Principia Discordia

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Five-fingered hand of the Eris

The Principia Discordia is a collection of satirical religious texts and illustrations, mainly through the novel trilogy Illuminatus! by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea became known. Under the pseudonym Malaclypse the Younger, the author describes in numerous anecdotes, matching the subtitle of the work How I found the goddess and what I did with her when I found her, the history of the formation of the Discordian society, its mythological and philosophical foundations as well as its organizational structure. Here known religions and religious thought patterns are parodied and ad absurdum to said Wilson, " Guerilla - ontology to operate". The Principia Discordia is considered the sacred scripture of Discordianism.

History of origin

The first edition of the Principia Discordia was printed in 1963 on the photocopier of US attorney Jim Garrison . Robert Anton Wilson also states in his autobiography Cosmic Trigger that it was written long before his novels were published.

In 2014, under the title Historia Discordia - The Origins of the Discordian Society, an extensive collection of documents from the time before and after the alleged publication of the first edition of the Principia (1965) was published. These include various correspondences by and between Hill, Thornley and Wilson as well as a facsimile reproduction of the first edition, which was probably only published in five photocopied copies.

The genesis of the book is a game with editor fictions and pseudo-authors staggered one behind the other. Wilson states in a foreword that he is not the author. In fact, according to him, the author is said to be a "time traveler from the 23rd century" named Gregory Hill, who in turn denies being a time traveler. Depending on his mood, Wilson continues, he also says that Timothy Leary or himself are responsible for the work. If one believes other statements of Wilson, then the contributions to the collection were mainly made in the 1950s by Kerry Thornley (as Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst ) and Gregory Hill (as Malaclypse the Younger ). Legend has it that this was triggered by an enlightenment in a bowling alley following a discussion about discord. "'Solve the problem of discord,' said one, 'and all other problems will go away.'"

“There walked into the room a chimpanzee, shaggy and gray about the muzzle, yet upright to his full five feet, and poised with natural majesty. He carried a scroll and walked to the young men. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'why does Pickering's Moon go about in reverse orbit? Gentlemen, there are nipples on your chests; do you give milk? And what, pray tell, gentlemen, is to be done about Heisenberg's Law? ' He paused. 'SOMEBODY HAD TO PUT ALL OF THIS CONFUSION HERE!' And with that he revealed his scroll. It was a diagram, like a yin-yang with a pentagon on one side and an apple on the other. And then he exploded and the two lost consciousness. "

“Then a chimpanzee came into the room, shaggy and gray around the mouth, yet upright at six feet, and balanced with natural majesty. He carried a scroll and approached the young men. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'why is Pickering's moon moving in a retrograde orbit? Gentlemen, there are nipples on your breasts; do you give milk? And what, please say, gentlemen, must Heisenberg's law be done? ' He paused. 'SOMEONE HAD TO BRING ALL THIS CONFUSION IN HERE!' And then he unfolded his scroll. It was a diagram, like a yin-yang, with a pentagon on one side and an apple on the other. And then it exploded and they both lost consciousness. "

- Malaclypse the Younger

Following this, according to legend, the two dealt with the meaning of this enlightenment and thus came across Eris. Further contributions to “Discordian atheology” are said to have emerged later in the immediate vicinity of Hill and Thornley.

content

Based on the Greek goddess Eris ( known as Discordia in Roman mythology ) Discordianism is described in all its details. See also Discordianism .

expenditure

Current editions in book form “Malaclypse the Younger”: Principia Discordia

history

  • 5th Edition: 1991 ( 3157 YOLD )
  • 4th Edition: 1970 ( 3136 YOLD ), San Francisco
  • 3rd Edition: 1969 ( 3135 YOLD ), Tampa (500 copies)
  • 2nd Edition: 1969 ( 3135 YOLD ), Los Angeles (100 copies)
  • 1st Edition: 1965 ( 3131 YOLD ), New Orleans (5 copies), original title: "PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA or HOW THE WEST WAS LOST"

According to Robert Anton Wilson, there should have been a total of only 3,125 copies between the 1st and 4th edition.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ A b c Robert Anton Wilson: Cosmic Trigger. 10th edition. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-499-15649-0 , p. 78
  2. ^ Robert Anton Wilson: Cosmic Trigger I: Final Secret of the Illuminati . New Falcon Publications, Scottsdale, AZ 1992, ISBN 978-1561840038 , p. 65.
  3. ^ A b Robert Anton Wilson: Cosmic Trigger. 10th edition. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-499-15649-0 , pp. 84f
  4. ↑ Adam Gorightly: Historia Discordia - The Origins of the Discordian Society. I. edition. RVP Press, New York City 2014, ISBN 978-1-61861-321-9 , p. http://rvppress.com/books/22
  5. ↑ Malaclypse the Younger: Principia Discordia. Xth edition. Phenomenon-Verlag, Lüchow 2002, ISBN 3-933321-20-4 , p. 5f
  6. ↑ Malaclypse the Younger: Principia Discordia. Xth edition. Phenomenon-Verlag, Lüchow 2002, ISBN 3-933321-20-4 , pp. 18ff
  7. ↑ Steve Jackson (Ed.): Principia Discordia. Steve Jackson Games Inc., Austin (Texas) 2000, ISBN 978-1-55634-320-9 , p. 00008
  8. ^ Translation from Malaclypse the Younger: Principia Discordia. Xth edition. Phenomenon-Verlag, Lüchow 2002, ISBN 3-933321-20-4 , p. 19