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Robert Anton Wilson or R. A. W. (born January 18, 1932) is a futurologist, libertarian, and author of the Schrödinger's Cat trilogy (1979), a complex spoof of conspiracy theories.
His best-known work, co-authored with Robert Shea, is The Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975), which humorously examined American paranoia about conspiracies. These books mix true information with imaginative fiction to engage the reader in what Wilson called "Operation Mindfuck". (Much of the odder material was derived from letters sent to Playboy magazine while Shea and Wilson were working as editors there.) It was advertised as "A fairy tale for paranoids." Although Shea and Wilson never partnered on such a scale again, Wilson has continued to expand upon the themes of the Illuminatus! books throughout his writing career.
In (1977), he made Discordianism, Sufism, Futurology, the Illuminati and other esoteric or counter-culture philosophies accessible to larger audiences. He is also a proponent of Timothy Leary's eight-circuit brain model and neurosomatic/lingustic engineering, which he writes about in Prometheus Rising (original copy 1977, most recent 1997) and Quantum Psychology (1990), books of practical techniques to break free of one's "reality tunnels". With Leary he helped promote the futurist ideas of space migration, life extension, and intelligence enhancement technologies; he is arguably a more cogent and persuasive exponent of Leary's "imprinting circuit" theory of psychological development than Leary was himself.
Other fiction books by Wilson include The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles (recently republished) - The Earth Will Shake (1982), The Widow's Son (1985), and Nature's God (1991) (a fourth volume has been promised for years) - and the screenplay Reality Is What You Can Get Away With (1996). His nonfiction books include Quantum Psychology, The New Inquisition (1994), and two other volumes of Cosmic Trigger. He co-wrote (1998), an encyclopedia of conspiracy theories, with Miriam Joan Hill.
Ironically, considering Wilson has long lampooned and criticized new age beliefs, his books can often be found in bookstores specializing in new age material.
In a 2003 interview with High Times magazine, R.A.W. described himself as a "Model Agnostic" - a term physicists use to describe someone who is not entirely committed to any one model of how the world works. Wilson says that he is the first to apply this to the social sciences.
R.A.W. is the American director of the Committee for Surrealist Investigation of Claims of the Normal (CSICON).
You can watch R.A.W interviews here (http://www.rinf.com/articles/infinity-factory.html).
Bibliography
- Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words (1972)
- (1973)
- The Sex Magicians (1973)
- The Book of the Breast (1974)
- The Illuminatus! Trilogy (with Robert Shea) (1975)
- The Eye in the Pyramid
- The Golden Apple
- Leviathan
-
- Neuropolitics (1978) (with Timothy Leary and George Koopman)
- The Illuminati Papers (1980)
- Schrödinger's Cat trilogy(1980-1981)
- The Universe Next Door
- The Trick Top Hat
- The Homing Pigeon
- Masks of the Illuminati (1981)
- Right Where You Are Sitting Now (1983)
- The Historical Illuminati Chronicles:
- The Earth Will Shake (1983)
- The Widow's Son (1985)
- Nature's God (1991)
- Prometheus Rising (1983)
- The New Inquisition (1986)
- Wilhelm Reich in Hell (1987)
- Natural Law or Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy (1987)
- Coincidence (1988)
- Neuropolitique (1988) (with Leary & Koopman) [Neuropolitics überarbeitet]
- Ishtar Rising (1989) [Überabeitete Version von The Book of the Breast]
- Quantum Psychology (1990)
- Cosmic Trigger II (1991)
- (1992)
- (1994)
- Cosmic Trigger III (1995)
- The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1997)
- Everything Is Under Control (1998)
- (2002)
- Tale of the Tribe (Yet to be published)
See also
External links and references
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Robert Anton Wilson
- Wilson maintains his own website (http://www.rawilson.com/main.shtml), which includes thoughts of the month, jokes, and many links to obscure and informative Internet sites.
- Documentary movie about Robert Anton Wilson maybe logic - The Lives and Ideas of Robert Anton Wilson (http://www.maybelogic.com/)
- BlackCrayon.com: People: Robert Anton Wilson (http://www.BlackCrayon.com/people/RAW/)
- Wilson and Miriam Joan Hill also maintain Blackops (http://www.cruzio.com/~blackops), a website of conspiracies which invites visitors to add their own.
- Robert Anton Wilson Online Library (http://www.deepleafproductions.com/wilsonlibrary/index.htm) - has every RAW interview and text on the web.
- Smoley, Richard and Jay Kinney, "Doubt!: The Gnosis Interview with Robert Anton Wilson", Gnosis No. 50 (Winter 1999).
- Krassner, Paul, A Paul Krassner Interview With R. A. W (http://www.newfalcon.com/author_articles/wilson_interview_pk_a.htm) - High Times, 2003.
- Wilson, Robert Anton booklist from New Falcon Publications (http://www.newfalcon.com/alpha_by_author.htm#Wilson)
- Robert Anton Wilson's political party (http://www.gunsanddope.com/)
- Maybe Logic Academy (http://www.maybelogic.org) offers online courses and a forum with regular posts from Bob himself!
- Robert Anton Wilson Archive (http://www.rinf.com/articles/robert-anton-wilson.html) Hundreds of media files including video, audio, interviews and links.
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