G. Hackenschmidt as a philosopher

As a philosopher, Georg Hackenschmidt analyses how the rhythmic energy of the universe manifests itself in every individual organism, how balance can be achieved within oneself, between people, and between humans and the environment, and what factors influence this. How do time and space influence our understanding of these fundamental principles, and what role do human consciousness, memory, character and intuition play in this? These are just a few, but significant, keywords that serve as guiding principles for understanding G.H.’s philosophy.

What makes G.H.’s approach rare and valuable is, above all, that his entire analysis – despite its rather complex formulation – is based on deeply felt personal experiences, and that his works, which analyse the energy and rhythm of the universe as a whole and, through this, the interaction between human beings and their surrounding environment, are not intended merely as philosophical discourse, but have a clear didactic purpose – explaining the principles and methods that people can apply in their daily lives – in order to make their lives more fulfilling and their relationships with both their fellow human beings and the environment more harmonious.

Within the framework of Western philosophy, it is neither possible – nor, in fact, necessary – to classify G.H.’s philosophical works under any particular school or movement. His texts are not always easy to read and understand, as, in the absence of suitable terms to convey his ideas, he has ascribed a different range of meanings to a number of English terms (most of his philosophical works are written in English). Although G.H. makes no reference to any Eastern teachings in his works, an understanding of the cosmology of Ancient India and, perhaps in particular, Ancient China—which deals in detail with the nature and functioning of the all-pervading energy qi in the universe and at the level of the individual, as well as the interactions and counter-interactions between them.

G.H. has written: "I learned that the human bodily System is inseparably linked with the Energy and Rhythm of the Cosmos, and that in Its perfect state human behaviour is dominated by this Energy and Rhythm. The acceptance of this basic principle and the comprehension of the further issues that follow upon it constitute the first necessity of truthful improvement." (G.H. „Man and Cosmic Antagonism to Mind and Spirit“:10)

The renowned American professor of psychology, Harold Kelly, characterised G.H.’s philosophy in a letter to George Bernard Shaw as follows: “

“I could probably highlight the most important points … by summarising, in very general terms, the key points of G.H.’s philosophy:

1. It observes and analyses the cosmos through Energy and Rhythm.

2. It defines the human being as the expression of a certain set of cosmic energy.

3. It defines four states of human life."

THE PERFECT STATE OR WORLD OF TRUTH-ABSOLUTE
is the sate of Human life where man represents a cosmically dominated psychical entity, expressing perfect harmony and symmetry. The Potency of Cosmic Energy represented by the human entity has absolute freedom of expression.

THE WORLD OF RELATIVE TRUTH
is the sate of Human life where the human being represents a dualism of the psychical and the physical. The human being no longer represents a perfect internal harmony in his bodily cell-system, nor an absolutely harmonious factor in the environment.

THE WORLD OF APPARENT TRUTH
is the state where the decadence of the human bodily cell-system has advanced beyond the stage where the human being is able to cope with his environment by menas of his intrinsic qualities and attributes. To maintain himself in his inferiority to the environment he mus supplement his own resources by relying upon compensations taken from the environment.

THE WORLD OF UNTRUTH
is the state where the human bodily cell-system has been contaminated beyond the stage of decadence and is degenerate. The human being is unable to establish either a truthful equality with the environment out of his own intrinsic resources, or an apparent eequality with the enviornment by means of his ow intrinsic resources supplementd by the compensations to which his bodily condition determines him, or his acquired memories direct him.
(G.H. „Man and Cosmic Antagonism to Mind and Spirit“)

The letter continues:

“Defining the cosmos through the concepts of Energy and Rhythm requires a somewhat more thorough abstract analysis, which I need not focus on at length here. These hypotheses do not contradict science or common sense … The main thrust of the hypothesis is that, in reality, there is only one form of energy – cosmic energy.” (Harold Kelly to G.B. Shaw, 9 July 1943: from a lecture by Prof. Jan Todd, 2011).

G. H. has written: "Perfection is not a point outside of ourselves which must be reached. It is a state within ourselves which must be freed." (G.H. „Man and Cosmic Antagonism to Mind and Spirit“:256).

In addition, you can read R. Langsepp’s presentation at the conference ‘Science, Sport and Medicine X’ on Thursday, 9 November 2017, at the Dorpat Conference Centre in Tartu, which focused primarily on the philosophy of G.H.