-writer / philosopher-
Emile Benoit
THE BOOKS
The destiny of the higher man is not found trudging along the paths of wealth, power, and fame. He follows, instead, the trail of greater awareness so that each step along the way increases his vitality and enables him to grow intellectually, spiritually, morally and artistically in one way or another, for he knows that life is an aesthetic and intellectual experience whose goal has as its end the acquisition of wisdom rather than materials. - Benoit
Beasts in Eden
ISBN: 978-0988227712 ASIN: B01AOOH1O4
Beasts in Eden is a work of literary existentialism which does not argue for any particular theory but instead attempts to provide insight into what it means to live a unique and noble human life, the kind of existence that establishes the human being as something quite extraordinary in the natural world. In Benoit's own words: "Aristotle no less, that great philosophical classifier, grouped man as a kind of being distinct from other mammals and referred to this creature as the human being. Within this classification can be found other mundane and often irrelevant distinctions such as race, gender, politics, religion, and the like; however, an important division does exist between two distinctive types within the human personality: the humane and the inhumane. The humane is exemplified by those elements in man which uplift the spirit and demonstrate mankind to be something unique and estimable. The goal then for any individual is to daily act in such a way as to demonstrate his humanity, to show from his many actions that he is a man of character; a man possessed of reason, compassion, and understanding; a man of patience, loyalty, and resolve; a man who will not be swayed by the cynicism or exuberance of his age nor the quantity of competitors lined up against him; a man quite refined in his sensibilities, humble in his intellect, and devout in his study of the Humanities. In short, the goal is for the individual to be a "man" in the highest sense of the word. The inhumane, by contrast, dwells in the cellar of any man's potential. He is the gnarled brute that imposes his will upon the world, the beast that creeps and claws along the alleyways, and the charlatan that lies and deceives himself as well as others. These are two very distinctive species of every man's personality and whichever is fed and nurtured most will ultimately survive."
"Erudite, iconoclastic, thoughtful and thought-provoking" -- Midwest Book Review
Essays and Aphorisms on the Higher Man
ISBN-13-9780578075259 ASIN: B004F9P8VS
The writings of Emile Benoit are primarily works of moral, cultural, and religious criticism which attempt to find meaning in a world that seems completely devoid of it, and in a manner which relies on revelatory aphorisms rather than narrative deduction to make its argument. We all have been searching for meaning in our lives for as long as we have been alive. Yet, philosophy, religion, art, and politics have failed to provide us with answers to our many questions about our own personal existence. They've become, instead, institutions for profit, dogmatism, entertainment, or petty equivocation. Benoit addresses the issues that used to be of utmost importance to scholars and laymen alike: The answer to the question of how we should best live our lives.
The Artistic Perspective
ISBN-13-9780988227705 ASIN: B00A9NXEB0
One of the underlying themes of The Artistic Perspective is related to the cultivation of human character. It is a “theme” and not a “thesis” precisely because this work does not provide arguments in the traditional manner. Instead, the book offers a form of reasoning that is primarily artistic rather than theoretical in design, although there are certainly plenty of philosophical notions in the book itself. The paragraphs or stanzas of each chapter stand alone as impressionistic insights into the human condition, aphoristic in style and construction. Yet, these smaller pieces then are woven into the fabric of the larger ideas of each individual chapter. The chapters, too, are then stitched together to suggest some of the themes of the book as a whole. The pointillism of George Seurat might help illustrate this idea. Seurat painted on a huge canvas which he imbued with small, distinctive dots of pure color applied in certain patterns to form a larger image. So, if a man examines one of Seurat’s paintings up close, he will see nothing but an odd collection of colorful blobs on the canvas. However, if the same man were to step away from the painting to view it from a distance, perhaps ruminate on it awhile, he would notice the formation of recognizable images. This book is intended to be read in a similar manner, closely at first and then from something of a distance
A Midsummer Night's Hangover
ISBN-13-978-1609104665 ASIN: B01A424M02
In A Midsummer Night's Hangover, two young lovers must overcome the religious rigidity of the girl's father in order to be together. Inevitably, they must escape to the woods, fake their own deaths, and summon the devil himself for assisitance. Midsummer is a darkly comic world of magical realism inhabited by lonely dreamers, vengeful lovers, rabid feminists, and a statue that springs to life.
As a complement to the full length play, Heaven is a comedic one act that imagines a crisis in heaven wherein God himself is suffering from a creative block and must assemble the great artists of hell for inspiration.