kroker-augustine as the founder of modern experience-the legacy of charles norris cochrane

7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane

1/41

Canadi an

J our nal

of P o l i t i c a l and Soci al

Theory Revue canadi enne de t heori e

pol i t i que

et

s o c i a l e Vol

6 No

3 Fal l / Aut omne,

1982)

UGUSTINEASTHE

FOUNDER

OFMODERNEXPEREN E

THE

LEG YOFH RLESNORRSO HR NE

Ar t hur

Kroker

To

t h i s

concept i on

of

wi l l as

an

aut onomous

det er m nat i on of t he t o t a l

s e l f

August i ne adheres

t enaci ousl y

at

a l l st ages of hi s

career

Charl es Nor r i s Cochr ane

Chr i st i ani t y and

Cl as s i c al Cul t ur e

W l l

and

power

a r e

i n

t he

w i l l

t o

power , not

mer el y

l i nked

t oget her

;

but

r at her

t he wi l l

as

t he

w i l l

t o wi l l

i t s e l f

t he

w i l l

t o power

i n

t he

sense

of

t he

empoweri ng

t o power

Mar t i n

Hei degger

The

Word

of

Ni et zsche

Rememberi ng

August i ne

I n hi s c r i t i c a l t e x t ToFreedomCondemned

J ean- Paul

Sartre

r emar ked

t h a t

t he

cont i nuous f l i g h t whi ch

const i t ut es t he bei ng

of a

person

comes

t o

a

sudden

hal t

when

t he Ot her emer ges, f or

t he Ot her

sees

t

and

changes t t her eby

in to an

obj e ct

an

i n - i t s e l f

i

Now t he pr esent medi t at i on

i s

i n t he

way

of

a

report

on

howmy cont i nuous f l i g h t an e f f o r t

at t hi nki ng

t hr ough

at

a f undament al l e ve l

t he

sources

of t he

r adi c al

c r i s i s

of

t went i et h- cent ur y

exper i ence,

has

been

br ought

t o a

sudden

hal t

by

t he Ot her

of

Char l es

Nor r i s

Cochr ane

orgot t en, and c e r t a i n l y

unassi m l at ed,

t h i n k er

whet her i n

hi s

nat i ve

Canada

or i n more

i nt er nat i onal

di scour se, Char l es

Nor r i s

Cochr ane

r epr esent s i n hi s

wr i t i ngs

am

nowconvi nced, an expl osi ve

i nt er vent i on

i n t h e under st andi ng of

modern

cul t ure

Bef or e

r eadi ng Cochr ane, t

was

possi bl e

t o

hol d t o t he

al most

l et hargi c b e l i e f t hat t he

c r i s i s

of

modern

cul t ure coul d be t r a c e d most i m


2/41

RTHUR

KROK R

medi at el y,

t o

t he

bad

i n f i n i t y

present

a t

t he

begi nni ng

of

t he

r a t i o n a l i s t

c a l c ul us

of

t he Enl i ght enment ; and t h a t ,

f o r better or f o r

worse, t he

i n t e l l e c t u a l

hor i zon of

t he

modern

age

w s

cont ai ned

wi t hi n

t he t raj ect ory of Kant , Hegel ,

Marx and Ni et zsche Af t er Cochr ane, there r emai ns

onl y

t he i mpossi bl e knowl -

edge t hat t he di scour se of

t he modern cent ury began, not

i n

t he

sevent eent h

cent ur y,

but i n t he f our th century a f t e r Chr i st and

t h i s i n

remembrance

of

t he

r e a l meani ng of

August i ne s Conf essi ons

Cochr ane

w s

t he

one

t hi nker i n t he

modern

century, wi t h t he

except i on

of Hannah

Ar endt ,

t o make August i ne

dangerous

agai n

dangerous, t hat i s

as

t he

met aphysi ci an

and

theoret i ci an of

power

who s e t

i n

moti on t he physi cs t r i n i t a r i a n i s m) ,

t he l o g i c

( the

epi st emol -

ogy

of modern

psychol ogy)

nd

t he

e t h i c s

( the f unct i onal i t y of t he

Saecul um)

of

west er n exper i ence I n Cochr ane s

r eadi ng

of August i ne,

one

can al most

hear

that f a t e f u l

r umbl i ng

of ground whi ch

announces

t ha t , a f t er l l t he great

f ounder s

of

t he

west er n

t r adi t i on

may

have been,

i n

t he

end, ei t her i n t he

case

of

P l a t o , Homer

or Lucreti us

precursors

or

ant agoni st s

of t he

August i ni an

di scour se or , i n t he case of Kant ,

t h i s

most modern

of t h i nk er s ,

merel y

secul ari za-

t i ons of a st r uct ur e of west er n consci ousness t he e ss e nt i a l movements of whi ch

were

put

i n pl ace by

August i ne

Yes,

Cochr ane

pr esent s

us

wi t h

t he chal l enge

of

rereadi ng t he

August i ni an

di s c o ur s e , not

s i mpl y wi t hi n t he

t erms

of

Chr i s t i an

met aphysi cs,

but

as

a

great

d i v i d i n g - l i n e ,

perhaps

t he

f undament al

s c i s s i o n ,

bet ween cl assi ci sm

and t he moderni st di scour se

hree

Subver si ons

Thi s

e s s a y , t hen,

i s n

at t empt t o escape t he

gaze

of t he Other to take

up

t he

chal l enge posed by

Cochrane not

by

evadi ng

hi s r a di c a l r et hi nki ng of t he

t r adi t i on

of

west er n

knowl edge, but

rather

by

f o l l ow ng

t hr ough

a strategy of

t hought

whi ch

c ons i s t s

of

three

f undament al

subver si ons

The

f i r s t

two

subver-

si ons ar e

i nt ended

t o

be wi t h

Cochr ane t o showpreci sel y

t he

i mpl i cat i ons

of h i s

t hought f o r a

ret hi nki ng of , a t

f i r s t

t he Canadi an

di scour se

and

t hen, by way of

ext ensi on,

of

t he dom nant

di scour se of t he hi st or y of

west ern consci ousness

Consequent l y,

s h a l l

argue

a t once

t hat

Cochrane has

never been i nt egrat ed i n t o

Canadi an t hought ,

not r e a l l y

because

of

beni gn negl ect ( al t hough t he f o r g e t f u l -

ness

of a r a d i c a l

amnesi a

may

have

i t s pl ace)

but because

there

has been

u n t i l

now

no

obvi ous

f i t

bet ween

t he

recei ved i nt erpret at i on of

Canadi an

di scour se

nd

Cochr ane s

wr i t i ngs

To

absorb

Cochr ane s

t hought

i n t o

t he

t r adi t i on of

Canadi an

i nqui ry woul d

be

t o subvert a good

part

of

Canadi an

i n t e l l e c t u a l i t y t o

demonst r at e, f o r exampl e, a very di f f erent

use

of

t he hi s t o r i c al i magi nat i on

i n

t he

r ol e of a

c r i t i c a l account

of t he phi l osophy of c i v i l i z a t i o n

and

t o

show

t h a t

there e x i s t s

i n

t he met hodol ogy and pract i ce of Canadi an t hought

a

coherent ,

i ndi genous

and

dynam c

phi l osophy of cul t ure whi ch, i n i t s dept h of v i s i o n ,

i s

wi t hout

p a r a l l e l

i n modern

c ul t ur a l

theory

8


3/41

AUGUSTINE

ND

MODERNSM

Again,

and t hi s s t i l l

wthCochrane,

I w l l

put

forward as a t heor et i cal concl u-

si on that

Cochrane s

phi l osophy

of cul t ure i s subversi veof

and

radi cal l y

di scon-

ti nuous wth themaini nterpretati ons

of the hi story of western knowedge I f

Cochrane i s correct i n

hi s phi l osophi cal

and hi stori cal

ref l ect i ons on the

gene-

al ogy

of thecr i s i s ofwestern

cul t ure,

then

there i s a t

the heart of the

westernv i t i a

i n

i t s physi cs, epi stemology and aest het i cs)

the

r adi cal

i mpossi bi l i ty

of

a

c iv i l i za -

t i on whi ch,

i n the absence of a creati ve pri nci pl e of i nt egrati on,

osci l l ates

between the pol ar i t i es of

thesensate

and

the i deal

I n respondi ngto the

depth

categori es of thecr i s i s of westerncul t ure,

Cochrane

sought

t o thi nkthrough

the

hi story

of

cl assi cal

and modern experi ence

outsi de

of

and agai nst Pl atoni c

di scourse The

provocati ve

i nterpretati onwhi ch i s

announced

by

Cochrane

i s

the

sameas that

whi chwas

earl i er

hi nted at by Netzsche

Chri sti an

metaphysi cs,

preci sel y becauseof

the

r adi cal ni hi l i sm

of i t s w l l to truth, al so

saves

us

f romthe

f a i l u re

of Reasontosecure

a

permanent

andenduri ng

basi s

f or

soci ety

agai nst

the

constant revol t of mutable

andconti ngent experi ence

In a word, August i ne i s

thetruth- sayer of the

f a i l u re

of Pl atoni c

di scourse

yes,

of phi l osophy) to secure

an

adequate

pol i t i cal

order agai nst

the t r agi c

denoue-

ment of poeti c

consci ousness Now whi l eCochraneul timatel y

sought

shel ter i n

the

di scourseof

Augusti ni anreal i sm I

shal l

argueagainst t hi spax

r at i onal i s

that

whi l e

Augusti ne

may,

i ndeed, be

theprecursor

of

and

cartographer of

modern-

i sm

the

di scourse

t o

whi ch he condemns us i s t hat of a total

domnati on

a

domnati on founded i n

the

w l l

to

w l l and i n

the

col oni zati on

of

sensual

experi ence Thus, against

Cochrane

woul d

of f er

one f i nal subversi on the

overcomngof thefundamental pri nci pl es of

Augusti ni an

di scourse

the w l l t o

power, the w l l t o

truth,

and theni hi l i smof the

t r i n i t a r i a n

sol uti on

t o di vided

consci ousness)

i s thebegi nni ng,

agai n

and

agai n, of

a moderni sm

whi ch

i s

based

on the openi ng of the eye of

the

f l esh

.

ToBreach

the

S l ence

err i bl e si l ence has

surrounded thework of Charl es Norri s Cochrane,

denyi ng himrecogni ti on as

Canada s most

i mportant phi l osophi cal

hi stori an

and

as

apri nci pal

contri butor

toamore i nternat i onal debate

on

the

geneol ogy

of

thecr i s i s of westernsoci et y

The

exclusi on

of Cochrane s thought i s a l l themore

i r oni c

gi ven the recommendati ons to readCochranemadeby

two

of Canada s

most

di sti ngui shed

thi nkers

Thus

Harol d

I nni s

sai d

of

Cochrane s

magi steri al

st udy, Chri sti ani ty and Cl assi cal

Cul t ure,

that i t

represented

the

f i r st maj or

contri buti on

by

aCanadi an to the hi story of

i ntel l ectual

thought . 3ndt hi s was

fol l owed,

f romtheperspecti veof

phi l osophi cal

di scourse

as opposedt o pol i t i cal

economy,

by

George

Gant s

sayi ng of the samework that

i t

was the

most

i mportant bookever wri tten

by

a Canadi an. 4

I n

a phi l osophi cal obi tuary wi tten

at the

time

of Cochrane s death i n 1945, S . P Wodhouse

wrote

of

the


4/41

RTHUR

KROK R

t r a g i c

sense

of h i s l i f e

;

of hi s search f o r

a

pr i nci pl e

of h i s t o r i c al r eal i sm whi ch

woul d

r esol ve

t he

r a di c al

c r i s i s

of

west er n

cul t ur e

;

and

t h a t ,

even

w t h i n

t he

communi ty

of

pr of essed schol ar s , Cochr ane

was not ewor t hy,

above a l l f o r hi s

si ngl e- m nded dedi cat i on

t o t he

l i f e of

schol ar shi p .

I t i s

unf or t unate

that t he i nj unct i on

t o

read

Cochr ane

has not

been

f o l l owed

For,

taken as

a

whol e, hi s

wr i t i ngs

ar e t he

record

of a

t hi nker

who has

adopt ed,

l i ved t hr ough

andovercomemost of

t he

maj or pos i t i ons whi ch

i t

i s possi bl e t o

hol d i n

t he

t went i et h- cent ur y

on

t he quest i on

of what

represents

anadequat e

phi l osophy

of

l i f e nowthat t he

modern

age

verges,

once a ga i n ,

ons t a s i s

To read

Cochr ane

i s t o be

educat ed

anew

i n

t he now- f or got t en i nsi ght that

t he c r i s i s

of

modernsoci et y has

i t s

or i gi ns

i n

t he

c l as s i c al

geneal ogy

of

Eur opean

c i v i l i z a t i o n

and

t h a t , at t he

deepest l e v e l ,

t he

t empest

of

t went i et h- cent ur y exper i ence

( wher e

f asc i sm i s

on

t hemove agai n

as

t he norm

of po l i t i c a l

l i f e )

i s yet a f ur t her

out br eak

of a s i ngl e , cr i si s- moment

i n

t he metaphysi cs

of

west er n exper i ence

The

r et hi nki ng

of t he

c r i s i s

of t hemodern age agai nst i t s c l as s i c al

backgr ound

i n

t he

metaphysi cs

of

t he Graeco-Roman

mnd

i s

t he

cont ext

f o r a l l of

Cochr ane s

wr i t i ngs

Thucydi des

andt he Sci ence

of

Hi stor y (1929) i s

an

at t empt

t o recover

t he c l as s i c al

f oundat i ons f or t he p o l i t i c s

(democr at i c) and epi st em

ol ogy c r i t i cal

empi r i ci sm of pr agmat i c

natur al i sm

agai nst t he i r o n

cage

of

Pl at oni c r at i onal i sm

Chr i st i ani t y

and

Cl as s i c a l

Cul t ur e

(1940) ,

whi ch

centres

on

t he apogee

of Roman


i n

August us and Ver gi l and t he

dynamsmof

Chr i s t i an metaphysi cs i n

August i ne and

Theodosi us,

i s

a deci s i ve

commentary

on

t he r a di c al

br eak i n

wor l d- hypot heses i n

p o l i t i c s ,

metaphysi cs , e t h i c s and

epi st emol ogy) whi ch

marked

t he t hr eshhol d

bet ween

t he

nat ur al i sm

of c l as s i c al

di scour se and t he r at i onal i sm

of Chr i st i an metaphysi cs

.

The

Lat i n

S p i r i t

i n

Li t er at ur e

a

s h o r t ,

but

summat i onal , a r t i c l e wr i t t en

i n

1942 f o r

t he Uni ver s i t y

of Toronto

Quar t er l y) compl ement s,

I woul d

contend,

Weber s

anal ysi s

of

t he

Protestant e t h i c as

a pr of ound

and

i n c i s i v e

synt hesi s of Roman c i v i l i z at i on t hi s

precursor

of

t he

i mper i al i smof

t he Uni t ed

S t a t e s )

as

t he endur i ng

source

of

t he

wi l l

t o

l i v e

and

t he

wi l l

t o

accumul at i on

so c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of

t he empi r i cal

per sonal i t y

of

modern

po l i t i c al empi r es

. The Mnd

of Edward

G bbon

(del i ver ed

as

a l ecture s e r i e s

at

Yal e

Uni ver s i t y

i n

1944 and,

t hen,

r epubl i shed

i n

t he

Uni ver s i t y

of

Toronto Quart er l y)

i s a f undament al , and

devastat i ng, cr i t i que

of

t he pr oponent s

of

Enl i ght enment Reason

( r angi ng

across

t he

wor ks

of

Hume

Locke and G bbon) and an al most expl os i ve

r eappr opr i at i on of t he

si gni f i cance

of Chr i s t i an metaphysi cs

as

t he truth-sayer of t he f a i l u r e of c l as s i c al

reason

And

f i n a l l y , even

Cochr ane s

doppel ganger ,

Davi d

Thompson

The

Expl or er , l

(wr i t t en

i n 1925 and

often di scount ed

as

a

maj or

publ i cat i on) i s

al most

a

phi l osophi cal

aut obi ogr aphy

of

Cochr ane s

own

tr aj ector y

as

a

c ar t o -

grapher of

i nt e l l e ct u a l

t r adi t i ons

and as

a

t hi nker

who l i ved al ways

w t h

t he

sense

of

t he t r a g i c

di mensi ons of human

exper i ence

I t was

Cochr ane s

gr eat

cont r i but i on

t o

r ecogni ze, and t hi s par al l e l

t o

Ni et zsche,

that Chr i s t i an

met aphysi cs, not i n s pi t e of but

because

of t he ter r or of

i t s n i h i l i sm

a l s o

cont ai ned

a si ngul ar t ruth

i t sol ved

a probl emwhi ch c l as s i c al

reason coul d not

r esol ve w t h i n

t he hor i zon

of

i t s pr esupposi t i ons

. And t hus


5/41

AUGUSTINE

AND

MODERNSM

Cochrane recogn zed

i n

the thought

of August i ne,

i n t hi s epicentreof

Chri sti an

metaphysi cs,

the

l i m t and thethreshol d

of that

very same

phenomenol ogy

of

mnd, epi stemol ogy

of modernpsychol ogy

and di rect

del i verance

of

personal -

i t y

and hi stor y,

that,

f or

a l l

of

our protests, i s

s t i l l a l l

that

stands between

the

abyss i n cl assi cal

di scourse

and

the moderncentury

I t was Cochrane s si ngul ar

i nsi ght to

see

the

real

i mpl i cati onof

Augusti ne sConfessi ons

;

to

senset hat

to

the

same

extent that August i ne

mght r i ght l y bedescri bed as

the f i r st ci t i zen

of

the

modernworl d

12

then

we, the

i nheri tors of

modern

experi ence,

cannot l i berate

oursel ves f rom

the

r adi cal anxi ety of

the

present

age

unt i l we

have

thought

agai nst ,

overturned,

or

at l east

i nver t ed, the

August i ni andi scourse

Curi ousl y,

t hi s

essay

returns

through

Cochrane

t o

the impossi b e

task

of beginni ng

the

modernage

by

i nvert i ngAugust i ne And, to anti ci pate

j ust

a

bi t i t

i s

my

t hesi s

that August i ne

was

a pecul i ar type

of Col umbus of

modernexperi ence hewas

the

cartographer

of

di rect l y

apprehendedexperi ence , of

the

di r ect del i verance

of

wi l l ,

nature

and

consci ousness,

thi s

embl emati c signof the

erupti on

of the

modern

di scourse

f romthe stasi s

of cl assi cal reason, who

has

f a l s i f i e d

the

maps

t o

the

ci vi t as terrena

I f

f i na l l y ,

the

embodi ment

of

thewi l l

to

power

i n

f l eshl y

bei ngwas

themodernpossi bi l i t y ;

then

i t

was

Augusti ne s

strategy, not

so

much

t o

act

i n forgetful ness

of

bei ng

but i n

repressi on of the corporeal

self ,

by

providi ng

a

method

f or

the i ncarcerati onof that

unhol y

tr i ad, i magi nati on,

desi re

and

conti ngent wi l l

I n

maki ng the

body a

pri son-house

of

the

soul (embodi ed

consci ousness) August i ne

was

al so

the

f i r s t , and most

el oquent, of the modern

st ructural i s ts

Nowwhi l eCochrane

ul timatel y took

refugei n

the

pax rat i onal i s 13

(and i n the

pax

cor por i s, ) of

Augusti ni an

di scoursehe

al so

once

l e t s l i p that,

i n that

bri ef

hi atus between

the

dethronement of

cl assi cal

reason and the

i mposi ti on

of

the

Chri sti an

wi l l

to truth there

were

a t l east

two ph l osoph cal

song-b rds

who,

knowng

f or

whatever reason

the

Garden

of

Edenhad f i n a l l y

materi al i zed, gave

voi ce to

the f reedom

of

embodi ed

bei ng Pl oti nus uttered

the

f i r s t words of

modern bei ng when he spoke

of

the

ecst at i c

i l l umnati on

of

theOne

and

Porphyry took to

the

pr act i ce

of

ascesi s as a wayof

cul t i vat i ng

the dynamc

harmony

of

wi l l , i magi nati on

and f l esh Before

the carceral

the Saecul um of

August i ne

and

after the

rati onal i sm

the

Word

of Pl at o, Pl oti nus

and

Porphyry

were the f i r s t

expl orers of

the new

conti nent of

modern bei ng

.

And

so

Cochrane

went

t o

hi s

death

wth

hi s gaze

always

averted f rom

the

human

possi bi l i t y , and

the

humanterror

whi ch

mght i ssue

f rom

adi r ect

encounter

wth

unmedi atedbei ng From

he

beginni ngof

hi s

thought

t o

i t s end, hepreserved

hi s

sanct i t y,

and yes sani ty unl ess

we

are

madmen

l i v i n g i n a

madhouse

15

by

del i veri ng

up

the i nner

sel f

to

the

normal i zi ng

di scourse

(al ways

hori zontal ,

t edi ous,

and

unforgi vi ng)

of

cr i t i cal

real i sm

to

pragmati c natural i sm

at f i r s t

(Thucydi des andthe Scienceof

H story) and

then

t o

Chri sti an

real i smChr i s-

t i ani t y andCl assi c

Cul ture)

16

Cochrane

never devi ated

f romAugust i ne s

i nj unc-

t i on,

del i vered i n

theConfessi ons,

to avoi d

havi ng the shadow

of

thef l eshl y sel f

fa l l

between

themnd

and i t s f i r s t pri nci pl e to

whi ch i t shoul d

cl eave

17

But

now

after hi s

deathand

i n tri bute to

the

wsdom

of hi s

profound

schol arsh p,

t hi s


6/41

RTHURKROKER

essay w l l al l ow

the dark

shadow

of the

c r i t i c a l

i magi nati on to

f a l l between

the

texts

of Cochrane s

wri ti ngs

and

i t s

modern

recepti on

I t

woul d

be

i n

bad f a i t h

t o

say that what t hi s w l l permt i s a si mpl e breachi ng

of

the

si l ence whi ch has

i ncarceratedCochrane s thought

and

kept us as NorthAmeri canthi nkers,

f rom

an

i nversi on

of

Augusti ni an

di scourse

and, i ndeed,

f rom

a

f u l l cr i t i que

of c l ass i cal

reason, as

wel l

as

of the

cul t u r e

of the

Od

Wrld

s

Toknow

Cochrane s thought i s

t o di scover a

ser i es

of hi ghl y or i gi nal i nsi ghts i nto the nature of c l ass i cal and

modern

experi ence,

but i t

i s

al so t o recogni ze the l i m t s

and possi bi l i t i es

of

Canadi an

thought For

i t

i s al so

our t hes i s

that

the

i nsi ghts

of

Cochrane concern-

i ngthe

f at ef ul movement f rom

l ass i cal

di scourse t o Chri sti an

metaphysi cs

cou d

onl y

have

ori gi nated

i n

a

tradi ti on of

thought

whi ch

has

transf ormed

a

t r agi c

understandi ng

of

human

experi ence (andthesearch

f or

a r e a l i s t i c sol uti onto the

di vi ded

consci ousness of the

twenti eth-century)

i nto a seari ng cr i t i que of the

foundati ons

of western


I f i t i s accurate

to

cl aim

that

Cochrane i s

a

precursor

of

Canadi an thought,

wth

the vast expansi on and i nt ens i f i cat i on of

theregi onof

Canadi an

thought contained i n that cl ai m then

i t must al sobesai d

that hi s l im t a t i o n s

hi s r adi cal

f ai l ure

al so i s part of the

Canadi an

l egacy

Simpl y

put, thesi l ence

whi ch

i s

breached

i n

recoveri ng

Cochrane

i s

our own i t i s al so

the

Canadi an

mnd

whi ch i s wagered i n t hi s encounter

wth the

anci ent

hi stori an 19

ThePrecursor of Canadi an Thought

Cochrane s thought

i s

an

i mportant

precursor of the

Canadi an di scourse

because

i t

puts

i nto

pl ayfour tendenci es whi ch

are the

very f i bres

the

i nter i or

of

typography,

of the

Canadi an

mnd O,

to

be

qui te

speci f i c

Cochrane s

i nterventi on, represents l ess the t o t a l i t y of the

Canadi an

i magi nati on

than

one

si de of the

Canadi an

mnd

hi s unnoti cedcontri buti onwas,

perhaps, to provide

the

most

i ntensi ve

and

el oquent

expressi on

possi bl e

of

that permanent

i ncl i nati on

i n

Canadi an

thought whi ch i s expressed

by

a

t r agi c

sense

of

pol i t i c al

experi ence, by a conti nuous recovery of the hi s to r i cal i magi nati on by a search

f or

a creati ve

pri nci pl e

whi ch

woul d

medi ate bi cameral consci ousness ), and,

ul ti matel y, by a c l ass i cal

accounti ng

of the

geneal ogy

of

western c i v i l i z a t i o n I f i t

i s true t o cl ai m

f or

exampl e,

that

the

t r adi t i on of

pol i t i cal

economy (whi chwas

brought t o i t s begi nni ng, and conclusi on, by the natural i smof Harol d I nni s)

represents an

i ndi genous

tendency i n

Canadi an

thought, then i t

must

al so be

sai d

that

the

other

si de of theCanadi an

di scourse i s

represented by an

equal l y

nati vetr adi ti on

of

cul t ur al studi es of modern


2 I t i s wthi n the

l at ter

tradi ti on that

Cochrane stands ; an

exponent

of a theory of c i v i l i z a t i o n who

i nsi stedthat i f the f at al def i ci ency i nwesternknowedge

i s t o

beovercome then

we

must

be prepared

t o rethi nk

the foundati ons of

anci ent

and

contemporary

cul ture And,

of course

keepi ng i n mnd

what

Cochrane

always

l i ked

to

note

about

Vi rgi l r eal l y

about

the

b i r t h of natural i smi n the pol i t i c al economy of

Romani tas,

that natural i sm

tends

to

devour i t s own

gods

21

then

we

cannot

8


7/41

AUGUSTINE

AND

MODERNSM

keep

hi dden

f or

l ong

the

i nci pi ent

cr i t i que

of pol i t i cal

economy

that

i s contained

i n

a

vi sion

of

human

experi ence

which

stretches

f rom

a

t r agi c

perspecti ve

on

creati ve

pol i t i cs t o

a

r adi cal cr i t i ci smof both

extremti es, both

pol ar i t i es,

of the

westernmnd-i deal i sm

(animl f ai th)

and natural i sm

the det r i t us of scept i -

ci sm

Thus, what

Cochranehas

tosay

i n The

Lati n

Spi r i t i n Li terature

about

the

sure and cer tai n

di si ntegrati on

of natural i smtheroot

mtaphor

of

pol i t i cal

economy)

i nto

bewl dermnt

appl i es wthas

much

f orce

as ever

to

anyattemt t o

mnopol i ze

knowedge

around the nexus of i deol ogy and, mght i t be

sai d,

power Harol dI nni s , whowas

an

i ntel l ectual fri end

of

Cochrane s

and,

I bel i eve,

wth Eri c

Havelock,

one of

the few

Canadi an thi nkers

who attemted, after

Cochrane s

death, to

cal l

attenti on to

hi s i ntel l ect ual

contri buti ons

was,

i n

the

domainof a t r agi c understandi ng

of pol i t i cal

experi ence,

astudent of

Cochrane s

t was not

i nci dental that

I nni s

recurred

to

the

t r agi c

mti f

of

Chr i s t i ani ty

and

Cl assi cal

Cul ture f or a way, f i nal l y, of expressi ng

the

essence, t h i s bi tt er fut i l i t y,

of

themrgi nal man Between

Cochrane

and

I nni s ,

betweenthe

anci ent hi stori an

and the pol i t i cal economst,

there

was

a

sel f - ref l exi ve

understandi ng of

the

i mpossi bi l i ty of phi l osophy

wthout

a

commtmnt

to

thi nki ng i n bl ood

and

the

undesi rabi l i ty of apol i t i cal economywthout aphi l osophi cal

foundati on

Mght

i t be that

the foundati ons

of a

new

Canadi an di scourse

w l l somday

emrgeon

the

basi s of a cri t i cal renewal of

the

fri endshipofCochrane

and

I nni s

not

i n

the

f l esh f or

the f i n a l i t y

of

deathhas i ntervened

but

i n thepassi ng

i nto

t heor et i cal

di scourse of

that

ti ny, but el emntal , spark

that once

expl oded

between

Cochrane

and

Inni s and,

f or

a

treml i ngmmnt,

began to i l l umnate

the

dark ni ght of

the

Canadi an imgi nati on

f

i ndeed, Cochrane s thought

stands

i n

an

ami val ent

rel at i onshi pto

thetr adi -

t i on, newandol d,

of pol i t i cal

economy (representi ng i t s

best

hope

f or

i nt er nal

regenerati on

and i t s greatest f ear of

bei ng

undermned ), then i t i s even

more

apparent that

the recovery

of hi s l egacy consti tutes acoml ete

and

unforgi ving

i ndi ctmnt of

what

nowpasses f or pol i t i cal phi l osophy i n

Canada Between

cri t i cal

phi l osophy and

pol i t i cal

economy

therestands

a

comortabl e

and

wde

regi on

of commoni nt er est

;

bothare

perspecti ves,

t r agi c andhi stor i cal accounts,

of

thenature

of

dependent

bei ng But

betweencr i t i cal

phi l osophyand

dom-

nant t radi t i ons

of pol i t i cal

phi l osophy

i n

Canada, therei s onl y

the

si l ence,

or

i s

i t

a suppressi onwthout words

of

cr i t i cal phi l osophy,

of i r r econci l abl e

di f ference

Cochrane, together wththeother

founders

of

the

t r adi t i on

of

cri t i cal

phi l osophy

i n

Canada and

have i n

mnd

Eri c

Havel ock s Preface t o

Pl ato

and

George

Brett s comrehensi ve,

and l i t t l e understood, Hstory

of Psychology, were

uni que i ndevel opi ng asystemti c cr i t i que of rat i onal i s t di scourse

For Cochrane

and

Havel ock,

the

l egacyof

Pl atoni crati onal i sm

was

the

i nstal l at i on,

or

perhaps

the

morei ns i ght f ul

term

woul dbel i berat i on, of a t ot al i t ar i an imul se i n western

knowedge f

i ndeed, there i s asi ngl eori gi nal

i nsi ght ,

a comel l i ng t heor et i cal

imul se, i n

the

l egacy

of Cochrane,

Havel ock

and

Brett,

i t i s t hi s ant i - r at i onal i st

imul se

t hei r

cr i t i que

of

the

submrsi on of phi l osophy i n rati onal i sm

begi ns

to

takeroot

i n

psychol ogy,

commni cati ons

theory,

l i t er ar y

anal ysi s, hi story

and

phi l osophy)

i t

f l owers,

i t

spreads out ,

i t

begins to

si ng

of anew

mrni ng

and

8

5


8/41

ARTHUR

KROKER

then

i t i s si l encedNo i ssures arepermtted toappear ; i t i s as i f that maddeni ng,

wonderful

group

of

th nkers

i n

the

fateful

fourth

century

had

been

strai ned

through

the

conversi on

experi ence agai n

I have

l i vedml i f e i n

fact,

not

on y

under the

si gn

of

r adi cal amnesi a that i s

bearabl e I

understand the

psychol og cal

dynamcs of the

col on sed mnd

But

have

al so l i vedunder somethi ngel se that i s qui te unbearable under, that

i s

the

i mposed

statement

that

there

i s no immnent tr adi ti on

of

Canadi an

theory,

no

i ndi genous

t r adi t i on of Canadi an c r i t i ca l phi l osophy

Thi s

i s

the

repressi on

whi ch wounds,

andwhi ch I

cannot forg ve i t

i mpl i es

t hat

the h gh y ori gi nal

i nsi ghts

of

th nkers

such

as Cochrane,

Fackenhei m

Watson,

Brett,

and

Havel ock

bear

no

i mmedi ate

rel ati ont o

m

exi stence

i t

mans

that

m

bei ng

i s

deni ed

the

possi bi l i t y of bei ng

wageredon

the

success or f ai l ur e of the

ph l osoph cal

proj ect

representedby the

anti -Pl atoni c t r adi t i on I

have

grownup, a mnof f l esh

and

bone ,

a corporeal sel f wei gheddown

by

ci rcumtance

but

I

amondemedtobe

a coward, abei ngnot j ust wthout a hi story but wthout the

possi bi l i t y

of l osi ng

everythi ngon thewager of the ri ddl eof theSphi nx i f

cannot reconnect t o

a

nati ve t r adi t i on of

Canadi an

thought

whi ch

always took phi l osophy as an

experi ment

I f i t

i s possi bl e

that a

c r i t i ca l

phi l osophy can be

foundedon

the

gestureof goi ng

over

to

the si de

of

the

l osers to

the

si de,

that

i s

of the si l enced

voi ces i n

Canadi an

i ntel l ec tual hi s tory, then suppose t hat qual i f i es t hi s medi ta-

t i on as the begi nn ng,

over and

over, of a l ovi ng

recovery

of the r i s k of ph l o-

sophy What I f i nd

most

unbearabl e i s not

the

si mpl esi l encing

of thepast

I t i s

t h i s el emental fact Nowand

f or

som

t i me, the

di scourse

of

Canadi an

pol i t i cal

phi l osophy has

been domnated

as Goya mght i magi ne, wth dread, t h i s

namel ess

domnati on comes

i n the nature of star l i ngs rooti ng en masse) by

Straussi ani sm

by that

very

t r adi t i on of

hyper-rati onal i sm and

thus of

ant i -

phi l osophy, whi ch

was

the

ant i t hesi s andobj ect

of

scornof

the

very best of

the

nowsuppressed

Canadi an

th nkers Can

there

bea more

bi tt er

mockery of the

i nt el l ect ual l i f e of Charl es

Cochrane,

or of Canada s

si ngl e, most

i nsi ght f ul

contri buti on

t o

worl d

phi l osophy,

thanthi s,

that

the

i ncarcerati on

of

i nt el l ect ual

h story

has

been

accompani ed

by

the i nvest i ture of

Canadi an

thought

wth

an

o f f i c i a l

di scourseofCanadi anthought has

i t that weare neo-Kanti ans , z i f not

the

exponents

of a

s tat i c

rati onal i smweare

even

t ol d,

and

th is not un nsightfu l y

as a ref l ecti onon the

product

of the suppressed

mnd,

t hat

Canadi an i nqui ry

hovers wthi nthecl osed

hori zon

of

the

f aces of

reason Thereal i ty,

of

course, i s

the exact

opposi teof

the

f aces of

reason :

Canadi an

thought i s repl ete

wth

i nsi ghts because i t form a sust ai ned,

and

not unqui xot i c,

assaul t

on thepri macy

of reason

For

bet t er or

f or

worse, thethought of

Charl esCochrane,

f or

exampl e,

was

not

a

vacant

defence

of

the

soverei gnty

of

rat i onal i t y,

of

truth,

but

an

effort

at

vindi cati ng humn

experi ence

I t was a

wl dgambl e

wth

a tragi candv i t a l i s t i c

account of

humn

experi ence agambl e that

was i ntended t o di scover, a t

l ast,

the

creati ve

pri nci pl e whi chwoul dprovi de

an

i nternal

i nt egr at i on,

adi rect

medi a-

t i on, of personal i ty, hi story and consci ousness

What wewtness

nowneo

Kanti ani sm the namel ess rel ati onal i smof anal yt i cal phi l osophy)

and neo-

Pl atoni sm

a normal i zed

Pl atoandthus

i ncarceratdwthi ntherat i onal i s t

heaven

8

6


9/41

UGUSTINE

ND

MODERNSM

of

Straussi andi scourse)are

not

the or i gi nal

movements

of

Canadi an

thought

They

are

more

aki n to

a

ki nd

of

weary

f al l - out

from

the

f a i l u r e

of the

precursors

of

Canadi an

di scourse

to r esol ve, or perhaps

even t o

bri ng

the

threshol d

of

speech

t hat Col umbus s egg

of

modern

experi ence

the body

as

the l i m t and

hori zon of

the

new

worl d ; the f l e sh

as

the unmdi ated centre of

conti nuousl y

experi enced consci ousness After

the l i m t s of

transgressi on i n Cochrane s

thought

had been

reached i n

hi s

r ef usal to thi nk

through and

beyond

the

transparent centreof

Chri sti an

mtaphysi cs t o i t s

i nversi on

i n the

dark

regi onof

corporeal

bei ng,

after th is f i r s t

of the great

ref usal s,

wel l , Canadi an

mtaphysi cs

l ost-and t hi s of a l l

thi ngs-i ts

w l l

Thi s

was agenerati onof Canadi an thi nkers

who

went

t o

the

grave,

and

how

el se

can thi s

be

sai d,

wth

broken

hearts

The

B ack

Watch

Charl es

Cochrane

was

part i cul ar l y

adept

and, i n the

t radi t i on

of

Stephen

Pepper s Wrl d Hypotheses,

4 even

br i l l i ant as a

somti ms

pl ayf ul ,

al ways

i roni c,

phenomnol ogi st

of

thehumanmnd I n accounts of semnal

thi nkers i n

thewestern

t radi t i on,

rangi ng

fromhi s sat i ri cal deconstructi on

of Gbbon s

The

R se andFal l of theRoman

Empire

the chi ef

val ue

of whi ch,

Cochrane

wote,

was not

as

hi story but as l i terature

I t

was a spl endi d exampl e of

howthe

ei ghteenth-century

mnd l ooked at i t s past ) 5 t o

hi s profound

ref l ect i ons

on

Vi rgi l s Aenei d thegeneol ogyof

the

l at i n spi r i t

i n the formti onof

emi ri cal

w l l ) ,

6

Cochrane

drewout the fundamntal presupposi ti ons,

the di scursi ve

assumti ons ,

by

whi ch

the

members

of

the

faml y

of

worl d-hypotheses gai ned

t hei r s i ngul ar i t y and

yet announced

thei r l im ta t i on s I n

ways

mre

deepl y rooted

than

he

may

have suspected,

Cochranewas a

const i t ut i ve

Canadi an thi nker

Not

real l y

as a

si ml e mtter of

content

; af t er

a l l Canadi an

di scourse has

al ways

movedwth

f l e x i b i l i t y between

theNewWorldand the ol dconti nent, between

hi story and technol ogy As a mtter of di rect content,

the greater

part

of

Cochrane s

wi ti ngs

aretobe

i nscri bed

wthi nthat

arc- en- ci el

whi ch

mves f rom

the

f i r s t

whi spers of cl assi cal reason to

the

di si ntegrati on of Chri sti an

mtaphysi cs

But, goodness knows, the i nt ens i t y

of

the encounter wth

Cochrane s oeuvremay

havesomthi ng

to do

wth

the

el l i pt i cal character of

hi s

thought ;

hi s

ref l ect i ons al ways c i rc le

back

and

transform the

obj ect

of

mdi tati on Thus, as i n

the

i nstantaneous

transformti on

of perspecti ve

predi cated by catastrophe t heor y, hi story

shi f ts i nto di al ect i cs, Vi rgi l s Aenei d

becoms a

precursor of the foundi ng i mul ses of Amri can emi re,

and

mtaphysi cs

runs

i nto

ci vi l i zat i on

Even

as

a mtter of content,

i t i s as

i t

the

regi on

of

anci ent hi story i s but a topography i n reverse

i mge of modern

87


10/41

RTHUR

KROK R

exper i ence And,

of course,

i t

i s

;

f o r

Cochr ane i s worki ngout

a st r at egy of

t hought

whi ch

moves, and

pl a ys ,

and

f a i l s

at

t he

l e ve l

of

metaphys i cs

What

i s

at

stake

i n

hi s

t hought

are a r e l a t i v e l y f ew

l aws

of mot i on

of

t he

t heoret i cal movements of

t he

west ern

mnd He

was,

a f t e r l l

whet her

as

a

pragmat i c n a t u r a l i s t

o r ,

l a t e r , as

a

Chri st i an

r e a l i s t ,

al ways

a

metaphys i ci an of

west ern


Over

and

beyond cont ent Cochr ane

was an

embl emat i c

Canadi an t hi nker

because

of

t he fo rm t he pr esupposi t i ons , of hi s t hought

The endur i ng

i mpul ses whi chmedi at ed hi s di scour se

were shadowed,

however i nchoat el y,

by

t he

di scurs i ve pr ems es of

t he

Canadi an

ethos, or more

s p e c i f i c a l l y ,

of Canadi an

bei ng

I

pr ef er

t o

t hi nk of

Cochr ane,

or

t o

name

hi m

as

a

member

of

t he

Bl ack

Watchof

phi l osophi cal hi st ory amember t hat i s of t hat br oader t r a d i t i o n of

t hi nker s

i n

Canada

and el sewhere

who

devel oped a s e l f - r e f l e x i v e c r i t i q u e of

modern c i v i l i z a t i o n andwhowere

haunted,

a l l

t he

mor e, by

t he

convi cti on t hat

west ern s oc i e t y cont ai ned

an

i n t e r n a l pr i nci pl e

of

s t a s i s ,

an

unr esol vabl e

contra-

di c t i o n , whi ch

woul d

r el ease agai n

and

agai n t he bar bar i sm

al ways present

i n

t he

west ern

mnd

sChr i s t opher Dawson t he I r i s hChr i st i an

r e a l i s t , put

i t

i n h i s

essay

The

J udgement of

t he

Nat i ons

. t h i s a r t i f i c i a l

r e a l i t y has

col l apsed

l i k e

a

house of

c a r d s , t he demons whi ch haunt ed t he

brai ns of

t hose

outcasts

a

f ew

pr ophet i c

v o i c es , Ni et zsche

and

Dost oevsky) , have i nvaded t he

wor l d

of

man

and

become

i t s

mast er

The

ol d

l andmarks

of

good

and

e v i l

and

t r u th

and

f al sehod

have been swept away

andc i v i l i z a t i o n

i s dr i vi ng bef or e t he

s to rm

l i k e

a

di smant l ed

and

hel pl ess

shi p

.

Or ,

as

E r i c

Havel ock r emar ked

i n

Pr omet heus

Theb i t t e r

d i a l e c t i c of

t he Pr omet heus seems

t o

pursue

us s t i l l As t he i n t e l l e c -

t u a l

powers of man r e a l i z e t hemel ves i n t echnol ogy there seems

t o

be r ai sed

up

agai nst them

t he

f or ce of a r e c k l e s s dom nat i ng wi l l

. z a

To

Dawson s l ament

over

t he

deper sonal i zat i on

of

e v i l and

t o

Havel ock s f or ebodi ngs

concerni ng

t he cert ai n

doomwhi ch

was

i n t e gr a l t o t he c ol l e c t i v e consci ousness of t he

human

s p ec i e s ,

Cochr ane cont r i buted

a t r a g i c under s t andi ng of t he

c l as s i c al

f oundat i ons

i n

west er n

cul ture

and

metaphys i cs ,

of

t he

t ur ni ng

of

nemes i s

i n

t he

European

mnd

I t was Cochr ane s

d i s t i n c t i v e cont r i but i on t o advance beyond

mor al l ament and

prometheanconsci ousness ( Cochr ane

was

t o

say i n Chr i st i an-

i t y

and

Cl a s s i c al

Cul t ur e

t hat promethean consci ousness

i s

t he probl emof

or i gi nal s i n

;

t he t ur ni ng

poi nt , not of sci ence

and t echnol ogy, but

of Chri st i an

met aphys i cs

and t he

embodi ed wi 1 1

9) t o a

sys t emat i c and pat i ent r e f l e c t i o n

on

t he preci se h i s t o r i c a l

and phi l osophi cal

f ormat i ons

whi ch

embodi ed- i n

t he

Gr eek enl i ght enment ,

i n t he

tw l i ght

moments of t he Pax

Augus t a

and

i n

t he

out br eak

of enl i ght enment

i n t he

ei ght eent h- cent ury- t he

i nternal pr i nci pl e

of di scord

whi ch opened

t i me and agai n t he

wound

i n west ern

know edge

That Cochr ane

was abl e

t o surpass

t he

i n t e l l e c t u a l l i m t at i ons of Chr i st i an

real i sm and t o deepen and

i n t e n s i f y

a convergent an a l y s i s such

as t hat

of

Havel ock s

was due, i n

good p a r t , t o t he f our qual i t i es whi ch

he

put

i n to

p l a y,

and

f o r

t he sake of

whi ch

Canadi an di scour se

i s

wager ed

on

t he success

or

f a i l u r e

of h i s

vi ndi cat i on

of

human

exper i ence


11/41

A

UGUSTINE

AND

MODERNSM

Four Wagers

What i s

most comel l i ng

about

the

wri ti ngs

of Charl es

Cochrane,

whether

i t

be

hi s

studi es of

Thucydi des,

Vi r gi l , Augusti ne,

Gbbon

or

hi s muchdiscounted,

but

semnal , mdi tati onon theCanadi an

expl orer, Davi dThompson i s that they

di scl osethemnd-the

di r ect del i veranceof bei ng i ntowords-of athi nker

f or

whom

he

act

of

thought i s a wayof prepari ng

f or death Indeed, much

mrethan

i s t ypi cal i n the

communi tyof hi s tor i ans or

professional phi l osophers, therei s

no

sense

of estrangemnt i nCochrane swri ti ngs

no

s i l ence of

repressed thought

between

the

word

and

the

mdi tati on

What

i s

at

work

i n

the

texts

i s

i n

fact,

not

an evasion of l i f e but a t r oubl ed,

restl ess

and

t r agi c recordof a thi nker who

gaml ed hi s exi stenceonphi l osophi cal

hi s tory

;

who, as

Sart re sai d

about himel f

i n Words and woul d

now

di r ect

t hi s to Cochrane, wrote, i n

desperati on

and i n

despai r, to save himel f And j ust as Sartrenoted that wri ti nghad condemned

him

not to di e anunknown,

so too, Cochrane s wager

i s

toourgent

and

too

demndi ng

to

al l ow

him

even

i n

memory, t o s l i p

away

f rom

us

i n t o

the

obl i vi on

of death For

Cochrane

hasopenedup a passageway toa r adi cal rethi nkingof the

western tradi ti on-to a

phi l osophi cal

ref l ect i on

on tragedy as the essence of

humn

experi ence,

t o

a

comng

struggl e

w th

and

through

Augusti ne,

to a

reinterpretati on

of thegeneal ogy of

di vi dedconsciousness

Cochrane

has

con-

demnedus to

be passengers

w thout a t i cket Sartre again) between i deal i sm

and

natural i sm to

be,

after

hi s

unmski ng of Pl atoni c rati onal i sm

and

hi s

abandonmnt of cl assi cal sci ent i a

(l ong

beforeJ ohn

Dewey, Cochrane adopted,

mdi tated

upon

and abandoned

an

experimntal soci al

sci ence

w th

i t s

com

mtment

toa l i beral i mgeof creat i vepol i t i cs ) , thi nkerswho

have

nowhere t o

goexcept, f i nal l y, through

and

beyondAugusti ne

And,

i f

truth

be tol d, everythi ng i n Cochrane s l i f e

every

word,

every

tor -

mnted

but somtims

al so

bori ng

turn

of

thought,

i s but a l engthy

prelude,

a

preparati on,

f or hi s

i nterpretati on

of

Augusti ne Al l

of

Cochrane s thought

hovers

around, and f a l l s backfrom

hi s

f i nal mdi tati onon

Augusti ne

a mdi ta-

ti onwhich,

whi l e

i t

occurs w thi n that profound text, Chri sti ani ty

andCl assi cal

Cul ture,

real l y

takes pl ace, recei ves

i t s emodimnt

as i t were,

i none

si ngl e,

but

deci si ve

chapter of that

book- Nostra

Phi l osophi a

I t

i s

of course, towards

thehori zon

of theoutrageous, tumu tuous, br i l l i ant and, t hi nk, qui te

mstaken)

formu ati ons

of that chapter ;

towards,

that

i s

a

r adi cal

ref l ect i on

upon (and

i nversion) of the

t r i ni t ar i an formul a

(seennow,

both

as

the

epi stemologi cal

structure

of

mdern

psychol ogy

and as the mtaphysi cal structure

of modern

power)

;

towards th is

ni ghtmre

and

utopi a

that

t hi s

mdi tati on

tends

I f Coch-

rane

hadwri tten nothi ng

el se

but

that

s i ngl e chapter t hat

si ngl e,

eml emti c

and, yes, myst i cal ,

outpouri ng

of a

l i f e

of

thought),

w th

i t s

qui te

imossi bl e

and

qui tetransparent and, i t

must

be

sai d,

so

troubl i ngaccount of Augusti ne,

then

hi s

woul dhavebeen

a ful l

andworthwhi l e

phi l osophi cal l i f e

For

hewoul d

s t i l l have

taken

us

by

surpri se

he

s t i l l woul d have created

a

sml l

shadow of

anxiety

between the

mnd

and the f l eshl y sel f

;

he

s t i l l

woul d

have com

up

to us

f rom

89


12/41

RTHURKROK R

behi nd, f rom

t he forgotten dept hs of Chri st i an met aphysi cs, and cut away t he

pretensi ons

of

t he

modern

epi st eme,

t ouchi ng

r aw

nerve- endi ng,

a

deep

evasi on,

i n

west ern

consci ousness

And

he

woul d

have

done

t h i s

by

si mpl y

ut t er i ng

a f ew

words l i k e

t he

underm ni ng

of a

modernTertu l l i an) ,

by

whi sper -

i ng ,

even whi msi cal l y,

that t he

e l s e , nosse, posse, t he consci ousness,

w i l l

and

nature, of t he

t r i ni t ar i an f ormul a,

t he phi l osophi cal

and h i s t o r i c al reasons

f or

August i ne, had

not gone

away

And he

mght not even

hadto say that wewere

merel y

mar ki ng t i me, marked

men

r e a l l y , u n t i l

we

have

returned t o

t heChri st i an

t radi t i on and wrest l ed, not w t h t he devi l t h i s t i me, but

w t h

t he Sai nt Surel y

we

cannot

be bl amed f o r

bei ng angry w t h Cochrane ;

f or

l ament i ng

that

dark

day

when

t he

absence of

hi s

wri t i ngs

f i r s t

demanded

a r epl y

Cochrane

has con-

demned

us t ohi story

;

and

t he

hi story towhi chhe f orces a ret urn, t h i s happy

and

c r i t i c a l

di ssi pat i on

of amnesi a

(and

whi ch

c r i t i c a l

phi l osopher has not begged f or

recovery

of t he p a s t , f or ont ol ogy) , i s

l i k e

t he br eak- up of a l ong and t edi ous

w nt er

But who can

appreci ate

t he

spr i ng- t i me f or l l of

t he corpses

comngt o

t he surface?

To

read

Cochrane

s

t o

be

i mpl i cat ed

i n

t he

hi story of

west ern

met aphysi cs

There i s no

escape

now

s o ,

as

prel ude

t o

Cochr ane s prel ude

i t

woul d

be best

t o

establ i sh, qui ckl y

and

w t h c l a r i t y , t he t hemat i cs

whi ch

l ed hi m

i n t he

end,

t o t he w l l

t o truth

of

August i ne and

whi ch,

I

bel i eved,

doomed

hi s

t hought

t o c i r c l e

forever

w t h i n

t he

August i ni an

di scourse

l

The

Quest f or

a

Creat i ve Pri nci pl e

That

there

i s

no t i n y space of di scord

bet ween

Cochrane s medi t at i on

upon

exi st ence

and

h i s i nscr i pt i on of

bei ng

i n

wr i t i ng

shoul d not be surpri si ng

Cochrane devot ed

h i s l i f e

t o di scoveri ng

a sol ut i on

t o

a f undament al met aphysi -

cal

probl em a probl emwhi ch he

di d not s i mpl y t hi nk about

at

a

di st ance

but

whi ch

he

l i ved

t hrough,

i n bl ood,

as

t he

gambl e

of

mort al i t y

t was

Cochrane s

cont ent i on

that

t he

central

pr obl em

of west ern

know edge

(and,

s uc c es s i v el y ,

of

et h i c s ,

h i s t o r y ,

ontol ogy and p o l i t i c s )

l ay i n

t he cont i nuous f a i l u r e

of

t he Euro-

pean mnd,

and

nowhere

was

t h i s more

evi dent than

i n c l as s i c al

reason,

t o

di s c ov er , outsi de of t he presupposi t i ons of i deal i smand

nat ural i sm

an

adequat e

account i ng

concerni ng

how, w t hi n t he

domai nof

humanexperi ence,

apri nci pl e

mght

be

di scovered

whi chwoul d

ensure

i dent i ty through

change

And

t

was

h i s

convi ct i on t hat i n t he absence of

general t heory of human experi ence whi ch

f urni shed

a

creat i ve pri nci pl e as a d i r e c t l y apprehended way of medi at i ng order

and

process

(the

cont i ngent

and

t he

i mmut abl e)

that

western know edge,

and

thus t s

s oc i a l

f ormat i ons, wer e doomed

t o

successi ve,

predi ctabl e

and r e l e n t l e s s

s er i e s

of

di si nt egrati ons

As

Cochrane had t Chri st i an met aphysi cs was not

i mposed on c l a s s i c a l reason, but arose i n response t o t he i n t e r na l f a i l u r e , t he

erosi on f rom

w thi n , of

c l as s i c al

di scourse

z Consequent l y, t he

truth of

Chr i s t i an di scourse

was t o be referred

t o t he

consti t ut i ve f a i l ur e of

t he west ern

mnd,

and

ori gi nal l y

of

t he Graeco Roman mnd t o vi ndi cat e human ex-


13/41

UGUSTINEN

MO ERNSM

peri ence

to r esol ve, that

i s

the tensi on betweenw l l

andi nt el l i gence,

between

v i r t u and

fortuna

I n hi s

viewpoint, i t was

the

absence

of a

creat i ve pri nci pl e

for

the

i ntegrati on of humanpersona i ty andhumanhi story

whi ch,

i n

the

end, l ed

the

Geek mnd t o

a tr agi c

sense

of

f ut i l i t y i n

the

f ace

of

a

worl d

seemngl y

governed

by

the

pri nci pl e of nemsi s

;

andwhi ch condemned

the

Roman

mnd

t hi s precursor

of

the

acqui si t i ve andemi ri ca

personal i ty)

t o bewl dermnt

i n

the

presence of the bad

i n f i n i t y

of natura i smand

which, i n themodern

age, has reappeared

under

thesi gnof

i nstrumnta i sm

as enl i ghtenmnt cr i t i que

33

Thi s imossi bl edemandon

hi story f or

a creat i ve pr i nci pl e,

f or

a newvi t al i sm

whi ch

woul d

successf ul l y i ntegrate

theprocess

of human

experi ence

andsol ve,

at

l east

symbol i cal l y, the

i nevi tabi l i t y

of

death (Cochrane s

soci al

proj ecti on

f or

death was the

f ear

of

stasi s) represents

the

fundamnta

cat egory ,

the

gravi tati on-poi nt, around whi ch the

whol e

of

Cochrane s thought

turns

I t

somtims

can

be

sai d, part i cul ar l y

so

i n the

case of seri ous

phi l osophi es

of

l i f e

whi ch thi nk wth

bl ood , that

t hei r conceptua st ructure, thei r mdes

of

i ntel l ec-

t ual expressi ons, thei r

often contrad ctory i nterventi ons and r ever sal s, thei r

attemts

at

taki ng

up the r i sk

of

phi l osophy ,

are

rad ated

wth

a si ngl e,

overri d ng

root

mtaphor

I f t hi s i s so, then the root

mtaphor

of Cochrane s

thought i s the attempt

to sol ve

the r i d d l e

of the

Sphi nx ,

t o

reconci l e

the

Homeri c

mth

of necessi ty

and

chance,

to

answer

the

weepi ng

of

Euri pi des

through

the

creati on

of a

v i t a l i s t i c account

of human

experi ence Thesearch

for a

creati ve pri nci pl e (whi chCochrane ul ti matel y f i nds, i n

the

w l l to

t ruth -

persona i ty i n

God)

i s t hus,

the presupposi ti on whi ch structures

hi s

earl i est

cr i t i que

of

the

arche- the physi cs , et hi cs and l ogi c

of Pl atoni c d scourse

(Thucyd desandtheSci ence

of Hstory), whi ch

grounds

hi s

mst

mature

account

of

the r adi cal def i ci enci es

of enl i ghtenmnt

reason

( The

Mnd

of Edward

Gbbon ) andwhi ch i nform hi s summati onal

cr i t i que

of

the

psychol ogy, pol -

i t i c s

hi story

andepi steml ogy

of the cl assi cal

mnd

Chri st i ani ty

andCl assi cal

Cul ture) 3

4

I f

Cochrane s

rethi nki ng

of

the

western

t r adi t i on from

the

vi ewpoi nt

of

i t s

r adi cal sci ssi on of bei ng and becomng

was

a siml e

apol ogi a f or Chri sti an

mtaphysi cs

agai nst

the

cl am of cl assi cal dscourseor , for

that

matter, aki n t o

Chri stopher

Dawson s

profound, but stati c,

ci r cl i ng back

t o

Chri sti an

theol ogy

under

the

gui se of

thedefence

of

ci vi l i zat i on,

then hi s

thought woul d

pose no

cha l enge

I f

i ndeed, wecoul dbecert ai n t hat t hi s turn to

v i t a l i sm

to

the

search

f or a

new

uni fyi ngpri nci pl ewhi ch

woul d

vi ndi catehuman

experi ence

by l i nki ng

the devel opmnt

of

persona i ty

the

August i ni an

sol uti on

to

the

ml ti pl e

soul )

t o themsteri ous

pl eni tudeof

exi st ence,

was

a l l

a ongonl y

another

way

of

taki ng

up

agai n

the

weary

j ourney

f rom

Athens

t o

J erusa em,

then

we

mght

saf el y say of Cochrane

what

August i ne sai d of

the

St oi cs

Onl y t hei r

ashes

remai n

But

i t

i s

fortunatel y

so, the

danger

of hi s

thought that, whi l e i t

never

succeeded

i n i t s

expl i ci t proj ect of devel opi ng a newvi ta i smwhi ch woul d

preempt

the revol t

of

human

experi ence , hi s d scourse

does

stand

as a

t heatr i -

cum

hi stori cum

(Foucaul t)

i n

whi ch

are

rehearsed and then

pl ayed

out ,

the

three fundamnta mvements of

western thought

poeti c

imagi nati on,

phi l o-


14/41

RTHUR

KROKER

sophy

(both

as

Pl atoni c reason andas posi t i ve

sci ence)

and

theol ogy I t

was,

perhaps, Cochrane s

uni que contri buti on to

recogni ze

i n

the

embl emati c

f i gur es

of

Homer

(myth),

Pl ato sci ent i a)

andAugusti ne

sapi ent i a)

not onl y

powerful

syntheses

of dvergent,

but

coeval ,

tendenci es i n western consci ousness,

but to

thi nk through as

wel l the si gni f i cance of what

was

most

apparent,

that

these

were

representati ve

perspecti ves thepl ay of aest het i cs,

i ntel l ectual i t y

andfa i th,

the fates of

whi ch

were

entangl edand

whoknows,

prophesi edi nthe

gambl e

of

the others

5 I t my

be, of

course that Cochrane s concern,

andhope,

w th

the

pos s i b i l i t y

of the t r i ni t a r i a n formul a ( Nostra

Phi l osophi a TheDscoveryof

Personal i ty )

as the l ong-sought

creati ve

pri nci p e

was but a

product

of a

Chri sti an

f a i t h

whi ch

f i nal l y

permtted

hi m

the

peace

of

thecrede

ut

i nt el l egas

But

mght

i t

not

al so

be,

t hat

the t r i ni t ar i an

formul a was l ess a

hi s tor i cal l y

speci f i c product

of

the Chri sti an

metaphysi c

than

an i mpossibl e, and transpar-

ent , reconci l i at i onof

thewarri ng

dscourses

of Homr

Pl ato

andAugusti ne

I na

passagewhi chapproaches ecstat i c

i l l umnati on but

whi ch

al so carr i es w thi t

the

sounds

of desperati on,

Cochrane,

thi nki ng

t hat

he

i s

at last, at

rest

wthi n

the

i n te r i o r i t y of Augusti ne s cl osure of

humn experi ence,

wri tes

Chri sti an

i nsi ght

f i nds expressi on i n twomdes

As

truth

i t my be

descri bed

as reason

i r r adi at ed by

l ove

as moral i ty l ove i r r adi at ed by

reason

3G

Now

whi l e

th i s

passage

i s

a

wonderful

expressi on

of

the

creati on

of the

val ue-truth whi ch

marks

the threshol d of

power/know edge i n the di sci pl i nary

i mpul ses

of

western soci et y, s t i l l

there

can be

heard i n t h i s passage another

voi ce

whi ch

i s

absent

andsi l enced thi s

ti md

voi ce

whi ch

can j ust be

detected

i n

the

carceral

of

val ue-truth

utters no

words

;

i t i s

not ,

after

a l l

phi l osophy

whi ch makes the

f i r s t protest Thesoundwhi chwe

hear

deep

i n the i nner sel f of

the repressed

consci ousness of

Augusti ne

i s

I bel i eve, that of the

weepi ngof

Euri p des

i t i s

the

returnof poeti c consci ousness, of

myth,

whi ch i s

onceagai n

the

begi nni ng

of the

modern, or i s

i t

anci ent age

Thedanger

of Cochrane

i s

that hi s

quest f or

the

creat i vepri nci pl e,

whi l e

al ways

ai medat si l enci ng

mth

andreason cl ar i f i es the

fundamental categori es of

the

t r i adi c

bei ng

of

western

soci ety

Cochrane

thought

wthandagai nst

Pl atoni c

d scourse

(Thucyddes and

the

Sci ence of

Hstory

was

an

i ntenti onal recovery

of

the

cl assi cal

science

of f i f th century

Greece

against

the

general hypothesi s of

Herodotus andagai nst Pl atoni c

phi l osophy)

becauseof

hi s

convi cti on that

Pl atoni c reasonwas i nadequate

to the task, posed

i n

mythi c

consci ousness, of

d scoveri ng

a creat i ve and

mvingpri nci p e

whi ch

woul d

reconci l ehumn

effort and

fortuna

ndCochrane

f l ed

to theol ogy

as

a

second

st rategi c

l i ne of retreat

after

the debacl e of

cl assi cal reason) f rom

the i nel ucta-

b i l i t y

of

nemesi s

i n humn experi ence

Thus, the cur i os i t y

an

anci ent

hi s-

tori an

whonot onl y med tates

upon

but

l i ves

through

the

root

metaphors,

the

fundamental

categori es

of

thought

and

the immnent

l i mtati ons

of the three

consti tuti ve

structures

of

westernconsci ousness

Whi l eCochrane s

r adi cal def i -

ci ency

l ay

i n

hi s

unw l l i ngness t o rel at i vi ze

Augusti ni an d scourse

that

i s

to

thi nk through

the si gni f i cance of the d scovery

of that

exp osi ve

bond ng

of

power

and

ni h l i smi n

theol ogy nonethel ess

Cochrane has succeeded

i n recess-

i ng the

hi st ori cal

ori gi ns of the r adi cal

sci ss i on to the el emental

p ay i n the


15/41

AUGUSTINENDMODERNSM

cl assi cal

mnd

among

poetry,

phi l osophy and

theol ogy

and,

moreover,

i n pres-

enti ng

a broad

tr aj ectory

of

the geneal ogy

of western consci ousness

2 The Tragi c Sense

of

Pol i t i c al

Experi ence

Cochrane s

search for a creati ve

pri ncipl ewhi ch

woul dprovi de a

more

ade-

quate

ground f or

the

reconc i l i at i on

of

order

and

process was made themore

urgent

by

hi s t r agi c

sense

of pol i t i cal

l i f e Hewas

a

phi l osopher

of

the

deed ,

one

who transposed

the

essent i al

impul ses

of the tr agi c

imagi nati on i nto

a general

theory of the cl assi cal

sources

of the tr agi c

imaginati on,

i nto

a

general

theory

of

the

cl assi cal sourcesof

European cul ture

and,

moreover,

i nto

a

radi cal rethi nki ng

of Chri sti an

metaphysi cs

as a

necessary response

to

the

i nternal

def i ci enci es

of

the

natural i s t i c

v i t i a of the cl assi cal worl d

From

t s

genesi s i nThucydi des andthe

Sci ence

of

H story

t o i t s

most

mature statement i n

The Mndof Edward

Gbbon

(an

el oquent

c r i t i c i sm

of

the

formal i smof

i nstrumental

reason), Coch-

rane s i ntel l ectual

proj ect

was suffused

wth an exi stent i al i s t

sens i bi l i t y

wth a

sel f - consci ous and

del i berate attempt at

formul ati ng

i n

the

i di omof hi stor i cal

schol arshi p the

pessimsti c

and, i ndeed,

f a t a l i s t i c

i mpul ses

of

the i nner

man

Whether i n

hi s

studi es

of Vi r gi l ,

Lucr et i us, Thucydides,

Theodosi us or Augus-

ti ne, the

hi stor i cal

imagi nati on

was for

Cochrane

an

out l et f or

a

weal th of

psychol ogi cal

i nsi ghts i nto the

meani ng

of sufferi ng i n humanexi stence

t

mght

be

sai d,

i n fact, that

he

el aborated,

and thi s

i n

the

l anguage of hi stor i cal

real i sm

aprofound

psychol ogi cal

anal ysi s

of

thealways

f ut i l e humaneffort,

t hi s

vai n

hubri s, struggl i ngagainst

the

pul l

of

the

f l esh

towards

death Thi s was

a

phi l osopher

of

l i f ewho

arrai gnedthe

main

currents of

Europeancul t ural

hi story

as a

way

of i l l umnati ng

the more

uni ver sal ,

and thus i nti mate, pl i ght

of

reconci l i ng

thebri ef moment

of

l i f e

wth

the

comng

ni ght

of

death But

then,

the

pecul i ar tragedy of Cochrane s hi stor i cal

sens i bi l i t y i s that

hewas broken,

i n

the

end

or

( i f

a Chri sti an) i n

the begi nni ng,

by the

radi cal

i mpossi bi l i ty of

l i vi ng

wthout

hope

of an easy

escape

wthi n

the

term

of the i ntense and i nevi tabl e

vi si on of human

suf feri ng reveal ed by

the

poeti c

consci ousness

of the pre-

Socrati c

Geeks

Cochrane

was

a

phi l osopher

of the deed because hi s wri ti ng

responded,

at

i t s deepest

threshol d, to

the

aest het i cs

of poeti c

consci ousness ;

but the

great

i nt er nal

tensi on

of hi s

thought, and

suspect

the

deep

evasi on

of

hi s

l i f e

was

that

he sought t o

make hi s peace wth the

tragedy

of

f i nal i t y

by

denounci ng as

a

r adi cal

error the hubri s of

promethean

consci ousness ( t h i s i s

the

arche

of

Thucydi des

and

the Sci ence

of

Hstory)

and,

l ater,

by

accepti ngthe

Chri sti an dogmaof ori gi nal

si n the

essent i al

moment

of

Chri sti ani ty

and

Cl assi cal

Cul ture)

as a j ust i f i cat i on f or Augusti ne s

subl imati on

of

di vi ded

con-

sci ousness

i nto

the

w l l to truth

The

peace

made

by

Cochrane

wthexi stence

consi sted

perhaps

onl yof the expedi ent

of

substi tuti ng gui l t over

thehubri s

of

the

Homeri chero

for the unmedi atedand

unrel i eved

i mage

of

nemesi s offered

by

theGeek

poets

Need i t be sai d that, whi l egui l t of f er s

the

promse

of

a f i nal


16/41

RTHURKROK R

peace

t hr ough

the

mechani sm

of t he

conf essi on ,

or

s ha l l

we

say evacuati on ,

of t he

s e l f , poet i c

consci ousness prom ses onl y t h a t the

s e l f i s condemned t o

t he

l i b e r t y

of

exper i enci ng f u l l y t he v i c i s s i t u d e s

of

cont i ngent and

mutabl e e x -

per i ence

The

hor i zon

of

Cochrane s h i s t o r i c a l real i sm

was

represented

by

t he

f a t e f u l f i gure of August i ne

i t was

not acci dental that Cochrane s

t hought ,

whi l e

i t

may

have

begun w t h and

never escaped

from i t s

ref l ecti on

on Herodotus,

concl uded wi t h

a medi t at i on on The

Conf essi ons

of St

August i ne

Perhaps

Cochrane s

maj or cont r i but i on

may

have been

t o i n s t r u c t us

now

of

t he

mai n

avenues of

evasi on

open the prospects

f o r an

i n t e r n a l

peace whi ch

were

di scl osed by t he uropean mnd

as

i t st ruggl ed to drawaway f romt he t r a g i c

s e n s i b i l i t y

of

t he

Gr eek

c l as s i c al

hi stori ans

Thus,

i n

much t he

sameway that

Cochr ane once

sai d of c l as s i c al h i s t o r i o -

gr aphy

that

i t represented

an

at t empt

t o

escape

from

t he concl usi ons

of

Her odotus

3 7

Cochr ane s h i s t o r i c a l i nqui ry m ght be vi ewed

as

an endur i ng and

progressi vel y ref i ned

e f f o r t at di scoveri ng

anewarche, or starti ng- poi nt

a

new

physi cs,

e t h i c s

and l o g i c ) whi chwoul d respond

f i n a l l y

t o

t he

f a t a l i s m to

t he

i nt ernal pr i nci pl e

of

s t a s i s ,

i n

human exper i ence

di scl osed by aesthet i c

con-

sci ousness I n a n

el oquent

passage

i n

Chri st i ani ty

and

Cl as s i c al Cul ture,

Cochr ane

presented a vi vi d descr i pt i on of the nemesi s

i nherent

i n t he

very

pl ay of

human

exper i ence

The

uni ver se

whi ch

presents

i t s e l f

i n

Her odotus

i s one

of

mot i on

perpetual and i ncessant

38

Transl at ed

i n t o a

pr i nci pl e

of

human behavi our , t he

psyche i s so

const i t ut ed

that now and t hen,

here

and there l i k e

f i r e ) , i t

succeeds

i n

over com ng t he

resi st anceof those el ements whi chmake f o r

depres-

s i o n,

and,

when i t

does,

i t

exhi bi t s

t hephenomenon

of accumul at i on

and

a c q u i s i -

t i on

on

a more

than

ordi nary s c al e

3 9

But ,

Cochrane n o t e s ,

there i s i n t h i s

uni ver se

no evi dence of

organi c

growth

and t h i s

because

t he pr i nci pl e of

expansi on operates at t he

same t i me

as

a pr i nci pl e of l imta t i on

40

Thus,

and

t h i s i s f undament al f or

Cochrane, t he process

t o

whi ch

manki nd

i s

subj ect i s

sel f - def eati ng

i t

i s

l i k e

t he

opposi t i on

of a

pendul um

4 1

I n

t h i s

t r a g i c

denoue-

ment ,

t he

rol e of t he mnd

i s

that of a

passi ve

spectator :

sel f - consci ousness

resol ves

i t s e l f

i nto a consci ousness of

i mpot ence

i n

t he

gr i p

of

materi al neces-

s i t y

4

z

Or ,

i n

a

succeedi ng

passage,

Cochrane medi t ates upon

t he

words

of

Her odotus

whi ch

wer e voi ced

by a

Persi an

nobl e

at

t he Theban

di nner - par t y

gi ven on the eve of Pl ataea :

hat whi ch

i s

dest i ned

t o come

to

pass as

a consequence of

di vi ne a c t i v i t y ,

i t

i s

i mposs i bl e to man

to

avert

Many of us are

awar e

of

t h i s

t r u t h ,

yet

we

f ol l ow because

we

cannot do

other-

wi se

Of

a l l

t he sorrows whi ch a f f l i c t manki nd, t he

b i t t e r e s t

i s

t h i s ,

that one

shoul d have consci ousness

of

much, but control

over not hi ng

4

3

The

el emental and nobl e gesture

of

Cochrane s

t hought

was hi s

e f f o r t , al ways


17/41

UGUSTINEN

MO ERNSM

schol ar l y

and

nuanced,

t o

f ashi on

a

r esponse

t o

t he

bi t t er ness

whi ch

f l ows

from

t he

r ecogni t i on

of mar gi nal

and

mut abl e

exi st ence

Cochr ane s

t hought

hover ed

ar ound

bi t t er ness

of t he

s o u l , not

i n t h e

modern sense

of

r essent i ment ,

but

i n

t he

more

c l a s s i c a l meani ng

of

bi t t er ness as

an

ac know edgement

t h a t

there

was a

work

i n

t he ver y i n t e r i o r i t y

of

human

exper i ence

a pr i nc i pl e of

l i m t a t i o n ,

of a r r e s t ,

whi ch

out si de of

and

beyond human

agency moved t o dr ag

back t he

most i nspi r i ng of

p o l i t i c a l

exper i ment s

and

of

phi l osophi cal

pr oj ect s

t o nemes i s

and

s t a s i s

What

Vi co has descr i bed

as

t he

i nevi t abl e c y c l e of

r i c o r s o

14

Cochr ane

recurred

t o and

t h i s

o f t e n ,

as

t he c l a s s i c a l

i mage

of wal ki ng

t he wheel

I f i t i s

accurate t o c l a im

t h a t t he t r a g i c i magi nat i on

r epr esent s

t he

l i m t

and

t he

gambl e of Cochr ane s t hought ,

then

we

shoul d

expect

t o

f i nd a

l i n ge r i ng , but

per vasi ve,

sense

of arrested

human

p o s s i b i l i t y

i n

each

of h

kroker-augustine as the founder of modern experience-the legacy of charles norris cochrane

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