The Ruby Tablet of Set represents a unique and rigorous approach to self-development, framed as an initiatory path of self-directed evolution. Its philosophy is centered on the ancient Egyptian concept of Xeper, a term meaning "I have come into being," which is understood as the conscious, deliberate process of self-creation and becoming. Unlike paths that seek external validation or union with a higher power, the Ruby Tablet posits that the individual is the ultimate author of their own divinity, a principle central to the Left-Hand Path.

The initiatory structure of the Temple of Set, which is based on the Tablet's principles, emphasizes that recognition of advancement is earned through genuine self-transformation rather than the rote completion of tasks. It is a demanding journey that requires the initiate to use their "Isolate Intelligence" to navigate and master both their internal and external worlds, a process that some refer to as "self-deification". The "Black Flame" of self-consciousness is seen as the engine for this transformation, a tool to be honed through "Greater and Lesser Black Magic" to reshape subjective and objective reality. In this system, ethics and power are not externally imposed but are a matter of personal integrity, and the ultimate goal is the continual, dynamic evolution of the individual's consciousness toward a state of immortal essence.

In this episode, we descend from the crystalline heights of Hegel's Absolute Spirit into the smoke-choked valleys of the industrial revolution, where philosophy is no longer the contemplation of eternity but the analysis of the factory floor. We explore how Karl Marx—the Rhineland journalist, the exile in London, the most incendiary thinker of the modern age—seized Hegel's dialectic and dragged it down to earth, declaring that the engine of history is not the unfolding of divine reason but the grinding collision of social classes over the means of production.

From the critique of private property and the fetishism of commodities to the alienated labor of the proletariat, from the theory of surplus value and the inevitable concentration of capital to the revolutionary seizure of power and the dictatorship of the proletariat, from the withering away of the state to the dream of a classless, stateless utopia—we trace the shattering, prophetic, and deeply contested legacy of Marxist thought and ask: In a world where capital flows like blood through the veins of the global system, do we have the courage to imagine a society beyond exploitation, or will we blink and retreat into the comfortable delusion that this is the only world possible?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET

The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔗 SOURCES & READING LIST:

Essay #17: The Philosophy of Marx (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 17) Reading List: #16A, #16L, #16M

📚 RECOMMENDED READING:

• Marx, Karl & Engels, Friedrich, The Communist Manifesto (trans. Samuel Moore)
• Marx, Karl, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. I (trans. Ben Fowkes)
• Marx, Karl, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (trans. Martin Milligan)
• Marx, Karl, The German Ideology (with Friedrich Engels)
• David McLellan, Karl Marx: A Biography
• Jonathan Sperber, Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life
• Gareth Stedman Jones, Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion
• Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx: His Life and Environment

💬 JOIN THE DISCUSSION:

What do you think? Is the proletarian revolution an inevitable historical necessity, or a romantic fantasy that ignores the stubborn reality of human selfishness? Is the dictatorship of the proletariat a necessary transitional stage toward liberation, or a recipe for a new and more terrible form of tyranny? And can we truly imagine a society beyond class, beyond the state, and beyond exploitation, or is class conflict an eternal feature of the human condition?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Which side are you on—the comfortable security of the bourgeois order, or the terrifying freedom of the revolutionary upheaval? The peace of the market, or the creative chaos of the class struggle?

#Marx #Philosophy #DialecticalMaterialism #ClassStruggle #Proletariat #Bourgeoisie #SurplusValue #LaborTheoryOfValue #Communism #Socialism #Capital #DasKapital #CommunistManifesto #DictatorshipOfTheProletariat #Alienation #FetishismOfCommodities #HistoricalMaterialism #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #PoliticalPhilosophy #GermanPhilosophy #Economy #Revolution #ClassConsciousness #Materialism #Hegel #Marxism #MarxismLeninism #Set #Xeper #WisdomTraditions #ModernPhilosophy #PhilosophyPodcast #19thCenturyPhilosophy #IndustrialRevolution #CritiqueOfCapitalism #Utopia #StatelessSociety #WitheringAwayOfTheState

In this episode, we descend from the towering edifice of Absolute Idealism into the abyss of a world without God, without truth, and without meaning. We explore how Nietzsche—child of a Lutheran parsonage, disciple of Schopenhauer, and the most subversive philosopher in Western history—took a hammer to Hegel's grand system and declared that all values must be forged anew in the crucible of the Will to Power.

From the Death of God and the critique of "History as God" to the terrifying figure of the Last Man, from the psychology of Nihilism to the self-overcoming of the Superman, from the eternal return of the same to the great politics of the future—we trace the shattering, prophetic, and deeply unsettling legacy of Nietzschean thought and ask: In a universe without horizons, do we have the courage to become the artists of our own existence, or will we blink and retreat into the comfortable mediocrity of the herd?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET

The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

• Essay #16: The Philosophy of Nietzsche (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 16)
• Reading List: #16A, #16B, #16C

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Nietzsche, Friedrich, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (trans. Walter Kaufmann)
• Nietzsche, Friedrich, Beyond Good and Evil (trans. Walter Kaufmann)
• Nietzsche, Friedrich, On the Genealogy of Morality (trans. Walter Kaufmann)
• Nietzsche, Friedrich, The Birth of Tragedy (trans. Walter Kaufmann)
• Nietzsche, Friedrich, Untimely Meditations (trans. R.J. Hollingdale)
• Walter Kaufmann, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist
• Rüdiger Safranski, Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography
• Irving M. Zeitlin, Nietzsche: A Re-Examination

💬 Join the Discussion:

What do you think? Is the death of God a tragedy to be mourned, or an opportunity to be seized? Is the Superman a liberating ideal of human potential, or a dangerous fantasy that justifies tyranny and cruelty? And can we truly create our own values without descending into nihilism and despair?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Which side are you on—the comfortable security of the Last Man, or the terrifying freedom of the Superman? The peace of the herd, or the creative chaos of the Will to Power?

#Nietzsche #Philosophy #WillToPower #Übermensch #Superman #GodIsDead #Nihilism #LastMan #EternalReturn #BeyondGoodAndEvil #ThusSpokeZarathustra #GenealogyOfMorality #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #Existentialism #GermanPhilosophy #ProphetOfTheHammer #MasterMorality #SlaveMorality #Set #Xeper #WisdomTraditions #ModernPhilosophy #PhilosophyPodcast #19thCenturyPhilosophy #Schopenhauer #Wagner #Darwin #HorizonCreation #SelfOvercoming #PhilosophyOfLife #ValueCreation

In this episode, we journey from the ruins of Kant's critical philosophy to the towering edifice of Absolute Idealism. We explore how Hegel—student of the Enlightenment, witness to revolution, and architect of the most ambitious philosophical system in Western history—created a philosophy that would redefine history, the state, and the very nature of truth itself.

We begin with early 19th-century Europe: a continent in ferment, torn between the cold logic of the Enlightenment, the passionate yearnings of Romanticism, and the rising tides of nationalism and liberalism. We trace Hegel's influences—from Kant's critical idealism to the Greeks' love of reason—and we ask: Was Hegel the greatest systematizer of human thought, or did his all-consuming system swallow the individual whole?

From the Dialectic of Absolute Spirit to the Master/Slave relationship, from the Phenomenology of Mind to the Organic State, from the Volksgeist to the infamous "end of history"—we trace the profound and controversial legacy of Hegelian thought and ask: Are we all merely pawns in the World-Spirit's grand design, or do we have the power to forge our own path?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET

The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔮 In Our Next Episode:

We turn to Nietzsche—the hammer-wielding philosopher who declared God dead and shattered Hegel's system into a thousand pieces. How did the ultimate system-builder give birth to the ultimate anti-system? And why does Nietzsche's philosophy of the Will to Power and the Übermensch still electrify and disturb us today?

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay #15: The Philosophy of Hegel (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 15) Reading List: #16A

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Hegel, G.W.F., Phenomenology of Spirit (trans. A.V. Miller)
• Hegel, G.W.F., Philosophy of Right (trans. T.M. Knox)
• Hegel, G.W.F., Lectures on the Philosophy of History (trans. J. Sibree)
• Walter Kaufmann, Hegel: A Reinterpretation
• Peter Singer, Hegel: A Very Short Introduction
• Charles Taylor, Hegel
• Alexandre Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel

💬 Join the Discussion:

What do you think? Is the state the highest expression of human freedom, or is it a prison for the individual? Does history have a direction and a meaning, or are we just making it up as we go along? And what happens when we try to live inside a system that demands we surrender our individuality to the whole?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Which side are you on—the state or the individual? The Geist or the Will to Power?

📺 Subscribe for more episodes exploring the hidden currents of philosophy, history, and the occult tradition.

🔔 Hit the bell to be notified when Episode #16 drops: The Philosophy of Nietzsche.

#Hegel #Philosophy #AbsoluteIdealism #Dialectic #ThesisAntithesisSynthesis #PhenomenologyOfMind #MasterSlaveDialectic #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #GermanIdealism #Kant #Volksgeist #PhilosophyOfHistory #State #Freedom #Geist #Spirit #Marx #Nietzsche #Existentialism #SystemBuilding #ModernPhilosophy #Sittlichkeit #Moralität #TheEndOfHistory #Set #Xeper #WisdomTraditions #ClassicalPhilosophy #PhilosophyPodcast #GermanPhilosophy #Romanticism #Liberalism #Nationalism #TheOrganicState

In this episode, we journey from the heights of rational certainty to the depths of skeptical doubt. We explore how David Hume—Scottish philosopher, historian, and the great destroyer of philosophical systems—created an empiricism that would challenge the very foundations of knowledge, morality, and politics for centuries to come.

We begin with eighteenth-century Edinburgh: a world of Enlightenment optimism, scientific discovery, and burgeoning commercial society. We trace Hume's influences—from John Locke's tabula rasa to Isaac Newton's mechanical universe—and we ask: Was Hume the great liberator of philosophy from religious dogma, or did he reduce human thought to mere habit and sentiment?

From the copy principle to the problem of induction, from the slave of the passions to the critique of the social contract, from the Treatise to the Enquiries—we trace the profound legacy of Humean thought and ask: Are we rational beings, or are we just creatures of custom?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET

The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔮 In Our Next Episode:

We turn to Hegel—the German Idealist who looked at Hume's wreckage and built a cosmic drama of Spirit, history, and Absolute Knowledge. How did the philosopher of dialectics transform skepticism into a philosophy of becoming? And why does his vision of history as the unfolding of freedom still shape our world today?

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay #14: The Philosophy of Hume (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 14) Reading List: 16A, 16L, 16M

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature
• Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
• Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
• Hume, David. Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary
• Kemp Smith, Norman. The Philosophy of David Hume
• Stroud, Barry. Hume
• Norton, David Fate. The Cambridge Companion to Hume
• Livingston, Donald W. Hume's Philosophy of Common Life

💬 Join the Discussion:

What do you think? Is all knowledge really derived from experience, or are we born with innate ideas? If reason is truly the slave of the passions, what does that mean for our moral and political judgments? And is Hume's conservative defense of tradition a wise realism or a cynical apology for the status quo?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Which philosophy speaks more to you—the rational certainty of the Enlightenment, or the skeptical humility of the Scottish empiricist?

📺 Subscribe for more episodes exploring the hidden currents of philosophy, history, and the occult tradition.

🔔 Hit the bell to be notified when Episode #15 drops: The Philosophy of Hegel.

#Hume #Philosophy #Empiricism #DavidHume #TreatiseOfHumanNature #EnquiryConcerningHumanUnderstanding #TheRubyTablet #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #ScottishEnlightenment #Skepticism #Causation #Induction #MoralSentiment #ReasonAndPassion #SocialContract #Conservatism #Set #Xeper #WisdomTraditions #ModernPhilosophy #PhilosophyPodcast #Epistemology #MoralPhilosophy #PoliticalPhilosophy #Sympathy #Utility #Habit #Custom #EnlightenmentPhilosophy #BritishEmpiricism

In this episode, we explore the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau—the 18th century thinker who electrified the Enlightenment, inspired the French Revolution, and gave us one of the most terrifying and intoxicating ideas in political philosophy: the General Will. It was a time of reason, revolution, and transformation. It was a time when the Enlightenment's faith in progress was challenged by a man who saw civilization itself as a corrupting trap. Can a system built on collective virtue protect itself against the very human passions it seeks to overcome?

📜 Topics Covered:

• The Opening Paradox: "Man was born free..."—intellectual honesty or convenient dodge?
• The Corruption of Progress: Why the arts and sciences make us worse, not better
• The Noble Savage: Self-preservation, sympathy, and the natural goodness of man
• Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau: Three visions of human nature—and why Rousseau rejects them both
• Private Property as Original Sin: The moment someone said "this is mine"
• The Social Contract: Total alienation—giving ALL rights and property to the state
• The General Will vs. The Will of All: Collective interest vs. the sum of private greed
• "Forced to be Free": The most dangerous idea in political philosophy?
• Direct Democracy vs. Representation: Why Rousseau despised representative government
• Factions and Political Parties: Outlawing the vehicles of private interest
• The Civil Religion: State-imposed belief in God, immortality, and the social contract
• The French Revolution: Was Rousseau really its philosopher—or is that a convenient fiction?
• The Reign of Terror: Robespierre, the guillotine, and the General Will
• The Romantic Legacy: Emotion over reason, the child, and the birth of modern education
• The Unresolved Tension: Can the General Will exist without becoming tyranny?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay: The Philosophy of Rousseau (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 13) Reading List: 16A, 16L, 16M

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (trans. Maurice Cranston)
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (trans. Donald A. Cress)
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, or On Education (trans. Allan Bloom)
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions (trans. Angela Scholar)
• Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (ed. Richard Tuck)
• John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (ed. Peter Laslett)
• David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge)
• Isaiah Berlin, Freedom and Its Betrayal: Six Enemies of Human Liberty
• Judith N. Shklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau's Social Theory
• Jean Starobinski, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction
• Arthur M. Melzer, The Natural Goodness of Man: On the System of Rousseau's Thought

In this episode, we explore the philosophy of John Locke—the 17th century thinker whose ideas about life, liberty, and property shaped the American Declaration of Independence and the foundations of classical liberalism. It was a time of reason, revolution, and transformation. It was a time when the Enlightenment challenged the old order and asked whether government could be built on consent rather than coercion.

From the social contract to the doctrine of inalienable rights, from the right of rebellion to the danger of majority rule, from the limits of toleration to the unresolved tension at the heart of his system—we examine the philosophy that shaped the modern world. And we ask: Can a system built on reason and consent protect itself against the irrational passions of the people it is designed to govern?

📜 Topics Covered:

• The Enlightenment: The cultural climate that made Locke's ideas possible
• The State of Nature: Freedom, equality, and the law of reason
• Hobbes vs. Locke: Fear versus cooperation as the basis of society
• The Labor Theory of Value: How labor makes property your own
• Money and Accumulation: Why money allows for wealth without spoiling
• The Social Contract: Government by consent, not by fear
• Inalienable Rights: Life, liberty, and estate—and why they can't be taken away
• Limited Government: Legislative supremacy and executive prerogative
• Majority Rule: The democratization of truth and its dangers
• Rebellion vs. Revolution: Removing a tyrant versus overturning society
• The Limits of Toleration: Why Locke excluded atheists and Catholics
• The Flaw in the System: Vulnerability to economic, social, and demagogic manipulation
• The Unresolved Question: Can a rational system survive an irrational populace?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay: The Philosophy of John Locke (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 12) Reading List: 16A, 16L, 16M

📚 Recommended Reading:

John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (ed. Peter Laslett)

John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (ed. James Tully)

John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (ed. Peter H. Nidditch)

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (ed. Richard Tuck)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (trans. Maurice Cranston)

Steven M. Dworetz, The Unvarnished Doctrine: Locke, Liberalism, and the American Revolution

John Dunn, Locke: A Very Short Introduction Richard Ashcraft, Revolutionary Politics and Locke's Two Treatises of Government

C.B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism

James Tully, An Approach to Political Philosophy: Locke in Contexts

#JohnLocke #Locke #Enlightenment #SocialContract #NaturalRights #LifeLibertyProperty #LaborTheoryOfValue #LimitedGovernment #ClassicalLiberalism #PoliticalPhilosophy #Hobbes #Rousseau #Toleration #DeclarationOfIndependence #Reason #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #PhilosophyPodcast #HistoryOfPhilosophy

In this episode, we explore the Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)—the man who gave us the Leviathan, the social contract, and one of the most pessimistic yet influential visions of human nature in Western philosophy. It was a time of civil war, regicide, and political upheaval. It was a time when the old certainties of divine right and religious authority were crumbling. And it was a time when one man dared to ask: What is the rational basis for society?

We begin with the Age of Absolutism—the period that birthed the modern state system and the concept of the balance of power. We trace the intellectual climate of the 16th and 17th centuries, a time of transition between medieval knowledge and the new science. And we examine Hobbes's radical departure from Aristotle, his rejection of the idea that man is a "social animal," and his chilling assertion that the natural state of humanity is a war of all against all.

From the state of nature to the social contract, from the Leviathan to the right of self-preservation, from his comparison with Machiavelli to his legacy for modern political thought—we examine the philosopher who saw fear as the foundation of society. And we ask: Was Hobbes a cynical pessimist or a clear-eyed realist?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔮 In Our Next Episode:

We turn to the Philosophy of John Locke—how did Locke replace fear with reason? Why did he believe that the state of nature is governed by natural law? And what is his vision of property, liberty, and the consent of the governed? The story continues.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

• Essay #11: The Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 11)
• Reading List: 16A, 16L, 16M

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (ed. Richard Tuck)
• Thomas Hobbes, De Cive (On the Citizen)
• Quentin Skinner, Hobbes and Republican Liberty
• C.B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism
• Richard Tuck, Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction
• John Rawls, Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy
• Leo Strauss, The Political Philosophy of Hobbes
• Stephen Holmes, Passions and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy

💬 Join the Discussion:

What do you think? Was Hobbes right about human nature? Are we truly driven by fear and self-interest, or is there a more optimistic foundation for society? Is the social contract a real agreement or just a philosophical fiction? And how does Hobbes's vision of the state compare to our modern political reality?

#ThomasHobbes #Hobbes #Leviathan #SocialContract #StateOfNature #EnglishCivilWar #Absolutism #PoliticalPhilosophy #Philosophy #NaturalLaw #PossessiveIndividualism #Machiavelli #Sovereignty #HumanNature #Enlightenment #17thCentury #ModernState #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #PoliticalTheory #PhilosophyPodcast

In this episode, we explore the Reformation—the 16th century religious movement that shattered the unity of Christendom and created the Protestant churches. It was a time of faith, conflict, and transformation. It was a time when the printing press democratized ideas and challenged the authority of the Catholic Church.

We begin with the invention of the printing press—a technology that increased the number of books in Europe from 100,000 to 9 million in just fifty years. We trace the rise of Martin Luther and John Calvin, their rejection of reason in favor of faith, and their vision of a new Christianity.

📜 Topics Covered:

• The Printing Press: How technology democratized ideas
• The Five Pillars of Protestantism: Scripture alone, faith alone, and the rejection of reason
• Martin Luther: The monk who challenged the Pope
• John Calvin: The theologian of discipline and coercion
• Total Depravity: The pessimistic view of human nature
• Salvation by Faith Alone: Why good works don't save you
• The Two Kingdoms: Spiritual vs. temporal authority
• The Support for the Reformation: Secular motives of nobles and merchants
• The Counter-Reformation: The Catholic response and the Jesuits
• Religious Warfare: The Thirty Years' War and its devastation
• The Peace of Westphalia: Exhaustion, not reconciliation
• The Legacy of the Reformation: Individualism, faith, and conflict

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET

The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔮 In Our Next Episode:

We turn to the Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes—how did the chaos of the Reformation shape his view of human nature? Why did he believe that life in a state of nature is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"? And what is his vision of the social contract? The story continues.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay #10: The Reformation (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 10) Reading List: 16A, 16L, 16M

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Martin Luther, The Ninety-Five Theses (trans. various)
• Martin Luther, On the Freedom of a Christian (trans. various)
• John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (trans. Ford Lewis Battles)
• Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History
• Peter Marshall, The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction
• Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars
• Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet
• Bruce Gordon, Calvin
• Peter Burke, The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy

💬 Join the Discussion:

What do you think? Was the Reformation a liberation from Church tyranny or a new form of religious oppression? Did the rejection of reason lead to a more authentic faith or to intellectual stagnation? And how does the Reformation's emphasis on individualism relate to the Temple of Set's path of self-deification?

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Are we still living in the shadow of the Reformation?

#Reformation #MartinLuther #JohnCalvin #ProtestantReformation #CatholicChurch #SolaScriptura #SolaFide #TotalDepravity #TwoKingdoms #CounterReformation #CouncilOfTrent #Jesuits #ThirtyYearsWar #PeaceOfWestphalia #PrintingPress #Gutenberg #Individualism #FaithVsReason #ChurchAndState #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #ReligiousHistory #PhilosophyPodcast

In this episode, we explore Machiavellianism—the political philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli, the Renaissance thinker whose name became synonymous with the Devil himself. Machiavelli is one of the most controversial figures in the history of philosophy. He is the man who said the ends justify the means. He is the man who separated politics from religion. He is the man who gave us a realistic view of power.

From the first political scientist to the separation of politics and religion, from the beast and the man to the breaking down of religious authority—we examine the system that challenged the medieval worldview. And we ask: Was Machiavelli a champion of the good, or an advocate of evil?

📜 Topics Covered:

• The Renaissance: Secular education, Classical revival, and artistic genius
• Machiavelli's Reputation: Why "Old Nick" became the Devil
• The Separation of Politics and Religion: Politics belongs to the world of reason
• William of Occam: Faith as pure belief, not reason
• Fortuna and Virtu: Chance and will in history
• The First Political Scientist: Studying the beginnings of states
• Force and Law: The beast and the man
• The Ends Justify the Means: Pragmatism and the common good
• Realism and Human Dignity: Taking responsibility for yourself
• The First Natural Philosopher of Politics: Basing philosophy on mankind alone
• Is Machiavelli a Political Scientist? The problem of selective evidence
• The Breaking Down of Religion: Ignoring as a threat
• The Nature of Machiavelli's Philosophy: Pragmatism, not malice
• The Legacy of Machiavelli: How his ideas shaped modern politics
• Machiavelli and the Temple of Set: Ancestor or cautionary tale?

🎧 ABOUT THE RUBY TABLET The Ruby Tablet Podcast is a philosophical and spiritual journey through the essays of the Temple of Set, exploring the great traditions of human thought—from ancient Egypt to the present day. Each episode is a deep dive into the ideas that help shape the Self and fan the Black Flame.

🔮 In Our Next Episode:

We turn to the Reformation—how did the religious revolution of the 16th century challenge the authority of the Catholic Church? How did Martin Luther and John Calvin create a new vision of Christianity? And how did the Reformation shape the modern world? The story continues.

🔗 Sources & Reading List:

Essay #9: Machiavellianism (Aquino VI°, V2 - 102 - 9) Reading List: 16A, 23E, 23F

📚 Recommended Reading:

• Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (trans. Harvey Mansfield)
• Niccolo Machiavelli, The Discourses on Livy (trans. Harvey Mansfield)
• Niccolo Machiavelli, The Art of War (trans. Christopher Lynch)
• Quentin Skinner, Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction
• Isaiah Berlin, "The Originality of Machiavelli" (essay)
• Sebastian de Grazia, Machiavelli in Hell
• John M. Najemy, Between Friends: Discourses of Power and Desire in the Machiavelli-Vettori Letters
• J.G.A. Pocock, The Machiavellian Moment

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Are we all Machiavellians now?

#Machiavelli #Machiavellianism #ThePrince #Renaissance #PoliticalPhilosophy #PoliticalScience #Realism #Pragmatism #EndsJustifyTheMeans #Fortuna #Virtu #OccamsRazor #SeparationOfChurchAndState #Secularism #Humanism #Medici #Florence #TempleOfSet #LeftHandPath #TheRubyTablet #RenaissancePhilosophy #PoliticalTheory #Realpolitik #PhilosophyPodcast