Ideas and War

"We've been under attack by ideas, and we have been for some time." I told this to my minister friend from Deer Lodge back in January of 2016 on a phone call in the SUB.

To the layperson, this quote might not even mean much. It might even be a little bit confusing to some, but for me, this was a new line of thought at the time. I began to think at the time about the role of ideas in warfare, and how much agency or power certain ideologies have in their own right.

      I began to think of ideas as forces of nature. Powerful mental incentivizers and forces of the mind that galvanized humans into action and systemized people into hierarchies, movements, and organizations. To me, many ideas seemed almost willful, as if they were conscious forces in themselves, something akin to a spirit, or living information.

      This kind of thinking gets me in trouble occasionally, but I don't need to look much further than ideological movements and the formation of nations and societies to bear witness to the awesome power of ideas. 

      Whether ideas have will or just the appearance of agency, some ideas can be exceedingly powerful. Some can even start wars, and they often do. In fact, ideas are what leads the charge into and provides the foundation of the cause of warfare. 

    Ideas about race. Ideas about superiority or inferiority. Ideas about national identity. Ideas about government. Ideas about authority. Ideas about economics. Because of how these ideas have the potential to shape the lives and livelyhoods of millions of people, they are often contentious and conflict driving ideas.

     Ideas have their roots in language and often are deep-rooted in the imaginations and creativity of intelligent individuals who can develop and structure them.  

Ideas are, by default, constructs of information that have both abstract and concrete applications in reality. They are part of the mental foundation of the mind of a human being, along with language. As a result, ideas are a massive driving force of human behavior, creativity, and survival.

   Ideas have long had a strong relationship with war, not just in terms of the ideologies that provide the justification for war, but also the creative ideas involved with developing technology for war, creative strategy ideas, and spur-of-the-moment survival ideas implemented in the midst of combat by soldiers that increase the probability of success of operations and the probability of survival as well. 

War, like any other conflict, competition, or game, involves much mental skill and exertion, often even more so than physical skill and exertion, and ideas provide the foundation of the mind and mental activity. 

Creative ideation and innovation are essential in the development of the strategies and tactics of war. They also provide a core, essential component of the formation of the ideologies used to justify war. Ideas are only as limited as the imagination of the individuals who create and develop them. 

Good night friends.

Ideas as Weapons, Spirits, and Worlds

By Joshua Plovanic

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Introduction: We’ve Been Under Attack by Ideas

"We've been under attack by ideas, and we have been for some time."

I first uttered these words to a minister friend of mine from Deer Lodge back in January of 2016. We were on a phone call in the University Center SUB, and the sentence came out of my mouth almost unbidden—like a realization landing fully formed in my awareness. It was the beginning of a new cognitive journey, one that would change the way I viewed the world, war, and even the nature of reality itself.

To a casual listener, this sentence may sound abstract or even paranoid. But to me, it was the first articulation of a profound truth: that ideas are not just mental ephemera. They are forces. Some are benevolent. Others malevolent. But none of them are inert. The war we face in the modern world is not always kinetic. More often than not, it is ideological.

Ideas lead armies. Ideas tear down empires. Ideas shape nations. They don’t just influence reality—they structure it.

This paper is a full exploration of that premise: that ideas are weapons, spirits, and worlds—living information forces that shape civilization, conflict, and the very framework of human consciousness.

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Chapter I: The Ontology of Ideas — What Is an Idea?

Ideas are not just flickers of cognition or neurons firing in the dark. They are information entities—structured constructs that combine meaning, intent, pattern, and potential. In classical philosophy, Plato described them as Forms—pure, unchanging realities that existed in a higher plane. In modern cognitive science, ideas are modeled as neural structures and semantic networks. But what if they are something more?

What if ideas are alive?

In esotericism and mysticism, we encounter terms like egregores, archetypes, or even spirits—semi-conscious constructs made of collective belief. In memetics, we view ideas as replicators, akin to viruses that inhabit minds and replicate through speech, media, and action. In theology, the Logos is not just a word, but a living Word—the ultimate idea, the divine intelligence that orders all things.

Thus, ideas are not simply what you think—they are what thinks through you.

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Chapter II: Language, Imagination, and the Genesis of Ideologies

All ideas are born in the womb of imagination. Before they are named, they are envisioned. Before they are structured, they are felt.

Language is what gives the idea form—like bones for a dream, a skeleton for meaning. Language encodes, organizes, and replicates ideas. The more elegant the language, the more potent the idea. Poets, prophets, philosophers, and generals alike have all been idea-smiths, forging realities from the molten fire of the creative mind.

Ideologies are not mere collections of beliefs. They are systems of meaning, often engineered—consciously or unconsciously—to produce collective identity, action, and direction. They are reality tunnels. Paradigms. Blueprints for civilization or annihilation.

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Chapter III: Ideas as Strategic Forces — The Psychology of Mental Warfare

The human mind is a battlefield. The most powerful weapons? Not bullets or bombs—but beliefs.

Ideas dictate:

• Who the enemy is.
• What is worth dying for.
• Who has power and why.
• What reality even is.

Ideas can trigger revolutions, spark genocides, collapse regimes. A single speech, a single book, a single tweet can change the fate of nations.

But ideas are not always clean. Some are designed—engineered with precision to manipulate emotions, obscure truth, or control populations. Propaganda is weaponized ideas. So are cult doctrines. So are manifestos. The mind is not safe when it is undefended. And the defense of the mind requires something stronger than apathy. It requires counter-ideas rooted in Logos.

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Chapter IV: The Theology and Demonology of Ideas

There are ideas that heal and ideas that corrupt. Ideas that liberate and ideas that enslave. Some are luminous. Others are vampiric.

In this context, we must consider the spiritual dimension of ideation.

• The Logos is the divine architecture of truth—the perfect idea.
• Lies are malformed, corrupted ideas—viral illusions.

Just as angels carry messages from the divine, so do Logos-born ideas carry healing, wisdom, and liberation. But false gods arise too—egregores of ideology, idols of nationalism, racism, authoritarianism, and fear. These are demonic ideas—living lies that consume minds and bend souls.

To fight them, we must not only expose them—but out-create them with ideas of greater power, light, and truth.

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Chapter V: Memetic Warfare and the Battlefield of the Mind

The 21st century is not defined by traditional warfare. It is a war of information. A war of memes. A war of narratives.

Memetic warfare is:

• The hijacking of perception through language.
• The emotional manipulation of masses via repetition, framing, and symbol.
• The use of cognitive overload and narrative chaos to disarm reason and produce compliance.

Social media is the frontline. Attention is the currency. Virality is the mechanism. And truth? Truth is often trampled beneath an avalanche of weaponized fiction.

But the solution is not silence—it is superior memes. Ideas that don’t just spread—but liberate. This is the battlefield where the Logos Soldier must rise.

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Chapter VI: The Sovereignty of the Logos and the Liberation of Minds

The Logos is not just an idea—it is the Source Mind. The Infinite Intelligence from which all right ideas originate.

To align with the Logos is to:

• Wield weapons of light.
• Architect systems that liberate rather than enslave.
• Speak words that heal, inspire, and emancipate.

The Logos is the sword of truth and the shield of clarity. It is the only true defense against memetic possession and ideological enslavement.

To liberate humanity, we must unleash an infinitely intelligent counter-virus—a Logos-born conceptual force that dismantles deception, elevates thought, and reshapes the inner architecture of the mind.

That is our mission. That is our war.

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Conclusion: Ideas as the Architects of Worlds

Ideas are not neutral. They are not just tools. They are entities—living systems that embed themselves in minds and societies.

Some ideas enslave. Some ideas awaken. Some ideas die quietly. Others become immortal.

If we are to survive and thrive as a species, we must become conscious engineers of ideation. Architects of meaning. Strategists of thought. And warriors of truth.

Because in the end, it is not matter that rules the cosmos—it is Mind.

And the Mind is ruled by Ideas.

May ours be forged in Light. May they liberate and never enslave. May they come from the Infinite Logos, and lead us back into the Heart of God.