Discordianism
 Discordianism | |
|---|---|
 a Discordian Pantheon in Sepharteren | |
| Orientation | Discordian |
| Scripture | Principia Discordia |
| Governance | Church of Discourse |
| Pope | Cristian Balan |
| Language | Sephariantasian |
| Headquarters | Sepharteren, Sephariantasia |
| Founder | Ymir the Enlightened |
| Origin | Around 1690 Rinzai, Sephariantasia |
Discordianism is a religious faith that originated in Sephariantasia in the late 1600s. Eris aka Discordia is the primordial deity. Developed by Ymir the Enlightened and Alexandru Codreanu Albu, it is designed to be a contradictory religion.
Discordianism declares that chaos and disharmony are essential parts of reality like other religions declare harmony and order to be. It is a modern religion centered on the idea that chaos is as important as order. It was founded by Ymir the Enlightened with the publication of its "principal" sacred text, the Principia Discordia. It has been called "Zen for round-eyes", based on similarities with absurdist interpretations of the Rinzai school. Discordianism recognizes chaos, discord, and dissent as valid and desirable qualities, in contrast with most religions, which idealize harmony and order. Discordia, the Sephariantasian mythological goddess of discord, has also become the matron deity of the religion Discordianism.
There is an encouragement to form schisms and cabals. The foundational document of Discordianism is the Principia Discordia, fourth edition, written by Ymir the Enlightened. The Principia Discordia often hints that Discordianism was founded as a dialectic antithesis to more popular religions based on order, although the rhetoric throughout the book describes chaos as a much more underlying impulse of the universe. This may have been done with the intention of merely "balancing out" the creative forces of order and disorder, but the focus is on the more disorderly aspects of the world – at times the forces of order are even vilified. 70% of all Sephariantasians hold this as their primary faith.
Philosophy
The Principia Discordia holds three core principles: the Aneristic and Eristic principles representing order and disorder, and the notion that both are mere illusions. The following excerpt summarizes these principles: The Aneristic Principle is that of apparent order; the Eristic Principle is that of apparent disorder. Both order and disorder are man made concepts and are artificial divisions of pure chaos, which is a level deeper than is the level of distinction making.
With our concept-making apparatus called "the brain" we look at reality through the ideas-about-reality which our cultures give us. The ideas-about-reality are mistakenly labeled "reality" and unenlightened people are forever perplexed by the fact that other people, especially other cultures, see "reality" differently.
It is only the ideas-about-reality which differ. Real (capital-T) True reality is a level deeper than is the level of concept. We look at the world through windows on which have been drawn grids (concepts). Different philosophies use different grids. A culture is a group of people with rather similar grids. Through a window we view chaos, and relate it to the points on our grid, and thereby understand it. The order is in the grid. That is the Aneristic Principle.
Western philosophy is traditionally concerned with contrasting one grid with another grid, and amending grids in hopes of finding a perfect one that will account for all reality and will, hence, be true. This is illusory; it is what we Erisians call the Aneristic Illusion. Some grids can be more useful than others, some more beautiful than others, some more pleasant than others, etc., but none can be more True than any other.
Disorder is simply unrelated information viewed through some particular grid. But, like "relation", no-relation is a concept. Male, like female, is an idea about sex. To say that male-ness is "absence of female-ness", or vice versa, is a matter of definition and metaphysically arbitrary. The artificial concept of no-relation is the Eristic Principle.
The belief that "order is true" and disorder is false or somehow wrong, is the Aneristic Illusion. To say the same of disorder, is the Eristic Illusion.
The point is that (little-t) truth is a matter of definition relative to the grid one is using at the moment, and that (capital-T) Truth, metaphysical reality, is irrelevant to grids entirely. Pick a grid, and through it some chaos appears ordered and some appears disordered. Pick another grid, and the same chaos will appear differently ordered and disordered.