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pila nigra – Intraductio
(The Black Pill – Introduction)
Truth changeth not; this is the very definition of truth. Man suffers because he does not understand himself, and whenever he is wounded by life he begins to ask the ancient questions. He seeks answers, and when he finds them, he tests them against the world. This present work is meant to serve as such a test — a beginning, a middle, and an end — a codification of what I call the black pill: a body of principles concerning human nature, suffering, desire, and the limits of hope.
In our age man has lost faith: faith in himself, in his society, and in the possibility of affection or stability. He desires to know why he suffers, yet the explanations given to him are shallow: “You had bad karma,” “You have disobeyed God,” “You do not labor enough to overcome pain.” These answers no longer satisfy. Therefore we must return to the old questions that haunted the ancient mind and give them, if not final answers, then at least honest ones. Whether what follows is correct, incomplete, or destined to be revised matters less than the pursuit of clarity regarding man’s future, his image, and his understanding of himself.
Religion, in its attempt to explain reality, often hides its deeper meanings from the public. What is offered exoterically are mere summaries: “Believe in Christ and the afterlife,” “Submit to Allah, the Most Merciful.” But no man wishes to accept a fate he does not comprehend. Thus I admit this work is emotionally charged, for it deals with the wounds that have left countless men bewildered — the wounds of rejection, of lovelessness, of failure, and of lives lived in quiet confusion.
I make no claim to sainthood nor infallibility. I write as one who lives and breathes as you do, dear reader. The form of this work will follow, in part, the Catholic tradition: creeds, a catechism of ideas, and fundamental principles. It will recount the stories and patterns of those men whose longing for love defeated them, broke them, or cast them into a misery they never fully understood.
The method shall be threefold:
(1) adherence, where possible, to verifiable scientific fact;
(2) application of philosophical logic;
(3) acknowledgement of the religious and existential dimension of suffering.
The aim is simple: to analyze human nature — its animal origins, its rational aspirations, its emotional contradictions — and to present conclusions that any thoughtful reader may examine for himself.
Where logic is needed, it will be supplied:
Example A
If all men are mortal,
and Socrates is a man,
Therefore Socrates is mortal.
Similarly, moral or anthropological truths may be expressed as axioms:
Example B
When morality increases, freedom increases.
When morality decreases, freedom decreases.
Or as observations grounded in biology:
Example C
The human brain contains the reptilian and mammalian complexes, responsible for survival and social behavior, and the neocortex, responsible for higher cognition.
Such statements are demonstrable, reasonable, and open to scrutiny.
I end this introduction with gratitude: to those who have treated me with fairness, and to the Catholic world, which has preserved an immense treasury of knowledge and allowed a petty man like me to drink from its wells.
(The Black Pill – Introduction)
Truth changeth not; this is the very definition of truth. Man suffers because he does not understand himself, and whenever he is wounded by life he begins to ask the ancient questions. He seeks answers, and when he finds them, he tests them against the world. This present work is meant to serve as such a test — a beginning, a middle, and an end — a codification of what I call the black pill: a body of principles concerning human nature, suffering, desire, and the limits of hope.
In our age man has lost faith: faith in himself, in his society, and in the possibility of affection or stability. He desires to know why he suffers, yet the explanations given to him are shallow: “You had bad karma,” “You have disobeyed God,” “You do not labor enough to overcome pain.” These answers no longer satisfy. Therefore we must return to the old questions that haunted the ancient mind and give them, if not final answers, then at least honest ones. Whether what follows is correct, incomplete, or destined to be revised matters less than the pursuit of clarity regarding man’s future, his image, and his understanding of himself.
Religion, in its attempt to explain reality, often hides its deeper meanings from the public. What is offered exoterically are mere summaries: “Believe in Christ and the afterlife,” “Submit to Allah, the Most Merciful.” But no man wishes to accept a fate he does not comprehend. Thus I admit this work is emotionally charged, for it deals with the wounds that have left countless men bewildered — the wounds of rejection, of lovelessness, of failure, and of lives lived in quiet confusion.
I make no claim to sainthood nor infallibility. I write as one who lives and breathes as you do, dear reader. The form of this work will follow, in part, the Catholic tradition: creeds, a catechism of ideas, and fundamental principles. It will recount the stories and patterns of those men whose longing for love defeated them, broke them, or cast them into a misery they never fully understood.
The method shall be threefold:
(1) adherence, where possible, to verifiable scientific fact;
(2) application of philosophical logic;
(3) acknowledgement of the religious and existential dimension of suffering.
The aim is simple: to analyze human nature — its animal origins, its rational aspirations, its emotional contradictions — and to present conclusions that any thoughtful reader may examine for himself.
Where logic is needed, it will be supplied:
Example A
If all men are mortal,
and Socrates is a man,
Therefore Socrates is mortal.
Similarly, moral or anthropological truths may be expressed as axioms:
Example B
When morality increases, freedom increases.
When morality decreases, freedom decreases.
Or as observations grounded in biology:
Example C
The human brain contains the reptilian and mammalian complexes, responsible for survival and social behavior, and the neocortex, responsible for higher cognition.
Such statements are demonstrable, reasonable, and open to scrutiny.
I end this introduction with gratitude: to those who have treated me with fairness, and to the Catholic world, which has preserved an immense treasury of knowledge and allowed a petty man like me to drink from its wells.