EVOLVE V.A.R.C

The Genesis, Evolution, and Enduring Legacy of the Gothic Genre.   The genesis of the Gothic literary tradition is largely attributed to Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, The Castle of Otranto , a work whose melodramatic and supernatural elements catalyzed a new genre. Walpole's narrative strategy, presenting the story not as his own creation but as a rediscovered historical manuscript, established a foundational trope of the Gothic: the framed narrative. This technique, echoing modern "found footage" films, purports to offer a genuine relic from a superstitious, mythic past—specifically, the medieval period, which the text refers to as the "darkest ages of Christianity." It is this deep-seated fascination with a mythic, medieval, and supernatural past that fundamentally defines the Gothic sensibility, positioning it as a direct antithesis to the prevailing Neoclassical ideals of order and reason. The term "Gothic" itself is rooted in a historical antagoni...

  How to Be Manifestly Happier Most Americans know the story of Johnny Appleseed, immortalized in schools and popularized by the 1948 Disney cartoon. He is remembered as a barefoot wanderer traveling through America’s early frontiers, scattering seeds, singing hymns, and trusting divine providence to sustain him. Behind this appealing legend was John Chapman (1774–1845), a real man who devoted his adult life to cultivating apple orchards across America’s western territories. To his contemporaries, Chapman seemed equal parts visionary and eccentric. Accounts note that he walked miles barefoot through the snow and even wore a tin cooking vessel on his head, doubling it as a cap and pot. He was also a Swedenborgian, a member of a mystical Christian sect founded by Emanuel Swedenborg, who taught the hidden “internal sense” of scripture. Chapman’s spirituality and lifestyle have often made him a symbol of manifestation—the belief that positive thinking can bring about the outcomes one...

THE PHILOSOPHY OF MAN........   The precarious trajectory of philosophy in the United States reflects the encroachment of utilitarian paradigms; even as philosophy endures as an ancillary pursuit among students in law, politics, and sciences, departments nationwide face dissolution rooted less in fiscal expediency than in institutional conceptions of “impact” and market visibility. Manhattan College’s paradox—where philosophy flourished until its recent excision—exemplifies how administrative logic subverts organic intellectual growth, signaling a deeper ontological crisis for philosophical enquiry within the postwar academic order. A genealogical excavation into the midwestern philosophical milieu reveals the formative dialectic between amateur Platonist and Hegelian societies, whose members, transcending vocational boundaries, situated their intellectual lives within praxis, not mere erudition. These communities, animated by inexorable appetites for personal and collective “edif...

 UNKNOWN UNDERSTANDING..... The trajectory of Western art is often narrated as a seamless progression from the balance and harmony of High Renaissance forms to the natural illumination of Baroque grandeur. Yet, lurking between these two towering epochs lies an artistic movement that has frequently defied facile categorization: Mannerism. Emerging in the early sixteenth century, primarily in Italy, Mannerism was neither a simple continuation of Renaissance ideals nor a preliminary foreshadowing of Baroque drama. Instead, it functioned as an aesthetic interregnum, complicating rather than clarifying artistic conventions. To dismiss its stylized opulence as mere “decadence” is to overlook both its conceptual audacity and enduring cultural resonance. At its inception, Mannerism appeared less as a conscious rebellion than as an inherent exhaustion of Renaissance paradigms. The Renaissance, particularly under the aegis of figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, had v...

 THE HISTORICAL ECONOMY  Passage: The Historical Economy The study of historical economies uncovers the intricate interplay between material conditions, social structures, and political authority that has shaped human development across millennia. Unlike the contemporary paradigm, which often emphasizes abstract models and quantitative analyses, premodern economic configurations were deeply embedded within institutions of kinship, religion, and customary law. Understanding these systems requires not merely a catalog of transactions but a nuanced appreciation of how economic behavior was circumscribed by cultural norms and power hierarchies. Indeed, the past teaches us that economic life was rarely reducible to market exchange; it was, instead, an amalgam of obligation, reciprocity, and authority. In ancient agrarian societies, the economy was predominantly subsistence-oriented, revolving around the cyclical rhythms of agriculture. Peasant households labored primarily to se...

 PLATO'S MYTHS In archaic Greece, the concept of muthos differed significantly from today’s notion of myth. For the Greeks, a muthos was not a false tale but a true story that revealed the origins of the cosmos and humanity. By contrast, modern usage typically associates myth with falsehood or superstition. In early Greek culture, muthos was transmitted orally through poetry. Yet, beginning in the seventh century BCE, history and philosophy emerged as alternative discourses, setting themselves apart from poetry and myth. Thucydides transformed history into a naturalistic account of human action, while pre-Socratic philosophers—through works peri phuseōs —sought rational explanations of nature. Against this background, Plato stood out for integrating muthos into philosophy, effectively bridging what had become the opposition between muthos and logos . Plato incorporated both traditional myths, sometimes altered or adapted, and new myths of his own invention. Examples of trad...

 Kundalini Yoga: A Metaphysical Framework for Energetic Ascent and Conscious Integration Kundalini Yoga, often regarded as the most arcane and transformative branch of yogic practice, transcends mere physical postures and delves into the metaphysical substratum of human consciousness. Rooted in Tantric and Vedantic traditions, it posits the existence of a dormant spiritual energy—Kundalini—coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine. This latent force, when awakened through disciplined practice, ascends the spinal column via the chakras, culminating in a state of heightened awareness, spiritual liberation, and union with the divine. Unlike conventional yoga, which emphasizes bodily alignment and breath control, Kundalini Yoga is a holistic amalgam of kriyas (purifying actions), pranayama (breathwork), mantra chanting, and meditative focus, all orchestrated to catalyze inner alchemy. The awakening of Kundalini is neither accidental nor benign; it is a seismic shift in the pract...