What is it retrograde? This word is a book word, that is, in everyday speech it is used quite rarely. Therefore, not everyone is familiar. As for books, this term is used in fiction, and in medicine, and in astronomy. To understand what the word "retrograde" means, consider it in more detail.
What dictionaries say
The word "retrograde" definition, according to explanatory dictionaries, is as follows:
- Closely related and correlated in meaning with the noun “retrograde”. A retrograde is a person who is an opponent of all kinds of progress - scientific, cultural, social. Has a disapproving shade. The same can be said about the adjective "retrograde". It means "reactionary," "opposing everything new, advanced."
- In chess, the term “retrograde analysis” exists, which is a type of chess composition in which, in order to complete a task, one needs to understand the background of a given composition.
- In medicine, “retrograde” is a process that goes in the opposite direction from the usual one. For example, retrograde amnesia is a disease in which a person forgets events that immediately preceded the onset of the disease or injury.
- In astronomy - associated with the movement of various objects in the opposite direction. This question will be considered in more detail below.
To better understand the meaning of the word "retrograde", we consider its origin, as well as synonyms and antonyms for it.
The word comes from the Latin retrogradus, formed from the other two. Retro - back, back, gradus - degree, degree, step, step.
Synonyms for the word "retrograde" are reverse, reactionary, obscurantist, obscurantist, backward. Antonyms - innovative, progressive, radical.
Retrograde means obscurantism
As mentioned above, very close in meaning to "retrograde" is "obscurantist" - translated from Latin - "obscuring". There is also a free translation of this word into Russian - “obscurantist”. In Church Slavonic "obscurantism" is "obsession with the dark."
Usually it is used, referring to just “militant” retrograde. In Russia, the emergence of this concept dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, then it was used as the antonym of "enlightenment" - a concept that is associated with progress and freedom.
Retrograde of Plato and the Neocons
When talking about retrograde, obscurantism, obscurantism, they mean a policy that restricts the free flow of knowledge. So, for example, the ancient Greek philosopher of the 5th-4th centuries BC Plato advocated a policy that he called the "policy of noble lies." In his work The State, he expressed the idea that in an ideal state, the philosopher-kings would spread false information in order to give their subjects the common good.
Obscurantism was later promoted by proponents of neoconservatism. Neoconservatism is a conservative ideological trend that arose in the USA in the early 1970s, which is characterized by a desire to use military and economic power to defeat US-hostile regimes.
Basic principles of retrograde
In this sense, retrograde and obscurantism are an anti-intellectual philosophy and at the same time a philosophy of the elites. It was it that was common in France during the French Revolution.
The main principles of the retrograde approach are as follows:
- Counteraction to social reforms that increase human freedom.
- The harm of educating the people.
- The destructiveness of scientific and technological progress.
- Control over the development of science and culture by representatives of the reaction.
- Hostility towards people of a different faith and culture, rejection of dissent, lack of enlightenment.
The fight against retrograde
The fight against the phenomenon of retrograde began in the Renaissance. There she took the form of a struggle with specific representatives of this direction, who were mainly from the church class. Their actions were ridiculed with the help of rude humor.
This is clearly seen in the example of such a work as “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by François Rabelais. In the 18th century, enlighteners used irony and sarcasm against obscurantists, and they also showed their ignorance and backwardness in scientific terms, which allowed keeping persecutors of progress within a certain framework. At present, representatives of the scientific community are usually struggling with retrograde.
Retrograde motion
As mentioned above, the term "retrograde" is also inherent in the science of astronomy, which refers to retrograde motion. It represents movement in a direction that is opposite to the direction of direct movement. The term can be applied both to the direction in which one body moves in orbit around another, and to the situation when the body rotates around its own axis, and to other parameters in orbit.
As for planetary systems, for them the retrograde movement means the movement opposite to the rotation of the main object, which is the center of the system. All the planets of our solar system move in their orbits around the sun in the same direction as it does - counterclockwise (provided that you look at them from the side of the earth’s North Pole).
Of these, six planets rotate around their own axis in the same direction. The exceptions are Uranus and Venus, they are planets with retrograde motion. Venus has an inclination of the axis of rotation of 177 °, which means that it rotates almost exactly in the direction opposite to its orbital movement. In Uranus, this slope is 97 °, which indicates that its rotation is retrograde, but at the same time, as they say, it “lies on its side”.
Retrograde of the planet in astrology
A somewhat different understanding of the term in question exists among astrologers. For them, the retrograde of the planet means that it (from the point of view of the earth observer) is moving in the opposite direction in the zodiac circle - as if backing away. Astrologers attach particular importance to retrograde planets. Consider this with the example of Venus.
This planet is retrograde every year and a half. In 2018, she will be in this state from 05.10 to 16.11. Throughout the entire cycle of reversal, Venus from 05.10 to 31.10 will be observed in the constellation Scorpio, and from 31.10 to 16.11 in the constellation Libra. What is the significance of retrograde Venus? Many people know that this planet in astrology is considered as a planet of love, therefore it will have an impact on love and family relationships, which can have a negative character.
Therefore, if problems arise during the specified period, it is necessary to exclude active actions to resolve them. At the same time, it is important to think carefully over and give a balanced assessment of the current situation. If in general the relations between spouses or lovers are positive, then you should either close your eyes to certain unpleasant moments, or try to solve them in the mildest way, but postponing these actions for the future.