbart svar verkar inte finnas. De är helt enkelt mot alla, både i öst och väst och syd...

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  70. CVO kanske har drivit linjen "protestera mot alla som sitter vid makten överallt" så långt att de inte ser något särskilt med Trump (eller föralldel dagens demokrater).

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  71. Off topic. Tim Pool just endorsed Trump with the argument "I vote for the asshole rather than the coward" (meaning Biden).

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  72. Tim Pool är alltså killen som gjorde ett reportage om gängvåld i Rinkeby, blev hotad av gänget, och tillsagd av polisen att sticka...

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  73. I assumed Tim Pool was always a Trump supporter? But apparently not...

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  76. Jag har ägnat några minuter, nästan en kvart, till att avgöra om denna sång är en pro-Trump-sång eller en parodi på en sådan. Har till sist kommit fram till att det är allvarligt menat, med tanke på andra poster som användaren har gjort. Om det ändå är en parodi är den mycket skickligt och konsekvent konstruerad.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYsvYLfaXF4

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  77. Trump-anhängarna lyckas bättre när de gör nidvior om Biden, än när de gör hyllningssånger till Trump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKBUuPDIzgQ

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  78. The Deplorable Choir är säkert på riktigt, och deras hillbilly-stil kan vara självironisk, men problemet är att självironin kan missuppfattas som the real thing...

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  79. https://kiremaj70.blogspot.com/2020/08/joe-biden-vs-donald-trump-tva.html

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