Aside from what was written about journalism in his introduction to Meetings with Remarkable Men (see p. 14-28), Mr. Gurdjieff writes more broadly, through the character of an unnamed intelligent elderly Persian, about the subject of literature. I’ve gathered only some brief notes here from the material. I do recommend reading the book for yourself; there is a PDF version at the Gurdjieff Work Library. I have also added a personal note after the notes.

Purpose of Literature

• Contemporary civilization is an empty and abortive interval for the process of perfecting humanity. Contemporary civilization serves no purpose but the pursuit of pleasure and is only dimly aware, if at all, that in the past, its purpose was self-perfection. Self-perfection is not the same as the contemporary idea of self-improvement, but that is another subject.
• In respect to the development of the mind, one of the chief means is literature. This may surprise some who—although they purport to be familiar with Gurdjieff—believe that literature is useless for any development. Continue reading →

In the process of gathering what Mr. Gurdjieff wrote about journalism and journalists, I’ve put together some brief notes from Meetings with Remarkable Men p. 18-28 on just what he wrote on the subject:

• Journalism is a fundamental evil that exerts a poisonous influence on mutual relations among people today and offers nothing whatsoever to the development of the mind.

Continue reading →