New Model of the Universe: Principles of the Psychological Method in Its Application to Prob... Book

This attracted me in a bookstore when I was about 18. It stayed on my shelf, unread, for over a decade, as I'd been intimidated by its sheer length and had assumed it would present either an elaborate system to be analyzed or a magic to be practiced. Instead, it's a much more manageable collection of odd opinions.

Writing in the early 20th century, Ouspensky talks about the Gospels and Tarot, geometry and relativity, and opines on magic, dreams, contemplation, reincarnation, and time. He doesn't see how modern human ancestry can include both lower primates and higher ancient civilizations. All cultures remember "the good old days"; thus, these better times really existed, and this is proof that cultures only degenerate. Individuals, not cultures, may enjoy positive evolution. This is the "inner circle" of humanity that devotes itself to learning esoteric knowledge. Unfortunately, this core group can't do anything to improve the lot of other people, except open the door to their esoteric study. Animals allegedly lack humans' adaptive capability. Ouspensky devotes several pages to claiming that there were once large ants and bees (because some ancient writers mentioned them in stories) but they weren't spiritual enough so they have since been downgraded to little insects that serve only their collective. He trots out the old watchmaker argument against Darwin (I am not confident he understands Einstein either).

His reflections on time are interesting, combining the Eternal Now and the Eternal Recurrence. He defines magic -- of the sort that produces real, not illusory, results -- as "intensified doing and concrete knowing" (p. 309). There's stuff about how the fourth dimension is in the space between atoms (p. 97). There's weird support for the caste system in India and opposition to various sexual attitudes. He relies heavily on feelings and perceived revelations, so this is more of a "personal truth" testimony than a fact-based examination.