¶3 Naturally, when we find ourselves in the presence of an idea such as that of ‘equality’, or that of ‘progress’, or of the other ‘lay dogmas’ that almost all our contemporaries accept blindly, and of which most began to be clearly formulated during the 18th century, it is not possible for us to admit that such ideas arose spontaneously.1 They are, in short, veritable ‘suggestions’2 in the strictest sense of the word, which, moreover, could produce their effect only in a milieu already prepared to receive them;3 they did not create from scratch the state of mind that characterises the modern epoch, but they contributed largely to maintaining it and developing it to a point that it would doubtless not have reached without them. If these suggestions were to vanish, the general mentality would be very close to changing its orientation; that is why they are so carefully maintained by all those who have some interest in maintaining the disorder, if not in aggravating it still further, and also why, in a time when it is claimed that everything must be submitted to discussion, they are the only things that one never permits oneself to discuss.4 Moreover, it is difficult to determine exactly the degree of sincerity of those who act as propagators of such ideas, to know to what extent certain men end up being caught by their own lies and by suggesting themselves to themselves while suggesting to others;5 and even, in propaganda of this kind, those who play the role of dupes are often the best instruments, because they bring to it a conviction that the others would have some difficulty in simulating, and which is easily contagious; but, behind all that, and at least at the origin, a much more conscious action is necessary,6 a direction that can only come from men knowing perfectly well what to think about the ideas that they thus launch into circulation. We have spoken of ‘ideas’, but it is only very improperly that this word can be applied here, for it is quite evident that there is no question at all of pure ideas,7 nor even of anything that belongs, near or far, to the intellectual order;8 they are, if you will, false ideas, but it would still be better to call them ‘pseudo-ideas’,9 destined principally to provoke sentimental reactions, which is indeed the most effective and easiest means of acting upon the masses. In this respect, moreover, the word has greater importance than the notion it is supposed to represent,10 and most modern ‘idols’ are truly nothing but words, for there occurs here that singular phenomenon known as ‘verbalism’,11 where the sonority of words suffices to give the illusion of thought; the influence that orators exercise over crowds is particularly characteristic in this respect, and one has no need to study it very closely to realise that it is indeed a procedure of suggestion entirely comparable to that of hypnotists.12
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Summary

Guénon argues that modern ideas such as ‘equality’, ‘progress’, and other ‘lay dogmas’ did not arise spontaneously but are genuine ‘suggestions’ that could only take effect in a milieu already prepared to receive them. He notes that while these suggestions did not create the modern mindset from scratch, they have greatly sustained and developed it, and their disappearance would alter the general mentality. This explains why those with an interest in maintaining disorder carefully preserve these ideas and why, in an age of claimed free discussion, they alone remain undiscussed. He questions the sincerity of propagators, noting that unwitting dupes often make the best instruments, but behind them lies a conscious direction from those who fully understand what they are doing. He clarifies that these are not true ideas or anything intellectual but ‘pseudo-ideas’ designed to provoke sentimental reactions, where the word matters more than the concept, operating through verbalism comparable to hypnotic suggestion.

General notes

  1. spontanément — Rendered as ‘spontaneously’. Guénon here opposes spontaneity (natural and disordered appearance) to the deliberate action of an occult direction. For him, modern pseudo-ideas are not born of chance or the natural evolution of societies. ↩︎
  2. « suggestions » — Rendered as ‘suggestions’. The term is taken in the technical sense of hypnosis and crowd psychology: a psychic influence that bypasses reason to act directly on affective and subconscious mechanisms. ↩︎
  3. milieu déjà préparé — Rendered as ‘milieu already prepared’. Guénon means by this the state of intellectual and spiritual disaggregation of the modern West, which has made the population receptive to these suggestions. The preparation results from a long process of de-traditionalisation. ↩︎
  4. qu’on ne se permet jamais de discuter — Rendered as ‘that one never permits oneself to discuss’. Guénon here underlines the paradox of the modern epoch: universal free discussion is proclaimed, but the ‘lay dogmas’ (equality, progress, etc.) are in reality untouchable and function as taboos. ↩︎
  5. se suggestionner eux-mêmes — Rendered as ‘suggesting themselves to themselves’. Suggestion can be reciprocal: the propagandist ends up believing his own lie. Guénon distinguishes here between conscious dupes (cynical manipulators) and sincere dupes (who truly believe what they propagate). ↩︎
  6. action beaucoup plus consciente — Rendered as ‘much more conscious action’. Guénon affirms the existence of a directing nucleus fully conscious of the falsity of the ideas it propagates, acting according to a deliberate will to disorder and blindness. ↩︎
  7. idées pures — Rendered as ‘pure ideas’. In the Platonic and traditional sense: intelligible realities, metaphysical principles accessible to the intellect. A ‘pure idea’ is an immaterial form, not a mental construct. ↩︎
  8. ordre intellectuel — Rendered as ‘intellectual order’. Guénon rigorously distinguishes the intellect (the higher faculty of direct intellection of principles) from discursive reason and affectivity. The intellectual order is that of metaphysical and initiatic knowledge. ↩︎
  9. « pseudo-idées » — Rendered as ‘pseudo-ideas’. The prefix ‘pseudo-’ indicates a fraudulent claim to ideality. A pseudo-idea is not a false idea (which is still an idea), but a verbal substitute that externally mimics the idea without having its nature. ↩︎
  10. le mot a plus d’importance que la notion — Rendered as ‘the word has greater importance than the notion’. Guénon here reverses the normal relationship between signifier and signified: in the modern universe of ‘verbalism’, words act as emotional stimuli independently of their conceptual content. ↩︎
  11. « verbalisme » — Rendered as ‘verbalism’. A pathological phenomenon of modern thought where one confuses the word with the thing, where the utterance of a term suffices to take the place of real understanding. Verbalism is the modern substitute for authentic thought. ↩︎
  12. procédé de suggestion comparable à ceux des hypnotiseurs — Rendered as ‘procedure of suggestion comparable to that of hypnotists’. Guénon explicitly links modern propaganda to hypnotic techniques: rhythmic repetition, authority of the voice, suspension of critical judgment. The crowd is to the orator what the hypnotised subject is to the hypnotist. ↩︎