How Symbols truly work and the limitations of Jonathan Pageau - Navigating Christian Tradition

A Genealogy of False and True Simplicity or True and False Divinity in the Human Experience and a limited glimpse of the Axis Mundi

Introduction

Symbolism, in its most profound sense, serves as a bridge between the fallen human intellect and the eternal divine intellect. Through symbols, the fragmented and fallen mind can begin to perceive a reflection of the divine order and purpose within creation. This article explores the journey of the fallen mind towards reuniting with the divine intellect through the proper understanding and application of symbolism. It is a particularly challenging read, requiring full engagement to make use of the insights presented here.

Brief Outline of the Assertions

This Article is a direct follow-up to the introductory piece linked below. Reading both simultaneously should be of benefit to the enquiring mind.

I present the philosophies and claims of Jordan Peterson and Jonathan Pageau at different levels of intelligibility - spanning true to false simplicity which may also be understood as the actual mystical Axis Mundi - a fuller development of this axis would be part of this series as time permits. This examination spans subjective, psychological, psycho-social, and societal domains, as these are where their claims are usually made. I cover how these claims are understood by them, the real levels at which they are actually situated, and the functions they actually perform in the world.

Briefly put, Peterson falsely understands the ordinary psyche as a cosmic psyche, while Pageau misunderstands the ordinary collective as a “higher level being” or symbolic being. However, both perform a valid and necessary function in recovering the use and understanding of human consciousness as an indispensable component of the universe. They overestimate their recoveries by several orders of magnitude by misinterpreting certain symbols and their uses and therefore the order of the consciousness in question, but their assertion that the postmodern world cannot oppress and abuse human beings is valid.

The kinds of participations they imagine would indeed be preserved and furthered by a true mystical and symbolic life in Christ, but in ways and manners wholly different and of a much grander magnitude than those they currently propose. This would produce problems in harmonizing their perspective with the established theology and witness of the Church throughout the ages, as well as the established form and praxis of Christendom, which lasted for over a thousand years. This is the true project that symbolically illumined Christians must undertake at the present time.

The Fallen Mind and False Simplicity

The postmodern world finds itself in a state of ‘false simplicity,’ where the narrative constructed by the fallen mind invents a false paradise. This narrative is a simplification that obscures the complexity and depth of reality, leading to a disconnection from the divine intellect. The fallen mind clings to this narrative, mistaking it for truth, and in doing so, creates an illusory sense of completeness.

Recovering Complexity through Polarization

Jordan Peterson’s approach to recovering complexity involves a multi-variate analysis that splits the false narrative of the superego into known and unknown territories. This division allows for recognizing the limitations of the fallen mind and opens the door to exploring the unknown, essential for growth and recovery.

Jonathan Pageau refines this complexity by uniting the known and unknown territories as the left and right hands. These hands represent the inside and outside of a terrestrial and territorial entity, reflecting the dual nature of any given ‘identity.’ This movement towards lesser unity preserves complexity and banishes false narratives, which are totalizing. However, at this point, you have only recovered the understanding that anything that exists can be like Christ or that Christification can be utterly universal, save that a person wishes to be united to him through the mysteries and thorough conversion.

This is not the study of the divine light and how all creation is the outward and inward expression of its creative power, nor is it the ordinary spiritual or intellectual part of the spiritual life in Christ. None of this should surprise us; in the fallen West, it takes considerable effort merely to be restored to an intellectual and spiritual standing that was commonplace and common sense for many of our ancestors. This has been the trade-off in the extreme imbalance of material and spiritual development.

Symbolism and the Divine Identity

True symbolism is concerned with uniting any given ‘identity’ with the divine ‘identity.’ The two hands of God in creation represent the two primary aspects or activities of the divine in the world. Sometimes these hands may appear in conflict, and other times in agreement, but they always fulfill the divine purpose of creation. Many examples and detailed studies can illustrate what it means to spiritually unite any given created entity to the uncreated author. This is valid across the entire domain of creation, for all material as well as subtle entities. Moreover, this is distinct from the duality manifest in any given identity visible to the ordinary human mind.

Here, we are concerned with duality from the divine or uncreated point of view, situated at a much more subtle and simple plane of reference. Up to this point, I have been referencing solely the ego and superego mind, partly for brevity but also because the crisis we are addressing is a crisis of terrestrial and territorial identity—people who have gone astray from God. Symbolism proper addresses all possible domains that exist, not only ‘identity.’ (Here, we find a confusion in Peterson and Pageau between different kinds and different orders of forms and intelligibility and their connection to life and ‘identity.’)

Similarly, Pageau correctly insists that the microcosm and the macrocosm are one, but this truth is situated at a much higher plane of reference than he seems to grasp. Namely, he misconstrues the unity of God and man as the unity of any given ego and superego ‘identity’ on earth (i.e., “You are also like the top of the hierarchy”). This is why the vehicle of this unity is to understand the correct meta-narrative in the Bible rather than as the superseding and authoritative divine narrative; i.e., it’s not only applicable to any given narrative, it is the only narrative there is or ever will be, which is to say, “You are also like the top of the divine hierarchy” if you choose to participate and receive.

When the mind engages with symbols at their most intelligible depth, it begins to perceive the world as the will of the divine intellect in motion. This perception includes all phenomena at every intelligible level. The self-reflected identity becomes a divine reflection, ‘revealing the face of the Father’ to one another in Christ Jesus.

The Baptismal Journey of Identity in the PostModern Context

The journey of any given identity in the present context moves from being a reflection of false simplicity to a reflection of individuated complexity, then to a reflection of the lesser unity of any given ego or superego, and finally to the eternal and ever-growing unity of a known superego and the unknown God. Symbolism proper is about the activities of God and how that divine light permeates the human mind, body, and soul. This last step is where the journey begins from where Pageau leaves off. This step, however, is also the deepest, most substantial, most directly symbolic, most obviously spiritual and intellectual, most demanding, most sacrificial, and most scientific. The journey here becomes genuinely all or nothing—heaven or hell. Spiritual realities are lived directly as more fully manifest than material objects.

The path to this point is preparatory and does not have the symbolic capacity to render an identity ‘like unto God.’ Even Greek philosophy, which is symbolic in many respects, is considered only a preparatory stage to the life in Christ by saints.

The Literal, the Metaphorical, and the Symbolic

Here I cannot fully reconstruct and present psychology and subjectivity from a symbolic point of view, but I can show the difference between Pageau and full-blown symbolism in brief while maintaining the validity of his claims insofar as they are valid and true. To begin with, what he means by such things as the metaphorical or other forms of truth is straightforwardly mental events.

Let us call them simply subjective events. Reality is indeed composed of such events as well as objects. However, here we must introduce symbolic events as a wholly separate and transcendent category. There is a host of subjective events, such as metaphors, analogies, and allegories, which exist at different levels of the human mind but are not necessarily symbolic and do not count as symbolic events. (Here we find the categorical difference between the liturgical calendar and the kinds of events Pageau often presents, which may very well have a subjective signification but not a symbolic one—he is bringing back the reality of human consciousness as not just a useless epiphenomenon, but not the human religious or symbolic consciousness).

Furthermore, in the full order of existence, symbolic events can refer to both events internally in human subjectivity but also outside (in both cases at many levels and sub-levels). This gives rise to a religious ritual praxis that is extremely rich and multifaceted, not solely connected to the subjective mind’s activities. This also solves the deep dilemma of modern people: how are ritual objects and ritual subjects related? Are ritual objects actually needed? How do they function if they function at all?

On “Symbolism Happens”

This famous saying does not indicate any real symbolism happening anywhere. In fact, the primary problem of the West is the near total absence of any genuine symbolic, mystical, or subtle science, behavior, understanding, or endeavor. It would be true to say instead, symbolism doesn’t happen—because in the West it doesn’t. So what does Pageau mean here? He means, and is right to assert, that a particular and peculiar kind of mental, psycho-social, and socially transformative event “happens,” which is to say “exists.”

His entire career so far is the assertion that this event he has identified is real and exists, and to show people this reality. In so doing, there is nothing wrong. However, this event he has identified—which “happens”—is, put directly, nothing symbolic, nothing mystical (as sometimes he has called it, “these cosmic currents”), nothing approaching subtle science, nothing approaching spiritual psychology, and very little to do with living the spiritual life in Christ Jesus.

My insistence on this is not meant to be an insult. Instead, I intend to disambiguate as much as possible so a real student of symbolism can grasp better and better the real relations that exist in the intelligible order. The particular subjective event he has in mind is presented as an “identity” or a set of “identities,” which is to say, he wants you to believe in certain identifications, subjectivities, and mental events that unite the ego and the superego (presented as different “identities”) by removing false simplicity or a self-serving enclosed identity—by rising beyond a unitary narrative. This event then is a person who is the living “incarnation” of the meta-narrative, the same as how Peterson presents the living “incarnation” of the adventurer who is always racing between the known and the unknown as the prime event which balances the social order.

On Symbolic Participation in God

True symbolic and mystical participation in God encompasses many things at many levels, involving numerous stages of participation in Christ’s body, with many parts and roles to serve. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a joke by comparison. What Peterson envisions is the limited interaction of an individual with the collective, where the individual appears quite literally as God, which is a false symbol of the infinite. Pageau envisions a holistic collective without totalizing internal conflicts, but this too is a false symbol of the infinite God. God is neither the infinite individual nor the infinite collective in this sense. Symbolic or mystical participation does not necessarily require one to be a profound mystical thinker with total clarity on these matters. However, when presenting the world as the mystical body of Christ to an audience suffering from an identity crisis, it becomes a crucial precondition.

This is to say, I do not insist or judge definitively how Pageau or Peterson are participating in or serving Christ. However, I maintain that their primary philosophical claims fall off the mark by a wide margin. The participation in the world they are presenting is orders of magnitude separated from the participation they wish to present. This discrepancy will significantly impact their ability to address the meaning crisis effectively. We must remember, tremendous deeds for Christ are not always necessary to make a difference. But it is important to recognize that the kinds of social and subjective participations being offered by Peterson and Pageau are vastly different from what a true Christian symbolic thinker would offer if he had true and accurate knowledge and experience of actual and meaningful symbolic events.

Conclusion

The proper understanding and application of symbolism is crucial for the fallen mind to embark on its journey towards the divine intellect. It is a process of disambiguating false connotations and embracing the true depth of symbols that reflect the divine will and purpose. Through this journey, the mind can begin its baptismal ascent into the heart of God, moving from a fragmented reflection to a divine reflection, united with the eternal divine intellect.

Word of Caution

I have had to make many allowances, many imprecisions, and many preparatory allusions throughout this article. The reason for this is that to truly present simple contemplation in a Trinitarian context and address thinkers such as Pageau requires a readership that can immediately grasp the use of simple terminology such as “Pageau is valid psychically and intrapsychically but quite invalid in the second and third intelligible orders,” or that everything of a symbolic character and how it impacts every domain of science, both outward and inward, has to be freshly presented to a Western audience which has not known simple science in many generations.

The whole library of terminology and its manifold meanings have to be freshly constructed and then synthesized with the separate intellectual projects of the leading thinkers of the meaning crisis. If I appear to be taking some leeway here or there, it is a deliberate preparation; it is not possible to address all possible points of contention singularly and wholly in the postmodern period we are presently in. Furthermore, none of this is intended to court conflict or embarrass anyone at any level. The very way I present the material should make it clear how and why our times imposed certain limits on our spiritual life, and the only way forward is to remove the defect with all congeniality. I encourage you to ask as many questions as possible, and I will answer as time permits.

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