A Private Interpretation of Reality: Heraclitus and OCD, with a Bergsonian Twist The world of the waking [koinos kosmos] is one and shared, but the sleeping turn aside each into his private world [idios kosmos] — Heraclitus of Ephesus The pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus presents us with a contrast between the koinos kosmos or shared world that is accessible to those who are awake, and the idios kosmos, which is the private world of the sleeper. Heraclitus’ concern is not

Jacob Frank: A Study in Transgression “Only to wipe out all laws, all religions, did I come to Poland, and it is my desire to bring life forth into this world.” — Jacob Frank, The Collection of the Words of the Lord, §130 “It was said to Abraham: Go, go from his country, and then to you too it was said: That means that you should go forth from those rituals which you have kept in the Jewish estate — like fasting, mourning, cursing, pretense, one beating another — for all

Trigger Warning This article examines the lives, writings, and legacies of Jacob Frank and the Marquis de Sade, including their engagements with sexual transgression, religious antinomianism, coercive practices, and violence. It discusses explicit themes such as sexual exploitation, ritualized power dynamics, and philosophical justifications of cruelty within historical contexts. The analysis is scholarly, but the material may be disturbing or overwhelming for some r