by Abdel-Masih Wazir
6 page lecture notes

(Alternative link: http://abboudiwazir.lege.net/inanna.html)

From Inanna To the Internet and beyond
From Mesopotamia to tomorrow, and the day after

1. Inanna
2. Timat
2a. The Mesopotamian Me versus the Egyptian Maat and the biblical Ma’al (God’s realm)
3. Genesis
4. The Greeks- an obstacle for human thinking.  Socrates argumentation, Plato’s absolutism, Aristotle’s definitions.
5. In hoc signo vincis. Kaiser Konstantinus (In this sign shall ye conquer)
6. The Satanic verses
7. Martin Luther
8. In the 70s. When asked if there was a god, a computer replied: "Yes, now there is!"
9. The Exorcist… "Evil came out of Mesopotamia".

Cyberspace- an egalitarian meeting place

Not to repeat the historical mistake of choking off information flow for people, but to allow the understanding of the old Mesopotamian myths to guide us (in)to the future.

INANNA and the god of wisdom

The myth of the goddess Inanna is about 5,500 years old.  The name and symbol are connected to the Sumerians but probably originated from a pre-Sumerian people, Ubaid.  Ubaid settled southern Mesopotamia (now called Iraq) before the Sumerians.  The basic theme of the myth is that the goddess Inanna, after affirming her sexuality, visited and tricked her grandfather, the god of knowledge Enki, into giving her the essence of civilization called me (pronounced may).  These me, of which godship is one, she gives to the common people to steward and explore.  The effect of giving man these me meant that he could become god if he desired but he had to take the good with the bad, the me of the joy of life as well as the me of war [c.f the Standard of Ur, now at the British Museum].  This idea of releasing secrets and knowledge was probably the fundament for the development of Mesopotamian society and its creation of the tools of civilization; the wheel, writing, mathematics, Law etc.  When the goddess’ power declined, so did the idea of the free sharing of knowledge; the de-mystification of knowledge was reversed.

The Inanna Principle, (a term I coined) is a concept that will lead from neuroses to realism in dealing with the uncertainty of the future.  Technology now allows us to realize the ancient dream of achieving a universal information matrix which will embrace all.

Enuma Elish-TIAMAT; the primordial mother, "she who gave birth to all".  She is the essence of salt water, of Primeval Chaos.  Her husband, the god Apsu (of fresh water), wanted to silence the younger gods who were disturbing the older gods with their racket.  She would not lend her support to forcefully quiet these creative younger gods who were disturbing the sleep of the older ones.  She was not against the tide of change in the world of the gods.  Reacting as a protective mother to her husband she complains: "What, should we destroy what we have given birth to?  Their ways indeed are most troublesome but let us be patient (Abed: tolerant of their chaos)"

- The first negative milestone in development: Enuma Elish, which means ‘When in high’, known as the Babylon Myth of Creation.  At the same time a step backwards for free thought took place about a thousand years later.  The myth introduces the god Mardokh as the representative of the male gods.  The young gods were full of enthusiasm and life and noisy.  The goddess Tiamat understood the young gods and thought that they should be tolerated and left alone.  Tiamat is then accused by Mardokh of illegally exercising her authority which led to Tiamat becoming angry.  This was used by Mardokh as ‘casus belli’ and the ensuing fight led to the slaughter of Tiamat and of her body which was used to create Heaven and the Earth.  Her eyes became the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers (the Arabic word Ein, meaning the source of a river, a spring or an eye).  Thus a patriarchal hierarchy of the gods was introduced and the control of chaos and the power over creation, was once again the domain of the Gods.

Genesis, and the tree of knowledge – The loss of two thousand years of human intellectual development
-The other milestone, (millstone).  The curse that befell woman and man because of their curiosity and their seeking of knowledge which the god of the Old Testament forbade.  Here God is the opposite of Inanna, he limits access to knowledge and curses Adam and Eve for eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  [Footnote: The Sumerian fruit of knowledge was the date fruit.  Incidentally, the word 'apple' does not appear in Genesis].  Thrown out of Eden, Woman shall give birth in pain, enmity between the offspring of women and serpents…….. and upon the original sin.  This idea then carried on into Christianity And Islam.  This milestone together with Timat have led to years of lost development.  (2,000 years).

From homo sapiens to homo cyberius – Homo Cyberius nomadus…
(in case of cyberius interruptus)

Now we have the Internet, with the possibility for better (real) spread of knowledge.  At the same time, there is in this fast development a possible scenario of chaos and the threat of intervention in the form of cyberius interruptus, i.e. the powers that be: political and economic, would try to strangle the free flow of information.  Therefore it gives one heart to know that some IT gurus now say that they are for this freedom and that knowledge should be available to all on the net.  To share knowledge and information was the mythological basis for the creation of the tools of civilization.

What can we learn from old (Mesopotamian) myths that will stop us from repeating the historical mistake of choking information flow.  What can we learn from the concept of godship, i.e. that man will take over and take back his own created myths; that nature will no longer be the determinant factor in the evolutionary process; that man will assume the role of Creator.  What can we learn from the Inanna Principle?

- The state in Mesopotamia and elsewhere did not want to relinquish power over information as Inanna wanted, however many did not want to have knowledge or take the responsibility that comes with it…
- IP.  Can be used in Cyberspace to help us base ourselves firmly, i.e. we are in cyberspace and create new myths, can we center ourselves and at the same time create myths without losing ourselves?
The space and field of tension, polarities, ideas that the different me gives man can help us use ourselves as a generator.  To be creative in and enjoy cyberspace without losing ourselves in it.  That is why we will not lose ourselves in William Gibson’s consensus-based hallucination and what we call virtual reality.  We create in the external with intelligent machines, and draw power and ideas from the internal, which is ourselves, through the Inanna Principle and the field of tension it creates.  By becoming what we were we can reconnect to the fruitful past that was the basis of our civilization and that gives us possibilities for further development.
- The conflict between those who have the rights, copyrights, patents as a driving force for the individual on the one hand and the interest of society in spreading knowledge to as many as possible so that they may benefit and develop ideas and form a kind of ‘knowledge bank’ on the other.

Freedom: a must or demand?

The lecture was about the link between old Mesopotamian mythology with freedom of knowledge as the basis for tomorrow’s (IT) world.  The goddess Inanna is a Mesopotamian goddess that pre-dates the Old Testament, unlike later religions.  This Mesopotamian mythology gave mankind Free Knowledge (stewardship) to build a society that rapi
dly developed the wheel, the sail, mathematics, a written script and the concept of law, among others.  These are all concepts that originated in Mesopotamia at the time that the goddess Inanna was the highest mythological aspect.  The lecture highlights the historical perspective of the battle between free knowledge and power structures.  When we say power structure, we mean the institutional rules who established and sought to maintain control over the early city-states and ultimately what those states evolved into, which are regions and countries.

The 3,500 years since the myth of Inanna was the prevailing belief in Mesopotamia are characterized by the wish to control information in all its forms.  From Inanna through the myth of Tiamat and the Old Testament curse of the Tree of Knowledge to today’s freedom of information.

One can historically show that periods of greater information flow are times of greater economic and intellectual growth.  Since the Catholic papacy sought control over worldly and heavenly matters in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Western world has moved towards wresting the control of information from the Catholic church and concentrating it in the hands of the secular rulers.  From Martin Luther, via Spinoza to the trend towards the separation of church and state.

Today different people and institutions seek to control cryptography, Internet morality and military secrecy.  This at a time when we have just witnessed the control-fanatic Soviet state bankrupt itself trying to compete.  States that exercise strict control over information flow cannot provide an environment that will foster creativity and, in turn, produce economic gains and improve the standard of living of its citizens.

The question is whether one wants to live in a strictly controlled, materially poor society, or in a freer society with all the dangers that go hand in hand with that freedom.  It is a similar choice to that of joining a monastery and sacrificing ones material welfare.  It is whether one can convince or force a whole society to join a monastery and then keep them there….  Is freedom a choice?

The question of freedom’s and democracy’s material profitability can be historically deduced (QED).  The difference today is that the speed of information flow and creative development is so fast that the consequences and negative effects of control soon become evident in cases where attempts are made to control this process….  Is freedom a must-have?

An important point in the future is how we can accept responsibility for our freedom.  To develop our capacity in the best possible way to benefit from it.  What dangers or threats are there if freedom becomes unlimited and as a consequence actions are unpredictable and uncontrollable?  What is the worst that can happen to mankind if there is no control?  Is there really any threat from Cyberspace?

As with so many other historical cultures that have been rediscovered, the myth of the goddess Inanna has a message of current interest in these times of an Internet based world with its uncontrollable spread of information.  What can we learn of 100 me that Inanna gave mankind, the attributes and secrets of civilization, of which Godship was one?

What does one mean by "from Homo Sapiens to Homo Cyberius to Homo Cyberius Nomadus?"

  • We have reached the stage in our development where our intellectual capacity exceeds our ability to control the fruits of that capacity and what springs from it.
  • IT can become more than what you want or imagine
  • We will have to find new ways of relating to it and relating it to our lives.  We need a new way of thinking about it, a new mythology for it.  It is a humbling experience.
  • Do we have a choice other than to plunge into this new way of thinking?
  • Are there minds today that can predict the future.
  • Is there a precedent?  Yes there is: IP!
  • "No choice but freedom" take a dive into the unknown.  A leap of faith.
  • The species that we are now will not allow us to develop into a more advanced species..into god!
  • Is man made for civilization, even when it is beyond his control?
  • We need not know, i.e. IP Vortex..  But not we should not know, as in the Old Testament.  See the Tree of Knowledge.  We have paid the price anyway; we have been thrown out of Eden.
  • Is Cyberius Interruptus possible?- Identity and cyberspace..
  • Probably the only way to know what is beyond our current frontier is to be in that space, and experience it.
  • Cyberspace will change us in more ways than one.
  • Ignorance may be bliss for man, but is it so for his survival?
  • As with the myth of Inanna, "you take it all or nothing!", i.e. The good with the bad.
  • IP is the concept of Active Balance..(dynamic, interactive, balance as you go/ happen), not the Static Balance (homeostasis)
  • The concept of evolving beyond God: Godship was one of about 100 me that Inanna gave Man.
  • Amongst those who have a choice there will be those who will choose to opt out (of playing god, of developing further) and they might stop the rest of humanity.
  • 2,000 years of lost development.
  • How can we, must we modify ourselves?
  • We have reached the stage in our development where our intellect, with the help of technology, is about to surpass our capacity for control.
  • Is this inertia or fear of the unknown?
  • If we don’t process information, will we lose the capacity to think (well).  As technology advances, it will be capable of taking on more tasks, from simple labor to processing of info.
  • See Ford, Maslow (footnote follows).  Do we need to fully understand our creations in order to use them?
  • We need freedom (and IP) to navigate the knowledge space.  Without freedom we lose control of cyberspace.  There are those who will argue whether that freedom is necessary.
  • If we cannot stop the onrushing tomorrow.. let us learn to ride the unknown.
  • It is collective intelligence, maelstrom of ideas, and not the archetype.  Minds connect over the Internet and come up with new ideas….  Not so individual ideas.
  • Inanna was the idea of collective intelligence, and now we have the technology for collective intelligence.
  • Is Power afraid of Collective intelligence, for whatever reason, and will freedom and development be the price mankind pays for it?
  • (Snow Crash) Chapter 56, page 395: "The me were like little programs for humans." And Gods!
  • This decryption of the ancient texts and the explanation of these myths is due to excavations and research that has come to light during the 20th century.
  • Is the Inanna Principle, concept and history, beyond nowadays Mesopotamians?…  And if so, why?

For those interested in futher reading, I recommend the following book which explains the myth and the history in an accessible manner:

Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Prof. Samuel Noah Kramer

Harper & Row Publishers, 1983 (paperback)

Abdel-Masih Wazir
Stockholm
6 page lecture notes