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Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American writer,
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within
Discordianism Discordianism is a belief system based around Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord, and variously defined as a religion, new religious movement, virtual religion, or act of social commentary; though prior to 2005, some sources categoriz ...
as an
Episkopos A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. In 1999 he described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". Wilson's goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything." In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on
extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was ad ...
, mental
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
,
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
,
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs, and what Wilson called "
quantum psychology ''Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You & Your World'' is a book written by science-fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson, originally published in 1990. It deals with what Wilson himself calls "quantum psychology," Like Wilson's earlie ...
". Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', Wilson emerged as a major
countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
figure in the mid-1970s, comparable to one of his coauthors,
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
, as well as
Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946–April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, ...
.


Early life

Born Robert Edward Wilson in Methodist Hospital, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, he spent his first years in
Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...
, and moved with his family to
Gerritsen Beach Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located between Sheepshead Bay to the west and Marine Park to the east. The area is served by Brooklyn Community Board 15. The population of the neighborhood is 4,797 a ...
, in a
lower middle class In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the middle or u ...
area, around the age of four or five, where they stayed until relocating to the then-socioeconomically analogous South Slope section (in part to facilitate an easier high school commute for Wilson) when he was thirteen. He had
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
as a child, and found generally effective treatment with the Kenny Method (created by
Elizabeth Kenny Sister Elizabeth Kenny (20 September 1880 – 30 November 1952) was a self-trained Australian bush nurse who developed an approach to treating polio that was controversial at the time. Her method, promoted internationally while working in Austra ...
) which the
American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
repudiated at that time. Polio's effects remained with Wilson throughout his life, usually manifesting as minor muscle
spasm A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, such as the bladder. A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a musc ...
s causing him to occasionally use a cane, until 2000, when he experienced a major bout with
post-polio syndrome Post-polio syndrome (PPS, poliomyelitis sequelae) is a group of latent symptoms of poliomyelitis (polio), occurring in more than 80% of polio infections. The symptoms are caused by the damaging effects of the viral infection on the nervous syst ...
that would continue until his death. He attended Catholic grammar schools before securing admission to the selective
Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...
. Removed from the Catholic influence at "Brooklyn Tech", Wilson became enamored of
literary modernism Modernist literature originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented with literary form a ...
(particularly
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
and
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
), the Western philosophical tradition, then-innovative historians such as
Charles A. Beard Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due ...
, science fiction (including the works of
Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) was an English philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction''. New York ...
,
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
and
Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...
) and
Alfred Korzybski Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (; ; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950) was a Polish-American philosopher and independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, ...
's interdisciplinary theory of
general semantics General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophy, philosophic and science, scientific aspects. Although it does not stand on its own as a separate list of schools of philosophy, school of philosophy, a separate science, or ...
. He would later recall that the family was "living so well ... compared to the Depression" during this period "that I imagined we were lace-curtain Irish at last." Following his graduation in 1950, Wilson was employed in a succession of jobs (including ambulance driver, engineering aide, salesman and medical orderly) and absorbed various philosophers and cultural practices (including
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
,
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
,
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
,
Alfred Korzybski Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (; ; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950) was a Polish-American philosopher and independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, ...
,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
,
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
,
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
,
Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( ; ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several in ...
,
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
, and
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
, whom he later repudiated) while writing in his spare time. He studied
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and mathematics intermittently at the
Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...
from 1952 to 1957 before enrolling in an English education undergraduate program at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
from 1957 to 1958 but did not complete a degree at either institution. After having smoked
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
for nearly a decade, Wilson first experimented with
mescaline Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...
in
Yellow Springs, Ohio Yellow Springs is a Village (Ohio), village in northern Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area and is home to Antioch ...
, on December 28, 1961. Wilson began to work as a freelance journalist and advertising copywriter in the late 1950s. He adopted his maternal grandfather's name, Anton, for his writings and told himself that he would save the "Edward" for when he wrote the
Great American Novel The "Great American Novel" (sometimes abbreviated as GAN) is the term for a Western Canon, canonical novel that generally embodies and examines the essence and Culture of the United States, character of the United States. The term was coined b ...
. He later found that "Robert Anton Wilson" had become an established identity. He assumed co-editorship of the School for Living's
Brookville, Ohio Brookville is a small city in northwestern Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Dayton. The population was 5,989 at the 2020 census. History Brookville had its first pioneers around 1814. Brookville was platted in 1850, ...
-based ''Balanced Living'' magazine in 1962 and briefly returned to New York as associate editor of
Ralph Ginzburg Ralph Ginzburg (October 28, 1929 – July 6, 2006) was an American editor, publisher, journalist, and photographer. He was best known for publishing books and magazines on erotica and art and for his conviction in 1963 for violating federal obsc ...
's quarterly magazine, called '' fact:'', before leaving for ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', where he served as an associate editor from 1965 to 1971. According to Wilson, ''Playboy'' "paid me a higher salary than any other magazine at which I had worked and never expected me to become a
conformist Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...
or sell my soul in return. I enjoyed my years in the Bunny Empire. I only resigned when I reached 40 and felt I could not live with myself if I didn't make an effort to write full-time at last." Along with frequent collaborator
Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turn ...
, Wilson edited the magazine's ''Playboy'' Forum, a letters section consisting of responses to the ''Playboy'' Philosophy editorial column. During this period, he covered
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
and
Richard Alpert Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...
's
Millbrook, New York Millbrook is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley, on the east side of the Hudson River, north of New York City. Millbrook is near the cent ...
-based Castalia Foundation at the instigation of
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...
in ''
The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, ...
'', cultivated important friendships with
William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...
and
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
, and lectured at the
Free University of New York The Free University of New York (FUNY) was an educational social enterprise initiated by Allen Krebs, his wife Sharon Krebs, and James Mellen in July 1965. as reproduced in History FUNY began as a home for professors dismissed from local u ...
on 'Anarchist and Synergetic Politics' in 1965. He received a BA, MA (1978) and PhD (1981) in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
from Paideia University, which was an accredited university in California at the time he graduated in 1981 but later on became unaccredited and then closed. Wilson reworked his dissertation, and it found publication in 1983 as ''
Prometheus Rising ''Prometheus Rising'' is a 1983 guidebook by Robert Anton Wilson. The book includes explanations of Timothy Leary eight-circuit model of consciousness, Alfred Korzybski general semantics, Aleister Crowley Thelema, and various other topics related ...
''. Wilson married freelance writer and poet Arlen Riley in 1958. They had four children, including Christina Wilson Pearson and Patricia Luna Wilson. Luna was beaten to death in an apparent robbery in the store where she worked in 1976 at the age of 15, and became the first person to have her brain preserved by the American Cryonics Society (which was called the Bay Area Cryonics Society at the time). Arlen Riley Wilson died on May 22, 1999, following a series of strokes.


The ''Illuminatus!'' Trilogy

Among Wilson's 35 books"The author of 35 books on subjects like extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs and what he called quantum psychology ...". ''The New York Times'' obituary. and many other works, perhaps his best-known volumes remain the cult classic series"...an author of ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy''—a mind-twisting science-fiction series about a secret global society that has been a cult classic for more than 30 years ..." from "Robert Anton Wilson, 74; Wrote Mind-Twisting Novels"; bituary (Obit)Dennis Hevesi. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. New York: January 13, 2007. p. A.16.
''
The Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...
'' (1975), co-authored with Shea. Advertised as "a
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
for paranoids", the three books—''The Eye in the Pyramid'', ''The Golden Apple'', and ''Leviathan'', soon offered as a single volume—philosophically and humorously examined, among many other themes, occult and magical symbolism and history, the
counterculture of the 1960s The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is ofte ...
,
secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
, data concerning author
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
and author and occultist
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
, and American
paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
about
conspiracies A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
and
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
. The book was intended to poke fun at the conspiratorial frame of mind. Wilson and Shea derived much of the odder material from letters sent to ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine while they worked as the editors of its Forum. The books mixed true information with imaginative fiction to engage the reader in what Wilson called "
guerrilla ontology Guerrilla ontology is a practice described by author Robert Anton Wilson in his 1980 book '' The Illuminati Papers'' as "the basic technique of all my books. Ontology is the study of being; the guerrilla approach is to so mix the elements of each b ...
", which he apparently referred to as " Operation Mindfuck" in ''Illuminatus!'' The trilogy also outlined a set of
libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
and anarchist
axioms An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...
known as Celine's laws (named after Hagbard Celine, a character in ''Illuminatus!''), concepts Wilson revisited several times in other writings. Among the many subplots of ''Illuminatus!'' one addresses
biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...
and the overriding of the
United States Bill of Rights The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten list of amendments to the United States Constitution, amendments to the United States Constitution. It was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the Timeline of dr ...
, another gives a detailed account of the
John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...
(in which no fewer than five snipers, all working for different causes, prepare to shoot Kennedy), and the book's climax occurs at a rock concert where the audience collectively face the danger of becoming a mass human sacrifice. ''Illuminatus!'' popularized
Discordianism Discordianism is a belief system based around Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord, and variously defined as a religion, new religious movement, virtual religion, or act of social commentary; though prior to 2005, some sources categoriz ...
and the use of the term "
fnord "Fnord" () is a word coined in 1965 by Kerry Thornley and Greg Hill in the Discordian religious text ''Principia Discordia''. It entered into popular culture after appearing in '' The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' (1975) of novels written by Robert Sh ...
". It incorporates experimental prose styles influenced by writers such as
William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...
,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
, and
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
. Although Shea and Wilson never co-operated on such a scale again, Wilson continued to expand upon the themes of the ''Illuminatus!'' books throughout his writing career. Most of his later fiction contains cross-over characters from ''The Sex Magicians'' (Wilson's first novel, written before the release of ''Illuminatus!'', which includes many of his same characters) and ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy''. ''Illuminatus!'' won the
Prometheus Hall of Fame award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979; however, it was not awarde ...
for Best Classic Fiction, voted by the Libertarian Futurist Society for science fiction in 1986, has many international editions, and found adaptation for the stage when
Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, director and writer. He was known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety ...
produced it as a ten-hour drama. It also appeared as two card based games from
Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...
, one a trading-card game ( Illuminati: New World Order). Eye N Apple Productions and
Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and '' Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...
produced a comic book version of the trilogy.


''Schrödinger's Cat'' Trilogy, ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles'', and ''Masks of the Illuminati''

Wilson wrote two more popular fiction series. The first, a trilogy later published as a single volume, was ''
Schrödinger's Cat In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment concerning quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat in a closed box may be considered to be simultaneously both alive and dead while it is unobserved, ...
''. The second, ''
The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles'' is a series of three novels by Robert Anton Wilson written after his highly successful ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' and his 1981 ''Masks of the Illuminati''. His co-author from the first trilogy, Robert S ...
'', appeared as three books. In between publishing the two trilogies Wilson released a stand-alone novel, ''
Masks of the Illuminati ''Masks of the Illuminati'' is a 1981 novel by Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' and over thirty other influential books. Although not a sequel to the earlier work, it does expand information on many of the topics re ...
'' (1981), which, due to the main character's ancestry, fits into the timeline of ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles'' and, while published earlier, may qualify as the fourth volume in that series. ''Schrödinger's Cat'' consists of three volumes: ''The Universe Next Door'', ''The Trick Top Hat'', and ''The Homing Pigeons''. Wilson set the three books in differing alternative universes, in which the cast of characters remains almost the same aside from variations in names, careers and background stories. The books cover the fields of
quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
and the varied philosophies and explanations that exist within the science. The single volume describes itself as a magical textbook and a type of
initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...
. The single-volume edition omits many entire pages and has many other omissions when compared with the original separate books. ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles'', composed of ''The Earth Will Shake'' (1982), ''The Widow's Son'' (1985), and ''Nature's God'' (1991), follows the timelines of several characters through different generations, time periods, and countries. The books cover a range of topics, including (but not limited to) the history, legacy, and rituals of the
Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...
and related groups. ''Masks of the Illuminati'' features historical characters in a fictionalized setting, and contains a blend of occult history. Intermixing
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
,
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
,
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
,
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
,
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924, and of ...
, and others, the book focuses on Pan as well as other occult icons, ideas, and practices. It also includes homages, parodies and pastiches from both the lives and works of Crowley and Joyce.


Plays and screenplays

Wilson's play, '' Wilhelm Reich in Hell'', was published as a book in 1987 and first performed at the
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...
Theatre in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, in San Francisco, and in Los Angeles. It features many factual and fictional characters, including
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
,
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
, and
Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( ; ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several in ...
himself. Wilson also wrote and published as books two
screenplays A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a ''teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writ ...
, not yet produced: '' Reality Is What You Can Get Away With: an Illustrated Screenplay'' (1992) and ''The Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (1997). Wilson's book '' Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati'' has been adapted as a theatrical stage play by Daisy Eris Campbell, daughter of
Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, director and writer. He was known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety ...
the British theatre maverick who staged ''
Illuminatus! ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert An ...
'' at the Royal National Theatre in 1977. The play opened on November 23, 2014, in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
before transferring to London and Brighton. Some of the costs were met through
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
. Wilson's book is itself dedicated to "Ken Campbell and the Science-Fiction Theatre Of Liverpool, England."


The ''Cosmic Trigger'' series and other books

In his nonfiction and partly autobiographical '' Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati'' (1977) and its two sequels, as well as in many other works, Wilson examined
Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, Discordianism,
Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
, the Illuminati,
Futurology Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...
,
Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...
,
Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...
and
Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946–April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, ...
,
Jack Parsons John Whiteside Parsons (born Marvel Whiteside Parsons; October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952) was an American Aerospace engineering, rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite, Thelemite occultist. Parsons was one of the principal founders of both th ...
, the occult practices of
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
and
G.I. Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 19 ...
,
Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, and many other
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
or
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
philosophies, personalities, and occurrences. Wilson advocated
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
's
8-Circuit Model of Consciousness The eight-circuit model of consciousness is a holistic model originally presented as psychological philosophy (abbreviated "psy-phi") by Timothy Leary in books including ''Neurologic'' (1973) and ''Exo-Psychology'' (1977), later expanded on by ...
and neurosomatic/linguistic engineering, which he wrote about in many books including ''
Prometheus Rising ''Prometheus Rising'' is a 1983 guidebook by Robert Anton Wilson. The book includes explanations of Timothy Leary eight-circuit model of consciousness, Alfred Korzybski general semantics, Aleister Crowley Thelema, and various other topics related ...
'' (1983, revised 1997) and ''
Quantum Psychology ''Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You & Your World'' is a book written by science-fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson, originally published in 1990. It deals with what Wilson himself calls "quantum psychology," Like Wilson's earlie ...
'' (1990), which contain practical techniques intended to help the reader break free of one's
reality tunnel Reality tunnel is a theory that, with a subconscious set of mental filters formed from beliefs and experiences, every individual interprets the same world differently, hence "Truth is in the eye of the beholder". It is similar to the idea of repr ...
s. With Leary, he helped promote the futurist ideas of space migration, intelligence increase, and
life extension Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled biological limit of around 125 years. Several resea ...
, which they combined to form the word symbol SMI²LE. Wilson's 1986 book, ''
The New Inquisition ''The New Inquisition'' is a book written by Robert Anton Wilson and first published in 1986. ''The New Inquisition'' is a book about ontology, science, paranormal events, and epistemology. Wilson identifies what he calls "Fundamentalist Material ...
'', argues that whatever reality consists of it actually would seem much weirder than we commonly imagine. It cites, among other sources,
Bell's theorem Bell's theorem is a term encompassing a number of closely related results in physics, all of which determine that quantum mechanics is incompatible with local hidden-variable theories, given some basic assumptions about the nature of measuremen ...
and
Alain Aspect Alain Aspect (; born 15 June 1947) is a French physicist noted for his experimental work on quantum entanglement. Aspect was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger, "for experiments with Quantum e ...
's experimental proof of Bell's to suggest that mainstream science has a strong materialist bias, and that in fact modern physics may have already disproved
materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
. Wilson also supported the work and
utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...
theories of
Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...
and examined the theories of
Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...
. He and
Loren Coleman Loren Coleman (born July 12, 1947) is an American cryptozoologist, author and television personality who has written over 40 books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He is also the President, Founder and leading Director of the Inter ...
became friends, as he did with media theorist
Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...
and Neuro Linguistic Programming co-founder
Richard Bandler Richard Wayne Bandler (born 1950) is an American writer, consultant, and public speaker in the field of self-help. With John Grinder, he founded the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) approach to psychotherapy in the 1970s, which is considered ...
, with whom he taught workshops. He also admired James Joyce, and wrote extensive commentaries on the author and on two of Joyce's novels, ''
Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...
'' and ''Ulysses'', in his 1988 book '' Coincidance: A Head Test''. Although Wilson often lampooned and criticized some
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
beliefs, bookstores specializing in New Age material often sell his books. Wilson, a well-known author in
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
and
Neo-Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...
circles, used
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
as a main character in his 1981 novel ''
Masks of the Illuminati ''Masks of the Illuminati'' is a 1981 novel by Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' and over thirty other influential books. Although not a sequel to the earlier work, it does expand information on many of the topics re ...
'', also included some elements of
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
's work in his novels, and at times claimed to have perceived encounters with magical "entities" (when asked whether these entities seemed "real", he answered they seemed "real enough", although "not as real as the IRS" but "easier to get rid of", and later decided that his experiences may have emerged from "just my right brain hemisphere talking to my left"). He warned against beginners using occult practice, since to rush into such practices and the resulting "energies" they unleash could lead people to "go totally nuts". Wilson also criticized scientific types with overly rigid belief systems, equating them with religious fundamentalists in their
fanaticism Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. The political theorist Zachary R. Goldsmith provides a "cluster account" of the concept of fanaticism, identifying ten main attributes that, in various com ...
. In a 1988 interview, when asked about his newly published book '' The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science'', Wilson commented:


Model-agnostic

In a 2003 interview with ''
High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...
'' magazine, Wilson described himself as "model-agnostic" which he said


Economic thought

Wilson favored a form of
basic income guarantee Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform work. I ...
; synthesizing several ideas under the acronym RICH. His ideas are set forth in the essay "The RICH Economy", found in ''The Illuminati Papers''. In an article critical of capitalism, Wilson self-identified as a "
libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...
", saying that "I ask only one thing of skeptics: don't bring up Soviet Russia, please. That horrible example of
State Capitalism State capitalism is an economic system in which the state undertakes business and commercial economic activity and where the means of production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises (including the processes of capital accumulation, ...
has nothing to do with what I, and other libertarian socialists, would offer as an alternative to the present system." By the 1980s he was less enthusiastic about the socialist label, writing in ''Prometheus Rising'' that he "does not like" the spread of socialism. In his book '' Right Where You Are Sitting Now'', he praises the
georgist Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that people should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—includ ...
economist
Silvio Gesell Johann Silvio Gesell (; 17 March 1862 – 11 March 1930) was a German-Argentine economist, entrepreneur, and social reformer. He was the founder of (German language, German for "free economy"), an economic model for market socialism. In 1900, ...
. In the essay ''Left and Right: A Non-Euclidean Perspective'', Wilson speaks favorably of several "excluded middles" that "transcend the hackneyed debate between monopoly Capitalism and totalitarian Socialism"; he says his favorite is the mutualist anarchism of
Benjamin Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (; April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was an American individualist anarchist and self-identified socialist. Tucker was the editor and publisher of the American individualist anarchist periodical ''Liberty'' (1881–19 ...
and
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...
, but he also offers kind words for the ideas of Gesell,
Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...
, C. H. Douglas, and
Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...
. Wilson also identified as an anarchist and described his belief system as "a blend of Tucker, Lysander Spooner, Spooner, Fuller, Ezra Pound, Pound, Henry George, Murray Rothbard, Rothbard, Douglas, Alfred Korzybski, Korzybski, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Proudhon and Karl Marx, Marx." Wilson spoke several times at conventions of the American Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party. He included Benjamin Tucker's ''Instead of a Book'', Henry George's ''Progress and Poverty'', and Gesell's ''The Natural Economic Order'' in a list of 20 book recommendations, "the bare minimum of what everybody really needs to chew and digest before they can converse intelligently about the 21st Century."


Other activities

Robert Anton Wilson and his wife Arlen Riley Wilson founded the Institute for the Study of the Human Future in 1975. From 1982 until his death, Wilson had a business relationship with the Association for Consciousness Exploration, which hosted his first on-stage dialogue with his long-time friend
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
Lesie, Michele (1989), "High Priest of LSD To Drop In", ''The Plain Dealer''. entitled ''The Inner Frontier''. Wilson dedicated his book ''The New Inquisition'' to A.C.E.'s co-directors, Jeff Rosenbaum and Joseph Rothenberg. Wilson also joined the Church of the SubGenius, who referred to him as "Pope Bob". He contributed to their literature, including the book ''Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob"'', and shared a stage with their founder, Rev. Ivan Stang, on several occasions. Wilson also founded the Guns and Dope Party. As a member of the Board of Advisors of the Fully Informed Jury Association, Wilson worked to inform the public about jury nullification, the right of jurors to nullify a law they deem unjust.Interview of Robert Anton Wilson
, (conducted August 1997), ''Paradigm Shift'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (July 1998). Retrieved January 11, 2007.
Wilson advocated for and wrote about E-Prime, a form of English lacking all forms of the verb "to be" (such as "is", "are", "was", "were" etc.). A decades-long researcher into drugs and a strong opponent of what he called "the war on some drugs", Wilson participated as a Special Guest in the week-long 1999 Annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, and used and often promoted the use of medical marijuana. He participated in a protest organized by the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz in 2002.


Death

On June 22, 2006, Paul Krassner reported on ''The Huffington Post'' that Wilson was under hospice care at home with friends and family. On October 2, Douglas Rushkoff reported that Wilson was in severe financial trouble. Slashdot, Boing Boing, and the Church of the SubGenius also picked up on the story, linking to Rushkoff's appeal. As his webpage reported on October 10, these efforts succeeded beyond expectation and raised a sum that would have supported him for at least six months. On October 5, 2006, Wilson responded to the support by posting the following comment on his personal website, expressing his gratitude: On January 6, 2007, Wilson wrote on his blog that according to several medical authorities, he would likely only have between two days and two months left to live. He closed this message with "I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying. Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd." Wilson died five days later, on January 11 at 4:50 am, just a week short of his 75th birthday. After his cremation on January 18 (also his 75th birthday), his family held a memorial service on February 18 and then scattered most of his ashes at the same spot as his wife's—off the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California. A tribute show to Wilson, organized by Coldcut and Mixmaster Morris and performed in London as a part of the "Ether 07 Festival" held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 18, 2007, also included
Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, director and writer. He was known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety ...
, Bill Drummond and Alan Moore.


Cultural references

Wilson appears as a fictional version of himself in
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
's 1979 book, ''The Intelligence Agents''. It features a full facsimile reproduction of an article ostensibly authored by Wilson, titled Marilyn's Input System, from ''Peeple Magazine'' of March 1986.Timothy Leary, Leary, Timothy. iarchive:intelligenceagen00learrich/page/100, ''The Intelligence Agents''. Culver City, Calif.: Peace Press (1979). iarchive:intelligenceagen00learrich/page/100, pp. 100–103. Republished in 1996 by New Falcon Publications in Tempe, Arizona.


Bibliography


Novels

* ''The Sex Magicians'' (1973) * ''
The Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...
'' (1975) (with
Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turn ...
) ** ''The Eye in the Pyramid'' ** ''The Golden Apple'' ** ''Leviathan'' * ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy'' (1979–1981) ** ''The Universe Next Door'' ** ''The Trick Top Hat'' ** ''The Homing Pigeons'' * ''
Masks of the Illuminati ''Masks of the Illuminati'' is a 1981 novel by Robert Anton Wilson, co-author of ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' and over thirty other influential books. Although not a sequel to the earlier work, it does expand information on many of the topics re ...
'' (1981) * ''
The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles ''The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles'' is a series of three novels by Robert Anton Wilson written after his highly successful ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' and his 1981 ''Masks of the Illuminati''. His co-author from the first trilogy, Robert S ...
'' ** ''The Earth Will Shake'' (1982) ** ''The Widow's Son'' (1985) ** ''Nature's God'' (1988)


Autobiographical / philosophical

* ''Cosmic Trigger trilogy''. ** ''Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati'' (1977) ** ''Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth'' (1991) ** ''Cosmic Trigger III: My Life After Death'' (1995)


Non-fiction

* ''Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words'' (1972) * ''Sex and Drugs: A Journey Beyond Limits'' (1973) * ''The Book of the Breast'' (1974) ** Revised as ''Ishtar Rising'' (1989) * ''Neuropolitics'' (1978) (with
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
and George Koopman) ** Revised as ''Neuropolitique'' (1988) * ''The Game of Life'' (1979) (with
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
) * ''
Prometheus Rising ''Prometheus Rising'' is a 1983 guidebook by Robert Anton Wilson. The book includes explanations of Timothy Leary eight-circuit model of consciousness, Alfred Korzybski general semantics, Aleister Crowley Thelema, and various other topics related ...
'' (1983) * ''
The New Inquisition ''The New Inquisition'' is a book written by Robert Anton Wilson and first published in 1986. ''The New Inquisition'' is a book about ontology, science, paranormal events, and epistemology. Wilson identifies what he calls "Fundamentalist Material ...
'' (1986) * ''Natural Law, or Don't Put a Rubber on Your Willy'' (1987) * ''Sex, Drugs and Magick: A Journey Beyond Limits'' (1988), revision, with new introduction, of ''Sex and Drugs: A Journey Beyond Limits'' * ''
Quantum Psychology ''Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You & Your World'' is a book written by science-fiction writer Robert Anton Wilson, originally published in 1990. It deals with what Wilson himself calls "quantum psychology," Like Wilson's earlie ...
'' (1990) * ''Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults and Cover-ups'', with Miriam Joan Hill. New York: HarperCollins (1998) * ''TSOG: The Thing That Ate the Constitution'' (2002)


Articles

* "Three Authors in Search of Sadism". ''
The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, ...
'', no. 67 (May 1966), p. 1. . . * "Doom-Sayers, Nay-Sayers Converge". ''Berkeley Barb'', vol. 23, no. 21 (June 4, 1976), p. 4. . * "The End of the Work Ethic". ''City Miner'', vol. 3, no. 4 (January 11, 1978), pp. 10–14. .


Letters

* "The Great Debate: Wilson Rebuts McKenney." ''Berkeley Barb'', vol. 24, no. 4 (August 6, 1976), p. 10. .


Plays and screenplays

* '' Wilhelm Reich in Hell'' (1987) * ''Reality Is What You Can Get Away With'' (1992; revised edition – new introduction added – 1996) * ''The Walls Came Tumbling Down'' (1997)


Essay collections

* ''The Illuminati Papers'' (1980), collection of essays and new material * '' Right Where You Are Sitting Now'' (1983), collection of essays and new material * '' Coincidance: A Head Test'' (1988), collection of essays and new material * ''Email to the universe and other alterations of consciousness'' (2005), collection of essays and new material * ''More Chaos and Beyond'' (2019), posthumous anthology of previously uncollected material


As editor

* ''Semiotext(e) SF'' (1989) (anthology, editor, with Rudy Rucker and Peter Lamborn Wilson) * ''Chaos and Beyond'' (1994) (editor and primary author)


Discography

* ''A Meeting with Robert Anton Wilson'' (ACE), cassette * ''Religion for the Hell of It'' (ACE), cassette * ''H.O.M.E.s on LaGrange'' (ACE), cassette * ''The New Inquisition'' (ACE), cassette * ''The H.E.A.D. Revolution'' (ACE), cassette and CD * ''Prometheus Rising'' (ACE), cassette * ''The Inner Frontier (with Timothy Leary)'' (ACE), cassette * ''The Magickal Movement: Present & Future'' (with Margot Adler, Isaac Bonewits & Selena Fox) (ACE), panel Discussion – cassette * ''Magick Changing the World, the World Changing Magick'' (ACE), panel Discussion – cassette * ''The Self in Transformation'' (ACE) Panel Discussion – cassette * ''The Once & Future Legend'' (with Ivan Stang, Robert Shea and others) (ACE) Panel Discussion – cassette * ''What IS the Conspiracy, Anyway?'' (ACE), panel Discussion – cassette * ''The Chocolate-Biscuit Conspiracy'' album with The Golden Horde (band), The Golden Horde (1984) * ''Twelve Eggs in a Basket'' CD * ''Robert Anton Wilson On Finnegans Wake and Joseph Campbell'' (interview by Faustin Bray and Brian Wallace) (1988), 2-CD Set Sound Photosynthesis * ''Acceleration of Knowledge'' (1991), cassette * ''Secrets of Power'', comedy cassette * ''Robert Anton Wilson Explains Everything: or Old Bob Exposes His Ignorance'' (2001), Sounds True,


Filmography


Actor

Wilson appeared in the 1998 German film ''23 (film), 23 Nichts ist so wie es scheint''. He has approximately two minutes featured as himself, with the main actor, portraying hacker Karl Koch (hacker), Karl Koch, meeting Wilson at the annual German Computer Hackers Convention in 1985. The film is a biographical piece about Germany's infamous computer hackers, and the 1985 meeting in Germany between Wilson and Koch is authentic. Wilson spoke at the 1985 German Computer Hackers Convention, warning of a future in which governments would have total digital control over the citizen. He signed one of his books for Koch. These events are depicted in the film.


Writer

* ''Wilhelm Reich in Hell'' (2005) (Video) Deepleaf Productions


Himself

* ''Children of the Revolution: Tune Back In'' (2005) Revolutionary Child Productions * ''The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick'' (2001) TKO Productions * 23 (film), ''23'' (1998) (''23 – Nichts ist so wie es scheint'') Claussen & Wöbke Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany) * ''Arise! The SubGenius Video'' (1992) (''Recruitment Film'' #16) The SubGenius Foundation (USA) * ''Borders'' (1989) Co-Directions Inc. (TV documentary) * ''Fear in the Night: Demons, Incest and UFOs'' (1993) Video – Trajectories * ''Twelve Eggs in a Box: Myth, Ritual and the Jury System'' (1994) Video – Trajectories
''Consciousness, Conspiracy and Coincidence''
(1995). Interview with Robert Anton Wilson. ''New Thinking Allowed'', with Jeffrey Mishlove. * ''Everything Is Under Control: Robert Anton Wilson in Interview'' (1998) Video – Trajectories


Documentary

* ''Maybe Logic: The Lives and Ideas of Robert Anton Wilson'', a documentary featuring selections from over 25 years of Wilson footage, released on DVD in North America on May 30, 2006


See also

* 23 Enigma * Chaos magic * Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster * General semantics * List of Discordian works * List of occult writers * ''The Sekhmet Hypothesis'' * Nootropic, Smart drugs (Nootropics) * ''Trajectories (magazine), Trajectories''


References


External links

* , now maintained by his family
RAW Data 2.0
Wilson's blog, now maintained by his daughter, Christina
RAW Data
Wilson's first blog
Guns and Dope Party
Political party created by Wilson and Olga Struthio
Right Where You Are Sitting Now Podcast
Extensive two-hour Robert Anton Wilson tribute podcast, featuring audio clips, and interviews with friends of Wilson
A collection of RAW audio/video from his publisher
A collection of RAW audio/video from his publisher * * *
Robert Anton Wilson on the Literature Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robert Anton Robert Anton Wilson, 1932 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American psychologists 20th-century anarchists 20th-century mystics 21st-century American psychologists 21st-century anarchists American agnostics American anarchist writers American anti-capitalists American cannabis activists American critics of religions American epistemologists American expatriates in Ireland American founders American futurologists American male dramatists and playwrights American male essayists American male novelists American male poets American metaphysicians American modern pagans American occult writers American philosophers of culture American philosophers of language American philosophers of law American philosophers of logic American philosophers of mind American philosophers of religion American philosophers of social science American political party founders American psychedelic drug advocates American saints American science fiction writers American SubGenii Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Counterculture of the 1960s Counterculture of the 1970s Counterculture of the 1980s Counterculture of the 1990s Critics of the Catholic Church Discordians Former Roman Catholics Founders of new religious movements Jury nullification Libertarian socialists Modern pagan novelists Mutualists Novelists from New York (state) Ontologists People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn People from Capitola, California People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Philosophers from California Philosophers from New York (state) Playboy people Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Wilhelm Reich Writers about activism and social change Writers from Brooklyn