This entertaining attack on Colin Wilson (of all people) was written by me in 2010, during my skeptical period. Today, I would probably not write like this...
Is there anything Colin Wilson *doesn't* believe in?
God, perhaps. Or Karl Marx. Otherwise, he seems to be worse than agent Mulder!
A very long time ago, Wilson was actually something of a celebrity, due to his book "The Outsider". Its blend of Existentialism, Nietzscheanism and longing for the transcendental didn't appeal to me, so I never finished it. Still, I suppose it does have a certain philosophical interest.
Then, something happened. For decades, Wilson has been writing books on the paranormal, occult and cultish. UFOs, Atlantis, Spiritism and telepathic Neandertals are some of the subjects. So is reincarnation, Steiner and Gurdjieff. And yes, Wilson seems to believe in it.
All of it.
"Alien Dawn" is no exception. The book deals with the bizarre abduction phenomenon: thousands of people, mostly Americans, claim to have been kidnapped by aliens from outer space, taken onboard their UFOs and tortured in various ingenious ways. Wilson apparently believes this, too. The credulity of the author knows no bounds. Apparently, Bigfoot has been involved in some alien abductions! A lady encountered the pagan god Pan outside her balcony. He wanted contact. During some hectic weeks in the Devil's Triangle in Wales, aliens were roaming the countryside and teleporting cows from one farm to another. (The cow story has actually been investigated and debunked. Some people have strange pastimes.)
And so it goes on, page after page. Curiously, Wilson doesn't believe the phenomenon to be evil. Rather, he seems to think that the aliens are spiritual beings administering shock therapy to humanity, forcing us to become more transcendental. Tough love? Somehow, the more trivial Christian notion that demons are evil seem easier to believe!
Wilson has also edited a confusing anthology titled "Marx Refuted". He somehow managed to persuade Maggie Thatcher to write a contribution. Yes, *that* Margaret Thatcher. But what is Colin's alternative to Marxism? In one of his books, he speculates that a committee of angels wants to speed up the vital life force of our material universe. They were behind the manifestations in Hydesville. In this book, Pan and Bigfoot roams the countryside, abducting people to teach us some lessons in cosmic consciousness.
Has any stray group of Marxists within the British Labour Party ever bothered responding? :-D
I'm sure the "Posadista" Revolutionary Workers Party has some objections. They, after all, believe that aliens are socialists!
If you like bizarre and cultish books, "Alien Dawn" is excellent. It's available in both paperback and hardback editions. And if you think this twilight of a book sounds familiar, you are quite right. We seen it all before...on "The X-Files".
A very long time ago, Wilson was actually something of a celebrity, due to his book "The Outsider". Its blend of Existentialism, Nietzscheanism and longing for the transcendental didn't appeal to me, so I never finished it. Still, I suppose it does have a certain philosophical interest.
Then, something happened. For decades, Wilson has been writing books on the paranormal, occult and cultish. UFOs, Atlantis, Spiritism and telepathic Neandertals are some of the subjects. So is reincarnation, Steiner and Gurdjieff. And yes, Wilson seems to believe in it.
All of it.
"Alien Dawn" is no exception. The book deals with the bizarre abduction phenomenon: thousands of people, mostly Americans, claim to have been kidnapped by aliens from outer space, taken onboard their UFOs and tortured in various ingenious ways. Wilson apparently believes this, too. The credulity of the author knows no bounds. Apparently, Bigfoot has been involved in some alien abductions! A lady encountered the pagan god Pan outside her balcony. He wanted contact. During some hectic weeks in the Devil's Triangle in Wales, aliens were roaming the countryside and teleporting cows from one farm to another. (The cow story has actually been investigated and debunked. Some people have strange pastimes.)
And so it goes on, page after page. Curiously, Wilson doesn't believe the phenomenon to be evil. Rather, he seems to think that the aliens are spiritual beings administering shock therapy to humanity, forcing us to become more transcendental. Tough love? Somehow, the more trivial Christian notion that demons are evil seem easier to believe!
Wilson has also edited a confusing anthology titled "Marx Refuted". He somehow managed to persuade Maggie Thatcher to write a contribution. Yes, *that* Margaret Thatcher. But what is Colin's alternative to Marxism? In one of his books, he speculates that a committee of angels wants to speed up the vital life force of our material universe. They were behind the manifestations in Hydesville. In this book, Pan and Bigfoot roams the countryside, abducting people to teach us some lessons in cosmic consciousness.
Has any stray group of Marxists within the British Labour Party ever bothered responding? :-D
I'm sure the "Posadista" Revolutionary Workers Party has some objections. They, after all, believe that aliens are socialists!
If you like bizarre and cultish books, "Alien Dawn" is excellent. It's available in both paperback and hardback editions. And if you think this twilight of a book sounds familiar, you are quite right. We seen it all before...on "The X-Files".
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