Man And Nature [Mensch En Natuur]

Summary of “Man and Nature: A Mystical Worldview”

General Overview

Schoenmaekers presents a mystical philosophy of nature grounded in what he calls doordacht-artistieke of mystische ziening (“reflective-artistic or mystical perception”). He argues that the universe (the Kosmos) is pure movement, and that human consciousness mirrors the same cosmic laws of creation, polarity, and unity.

His method (outlined in the Foreward) rests on two “laws of thought”:

1.     Listen openly to the inherent meaning of life-words until the Life that created them speaks through them.

2.     Open the imagination to nature’s forms until the observer experiences the unity of form and content.

I. Van Leven en Sterven – On Life and Death

·       Distinguishes three human types: the Koningsmensch (King-Man), the Held (Hero), and the ordinary man.

·       True death (“sterven”) is complete surrender to Life, unlike mere “decay” (aftakelen) or “passing under” (ondergaan).

·       The Koningsmensch dies consciously, in perfect obedience to the universal Life; death becomes a creative act, not an end.

·       Reality is divided between objects (things), which flow and perish, and the subject (“Ik”), which is eternal and unchanging.

·       The “personality” (persoonlijkheid) is the unmoved mover (after Aristotle) — the divine principle that animates all movement.

II. Van het Kosmische Kruis – On the Cosmic Cross

·       The Cross is the archetypal symbol of the whole cosmos, representing four fundamental cosmic movements:

1.     Vertical – space, evolution, origin, masculine, light.

2.     Horizontal – time, causality, feminine, sound.

3.     Radiative – life, love, plastic form, embodiment.

4.     Cross (diagonal/synthetic) – evolution, reproduction, structure, gravity and heat.

·       Together, they form the Kruis as the universal diagram of existence.

·       The Koningsmensch dies on the cosmic cross: he is crucified between time and space, transcending both to become pure Life.

III. Van Kosmische Scheiding en Hereeniging – On Cosmic Separation and Reunion

·       All radiation divides into vertical and horizontal movements that reunite to form new radiation.

·       This law governs both astronomy (Sun → Earth → Moon) and human nature.

·       The sexes mirror this cosmic law:

o   Woman = horizontal (time, continuity, reproduction, tradition, music).

o   Man = vertical (space, origin, creativity, architecture).

·       Love reunites these two cosmic polarities.

·       True reconciliation between man and woman is only achieved in death, where both merge in the eternal Subject beyond time and space.

IV. Van het Wezen der Natuurvormen – On the Essence of Natural Forms

·       Form and content are one in nature (vorm en inhoud zijn één).

·       Understanding a form requires perceiving it as movement rather than as static structure.

·       Schoenmaekers develops four “laws of form”:

1.     Spherical form – the natural form of every free mass.

2.     Crystalline form – arises when a free mass loses internal freedom.

3.     Egg form – the intermediate or organic stage between freedom and fixation.

4.     Organic structure – the synthesis of all, showing the living unity of inner and outer motion.

V. Van het Wezen der Natuurverschijnselen – On the Essence of Natural Phenomena

·       Phenomena are surface movements — the visible manifestation of inner motion.

·       Electricity, gravity, and heat are expressions of the cosmic cross in matter.

·       The scientist observes facts (inzage), but only the mystic-artist attains true inzicht — insight into the unity of all appearances.

VI. De Geest en zijn Schoonheid – The Spirit and its Beauty

·       Spirit (Geest) is the creative unity behind all opposites.

·       Beauty is the harmony of movement through which Spirit becomes visible.

·       The human calling is to realize the unity of Spirit and Nature — to become conscious co-creator of the cosmic order.

·       Artistic creation is the most direct revelation of the divine structure of reality.

✦ Essential Ideas

·       The cosmos is movement — everything flows (Heraclitus).

·       Personality (Ik) is the still centre — the divine Subject.

·       Death is the act of returning from object to subject.

·       Form and motion are one; the artist and mystic reveal their unity.

·       Sexuality and cosmic polarity (male/female, time/space) are universal structures, not moral categories.

·       The Cross is the key symbol of cosmic order, synthesis, and redemption.