Proof of the Illuminati

Proof of the Illuminati
Author: Seth Payson
Publisher: The Invisible College Press, LLC
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2003
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9781931468145

Reprint. Originally published in 1802 under the title: Proofs of the real existence, and dangerous tendency, of illuminism.

Code of the Illuminati

Code of the Illuminati
Author: Abbe Barreul
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Total Pages: 1848
Release: 2020-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1613101880

Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies

Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies
Author: John Robison
Publisher: Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2014-02-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1909606030

Proofs of a Conspiracy discusses the rôle of Continental-style Freemasonry, Adam Weishaupt’s Illuminati, and Karl Friedrich Bahrdt’s German Union in disseminating the ‘Enlightenment’ ideas that led to the French Revolution, and is also the founding text of the modern conspiracy theory of history in the English language. Whatever criticisms may be made in relation to Robison’s methodology, Proofs . . . remains valuable today for several reasons: firstly, it provides a snapshot of Continental-style Freemasonry and secret societies in the 18th century; secondly, it is the earliest attempt, along with Barruel’s, to examine the rôle of conspiracies in a revolution; thirdly, it supplies insights into what we may call the ‘lowlands’ of the ‘Enlightenment’—not its eminent thinkers, but the odd and peculiar characters that were also active in this movement; and, finally, it presents a systematic critique of the ideals that in France led eventually to the Terror, thereby serving as a primary source for understanding opposition to the French Revolution and its core ideal of equality as a moral absolute. The Counter-Enlightenment arguments of authors like Robison are today more relevant than ever, since the politics of the West remain a legacy of his era, to the extent that even conservatives ultimately derive their political philosophy from Locke and rely on terminology based on the seating arrangements of the French National Assembly. Though it was soon forgotten, Proofs . . . has had a lasting impact; indeed, we live in times awash with conspiracy theories. Be it about the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the New World Order, 9/11, or master conspiracies involving all of the above, could the growth of conspiratology tell us something about democratic societies in liberal modernity? The cover artwork is by Alex Kurtagic and depicts Adam Weishaupt obtaining secret information from his then right-hand man, Adolf Knigge.

Proofs of a Conspiracy

Proofs of a Conspiracy
Author: John Robison
Publisher: BookRix
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2019-01-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 3736809441

In this work, Proofs of a Conspiracy, Robison laid the groundwork for modern conspiracy theorists by implicating the Bavarian Illuminati as responsible for the excesses of the French Revolution. The Bavarian Illuminati, a rationalist secret society, was founded by Adam Weishaupt in 1776 in what is today Germany. They had an inner core of true believers, who secretly held radical atheist, anti-monarchist and possibly proto-feminist views, at that time considered beyond the pale. They recruited by infiltrating the numerous (and otherwise benign) Freemasonic groups which were active at the time on the continent. Necessarily they had a clandestine, compartmentalized, hierarchical organizational form.

Secret Destiny of America

Secret Destiny of America
Author: Manly P. Hall
Publisher: Gildan Media LLC aka G&D Media
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2024-07-09
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1722528354

The Signature Edition of Manly P. Hall’s Esoteric Classics on America Fully reset and newly introduced by PEN Award-winning historian Mitch Horowitz, The Secret Destiny of America (1944) and America’s Assignment with Destiny (1951) are Manly P. Hall’s core statements on the esoteric purpose and occult backstory of the United States. In these two volumes appears Hall’s thrilling thesis that democracy and personal liberty are part of a “Great Plan” extending from the pharaonic era to Hellenic secret societies to illumined intellects such as Francis Bacon and Christopher Columbus to modern expressions of Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, finally blossoming among the ideals of America’s Founders. In his introduction, Mitch explores the historicism of Hall’s writing on America, highlighting lasting points and augmenting the record where new information is available. Mitch specifically considers the Atlantean thesis from the perspective of the twenty-first century; reviews Hall’s career-long influence on President Ronald Reagan; examines the eye-and-pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States; contextualizes the impact of Freemasonry on the nation’s founding; explores Mesoamerican civilization and its complexities; and critically considers the role of secret societies in modern life. “Hall ranks among the few historical writers who at least recognized the inceptive role of Freemasonry in America’s founding,” Mitch writes, “a perspective only recently granted overdue treatment in scholarly literature.” Indeed, it was Manly P. Hall alone who kept alive the light of esoteric ideas—and their role in the nation’s formation—during the time he produced these seminal volumes. They are presented here, with a substantial historical introduction, in their definitive form.

The Paranoid Style in American Politics

The Paranoid Style in American Politics
Author: Richard Hofstadter
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2008-06-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0307388441

This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs.In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence — and derail — the larger agendas of a political party. He investigates the politics of the irrational, shedding light on how the behavior of individuals can seem out of proportion with actual political issues, and how such behavior impacts larger groups. With such other classic essays as “Free Silver and the Mind of 'Coin' Harvey” and “What Happened to the Antitrust Movement?, ” The Paranoid Style in American Politics remains both a seminal text of political history and a vital analysis of the ways in which political groups function in the United States.

Conspiracies of Conspiracies

Conspiracies of Conspiracies
Author: Thomas Milan Konda
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 451
Release: 2019-03-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 022658576X

It’s tempting to think that we live in an unprecedentedly fertile age for conspiracy theories, with seemingly each churn of the news cycle bringing fresh manifestations of large-scale paranoia. But the sad fact is that these narratives of suspicion—and the delusional psychologies that fuel them—have been a constant presence in American life for nearly as long as there’s been an America. In this sweeping book, Thomas Milan Konda traces the country’s obsession with conspiratorial thought from the early days of the republic to our own anxious moment. Conspiracies of Conspiracies details centuries of sinister speculations—from antisemitism and anti-Catholicism to UFOs and reptilian humanoids—and their often incendiary outcomes. Rather than simply rehashing the surface eccentricities of such theories, Konda draws from his unprecedented assemblage of conspiratorial writing to crack open the mindsets that lead people toward these self-sealing worlds of denial. What is distinctively American about these theories, he argues, is not simply our country’s homegrown obsession with them but their ongoing prevalence and virulence. Konda proves that conspiracy theories are no harmless sideshow. They are instead the dark and secret heart of American political history—one that is poisoning the bloodstream of an increasingly sick body politic.

A Lot of People Are Saying

A Lot of People Are Saying
Author: Nancy L. Rosenblum
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2020-02-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0691204756

How the new conspiracists are undermining democracy—and what can be done about it Conspiracy theories are as old as politics. But conspiracists today have introduced something new—conspiracy without theory. And the new conspiracism has moved from the fringes to the heart of government with the election of Donald Trump. In A Lot of People Are Saying, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum show how the new conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory, how it undermines democracy, and what needs to be done to resist it.

Masonry

Masonry
Author: A. Ralph Epperson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1998-03
Genre: Freemasonry
ISBN: 9780961413545

The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories

The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories
Author: M R. X. Dentith
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2024-02-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1003859054

This book presents state of the art philosophical work on conspiracy theory research that brings in sharp focus on central and important insights concerning the supposed irrationality of conspiracy theory and conspiracy theory belief, while also proposing several novel solutions to long standing issues in the broader academic debate on these things called ‘conspiracy theories’. It features a critical history of conspiracy theory theory, emphasising the role of the ‘first generation’ of philosophers in conspiracy theory research. This book also includes discussions of a range of key issues such as: What counts as conspiracy theory? Who counts as a conspiracy theorist? How are these terms variously understood by academics and the wider public, and Are conspiracy theories automatically suspect, and is it ever reasonable to be a conspiracy theorist? The book then builds upon that work by looking at how people’s political views affect both the conspiracy theories they believe and their beliefs about conspiracy theories; how we might defend conspiracy theorising without endorsing mad, bad or dangerous conspiracy theories; and contains several proposals for unifying conspiracy theory research under one theoretical framework: particularism. This volume will be a key resource for philosophers and social scientists interested in recent work on the philosophy of conspiracy theory theory and its implications for conspiracy theory research. It will also appeal to members of the public, who want to know what, if anything, is wrong with these things called “conspiracy theories”. It was originally published as a special issue of Social Epistemology.