Reality: From Metaphysics to Metapolitics

What is reality? Most people in the modern world are ignorant of metaphysical realities, not to mention the prevalence of semantic confusion, and therefore Wynand de Beer aims to counter this ignorance and confusion. He employs numerous insights from classical Greek philosophy and traditional Christian theology in order to discuss the various levels of reality, ranging from the highest (the divine) to the lowest (the material). The author then deals with a range of philosophical and theological themes in the light of the preceding discussion. These include well-being and love, time and eternity, good and evil, truth and knowledge, and the survival of the soul beyond bodily death, which is the only kind of immortality that human beings may attain. A lengthy chapter also deals with the manifestation of higher levels of consciousness in religion, mathematics, and music. In the later chapters of the book, the author subjects salient aspects of the Western sociocultural phenomenon known as "political correctness" to critical scrutiny. In the process, these ideologically driven and media-promoted "isms" are contrasted with both Hellenic and Christian thought, and the penetrating writings of traditionalist and/or anti-modernist thinkers from different parts of the world.