is the study of the occult better than traditional western philosophy for self-improvement and insight on the true nature of the man? or is it just a shortcut for gullible people? or is is pretty much the same thing, just more metaphisical/hybridized with eastern philosohpy?
(by occult i mean authors like manly p hall, crowley and r.b. wilson)
You seek knowledge for the wrong reasons.
A shortcut? Oh dear. No, you need to read Western philosophy, or at the very least Greek philosophy from Presocratic up to Neoplatonist, and the Bible BEFORE you get into the occult. And you can't just dive into Hall or Crowley without having read the main Hermetic, Kabbalistic or Gnostic texts. Really, you should also have read all the standard Eastern stuff too (Tao Te Ching, Upanishads, Bardo Thodol and the rest). The occult is very alluring and interesting but any study of it without the background will lead to shallow knowledge. It's not an alternative or shortcut to philosophy, it's the next step.
>>1370758
The line between philosophy and the occult is entirely illusory. You can't study either of them fully without involving the other as well.
Thanks senpai
Wait.. Is the occult not just bullshit mysticism with tidbits of philosophy thrown in here and there? I was under the impression that people that "study" this kind of stuff are tryhard special snowflakes. Is that not the case?
>>1373483
>>1373483
> I was under the impression that people that "study" this kind of stuff are tryhard special snowflakes. Is that not the case?
They are if theyre retards, which mostly everyone on earth is. There's no difference with other types of interests, such as regular philosophy, or history, or heavy metal music, or bicycles, science, stamp collecting, etc. There's dumbfucks, poseurs, legit people, and visionaries with anything.
>>1373503
in addition, these idiots does not diminish the validity, importance, insight, or "interestingness" or whatever of the topic, though some people confuse that too.
>>1373508
there's one exception. democracy. idiots diminish democracy.
>>1373483
It is definitely mysticism, but the bullshit can be filtered out quite easily if you've done your background reading.
The mystical experience is essential to the occult, as it is to Neoplatonism and many religions.
Occultism is a bloated meme-fest. It's an amalgamation of badly-thought-through philosophy, unsupported assertions, and pseudo-synergistic metaphysical believes that draw on arbitrarily selected traditions from the past.
Most occultists are delusional retards who live in fantasy land.
