In the Introduction to the book 'The Making of a Serial Killer' Mr. Wilson mentions briefly an idea about "the dominant five percent" of the population in refererence to I assume aggressive type personalities who end up in the higher strata of civic, cultural and political arenas. I am interested to know if this idea is covered any where else in his work or any one else's that might be available. My interest is not in the nature of social Darwinism but the suppossed make up of this five percent group and how he came upon this figure.
In response to the above: I'm familiar with Wilson's idea of the "dominant five percent," although I don't think that he necessarily means people who are merely aggressive. What he really means are those with a certain attitude & intellectual bent which alienates them from the spirit of their society and times, but who also, in exceptional cases, become the driving force for change. These people are sometimes aggressive, and sometimes end up occupying important social positions, but neither is a given. Wilson terms these people "outsiders." As I haven't read the introduction you're talking about, I'm not sure if this is what he meant, but in the context of his other work this is probably right. In this case then any of Wilson's philosophical work would cover this idea.
Books you may want to check out first are THE OUTSIDER (his most famous book), or A CRIMINAL HISTORY OF MANKIND, which discusses this idea specifically in the context of criminal behavior. THE ESSENTIAL COLIN WILSON also provides a good starting point for his most important ideas. In these books you would find out more about what Wilson means by "the outsider," and why there are so few of them out there. I wouldn't call this idea "social Darwinism," as Wilson has frequently said that the strong do not always necessarily dominate the weak, although the Outsider concept is definitely linked with Wilson's belief that this 5% is the leading front of an imminent leap in human evolution.
I wouldn't say that this idea is unique or original to Wilson, however...a fact which is made apparent by the sources he cites in his books. You will find similar ideas in thinkers such as Nietzsche, Dostoevsky and Hesse, for instance.
Wilson fans,
Just finished From Atlantis to the Sphinx, sort of a rehash of recent writings from other authors that Wilson has digested and funneled into a theory that the Earth has had older inhabitants with sophisticated civilizations (not necessarily from outer space!) and that the Pyramids in both the Old and New Worlds were built with technology that we still can't track or fathom, and that our present beliefs about Ancient Egypt in particular are flawed.
Not a bad book, but of course he has no ultimate solution -- just more questions.
I like Wilson's philosophic stuff, but I do wish he'd do more fiction.
Groucho
You may or not be aware that Colin Wilson was most probably a Sufi student of Idries Shah, who in print and on tape has mentioned Wilson in respects to this. He was probably first introduced to Shah thru his work "The Sufis" published in the mid 60's. Interestingly, Shah passed away one year ago this week.
The reference to Wilson by Shah that first comes to mind is on a tape put out by the ISHK Book Service (they can be reached at www.sufis.org). It is one tape in a series called "An Advanced Psychology" and if memory serves me, Shah mentions Wilson as an example of a "Westener" who is said to have had Sufi contacts--or something close. I will try to find the exact reference and let you know the title of the tape (there are about 20 audio tapes total, several of them by Shah and these were made about 12-15 years ago). I do recall that it was a lecture given in the U.S. that the reference was made. Sorry that this is fairly dis-jointed, however, one small interesting note is that the book "The People of the Secret" by Ernst Scott, which is carried by ISHK has an introduction by Colin Wilson. Don't know if any of this is helpful....
You might also want to consider the more common nerve agents found in molds and mildew, and thier spores. These also affect the mind. The most common being Candida Alibicans a type of fungus or yeast. Given that every living organisms first motivation is survival ... when challanged the "parasite" invokes responses in the mind and emotions to "get" the desired "food" it seeks.
just a thought
My favorite book in "Mysteries" I have re-read it more times than I can count. IT is in perpetual reread actually. So, I have a question for you if you are familiar with the book, do you have any idea if anything by Lethebridge is in print besides the Pendulum book?
I'm wondering if anyone in this discussion group could give a short synopsis or critque of Wilson's Origins of the Sexual Impulse. I'm considering launching a hunt for this book, as it seems to be out of print, and would appreciate some comments from those more knowledgeable of Colin's works. I see that his biorgrapher has placed this book on the "must read" list, so my curiousity is piqued even more.
I wonder what Wilson would have done with Nietzsche's work had it been properly presented. Most of the stuff that Wilson probably read of Nietzsche was ill translated and not complete. Since Walter Kaufmann's deep study into Nietzsche to date, many revelations regarding what Nietzsche's sister edited or witheld from the original manuscripts have come to light. A totally new, and different meaning is being seen in what Nietzsche had thought, and it is safe to say that 80 to 90 percent of what has thus far been interpreted of him is bogus.
It is exciting that as we near the 100 year anniversary of his death, his true thoughts are finally being realized. The 'will to power' is exactly what Wilson's search has been for.
Gerald James
In response to Gerald's message above:
Yes, I myself wonder what Wilson's acquaintance with Nietzsche was/is. At the time that he wrote The Outsider, the only translation of Nietzsche that was available was Oscar Levy's, which, in addition to being unreliable in itself, was based upon the manuscripts which Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth got ahold of and abused to her own racialist ends. However, being as well-read as he clearly is, I'm sure that Wilson is aware of Kaufmann's translations and of the ever-present debate about the "true" Nietzsche. Also, certain remarks he has made has led me to believe that Wilson may know German, which would seem to indicate that he has read Nietzsche in the original German. Can anyone confirm/deny this?
I also agree that the current state of Nietzsche studies is quite exciting. We are closer to a "true" Nietzsche than ever before, thanks to the labor of scholars all over the world. There is also underway a complete translation of the Montinari edition of Nietzsche's work, which, in addition to being a much more reliable edition of Nietzsche's work, will also present a much more complete version than has been previously available in English.
I also believe that Wilson is one of the few philosophers to answer the call which Nietzsche issued over 100 years ago. Wilson not only has shown his willingness to venture into those areas which still remain forbidden to mainstream philosophers, but also represents a truly life-affirming attitude which the current crop of postmodernists surely are not working towards, despite their veneration of Nietzsche.