Voegelin’s emphasis is on how every human soul undergoes experiences of the divine.

Philosophy of Consciousness

by Christopher S. Morrissey 

New Pope Francis has in a very short time garnered much attention

and considerable appreciation. It is remarkable to note how consonant

 the Pope’s fresh approach to evangelization is with the advice of Voegelin

Terrence Malick’s film, The Tree of Life (2011), is a significant cultural achievement, not only cinematically but also philosophically. Back in 1969, the philosophically inclined Malick produced a bilingual edition of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s The Essence of Reasons, supplying the English translation.

With The Tree of Life, the meditative practices visible in his previous films–Badlands (1973),Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998),The New World (2005)–have now reached a point where comparison with the work of philosopher Eric Voegelin is unavoidable. WithThe Tree of Life, Malick has visually translated Voegelin.

Voegelin’s emphasis is on how every human soul undergoes experiences of the divine. In his Anamnesis, Voegelin shows how the essential practice of philosophy consists in meditative recollections that remember experiences awakening the “awe” or “excitement” of existence.

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• Eric Voegelin’s Philosophy and the Drama of Mankind
• Kierkegaard on Faith and the Self: C. Stephen Evans
• Bad Art, Bad Ideas: A Plea to Avoid Seeing Atlas Shrugged

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