Showing papers on "Western esotericism published in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that conspirituality can be viewed as a predictable result of structural elements in the cultic milieu and, on historical grounds, its roots stretch deep into the history of Western esotericism.
Abstract: Those who have followed the development of online new religiosity over the past decade will not have failed to notice that conspiracy theories and ‘New Age’ ideas are thriving together. But how new and how surprising is the phenomenon of ‘conspirituality’? In the present article, we challenge the thesis put forward by Charlotte Ward and David Voas in their article of 2011, published in the Journal of Contemporary Religion, that a confluence of spirituality and conspiracism has emerged in the past two decades as a form of New Age theodicy. Instead, we argue, on theoretical grounds, that conspirituality can be viewed as a predictable result of structural elements in the cultic milieu and, on historical grounds, that its roots stretch deep into the history of Western esotericism. Together, these two considerations allow us not only to suggest that conspirituality is old and predictable, but also to identify a large potential for further research which will contribute to the study of conspiracy cultur...
35 citations
01 Dec 2015
TL;DR: In this article, Tylor argues that the very concept of a "Western esotericism" logically implies that there must be an "Eastern esoterics" as well.
Abstract: In recent discussions about the study of esotericism, the adjective "Western" has come under critical scrutiny. Shouldn’t "esotericism" be understood as a global rather than just a Western field of research? Doesn’t the very concept of a "Western esotericism" logically imply that there must be an "Eastern esotericism" as well? If so, what would that be? And in what respects would this "esotericism" common to Eastern and Western cultures be different from non-esoteric cultural formations? Or is the terminology supposed to imply, to the contrary, that esotericism is something unique to Western culture, with no parallels elsewhere? But if so, what is it that makes it unique, and how are we supposed to define and demarcate "the West" from "the Rest"? Are we supposed to think in terms of a geographical space or of a cultural domain? In either case, doesn’t the very term "Western" imply an essentialist discourse with troubling political connotations and implications? The author of this article argues that these problems are best approached from a historical rather than a strictly theoretical perspective. Reviewing the most important stages in the conceptualization of "esotericism" as a distinct field of study since the early modern period, he argues that it has always been theorized as a global rather than just Western phenomenon. Nevertheless, he concludes, it is advisable to maintain the concept of "Western esotericism," not for reasons of conceptual theory but for reasons of historical method. Keywords esotericism; western esotericism; orientalism; globalization; rejected knowledge; paganism; occultism; Edward Burnett Tylor; Lucien Levy-Bruhl; participation; Carl Gustav Jung; Antoine Faivre
19 citations
01 Jan 2015
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that for an understanding of the complex dynamics that have shaped the construction of esoteric knowledge and counter-knowledge, the ancient world is crucial in two ways: first, ancient cultures provide a rich spectrum of polemical discourses of knowledge in philosophy and religion, most of them prefiguring the discursive constellations of subsequent centuries.
Abstract: The article critiques the idea that what scholars today call “Western esotericism” emerged only after the “Renaissance”. It argues that for an understanding of the complex dynamics that have shaped the construction of esoteric knowledge and counter-knowledge, the ancient world is crucial in two ways: First, ancient cultures provide a rich spectrum of polemical discourses of knowledge in philosophy and religion, most of them prefiguring the discursive constellations of subsequent centuries. Second, the ancient world is a huge imaginal space that has influenced identities of nineteenth- and twentieth-century authors, including leading theorists of mysticism, secrecy, and esotericism
4 citations
TL;DR: The Hermetic treatises have played a considerable role in the history of Western Esotericism, according to the influential definition of Antoine Faivre as mentioned in this paper, which is a historical phenomenon originating from the fifteenth century, when Marsilio Ficino translated the Greek Corpus Hermeticum into Latin.
Abstract: The Hermetic treatises have played a considerable role in the history of Western Esotericism. However, according to the influential definition of Antoine Faivre, Western Esotericism is a historical phenomenon originating from the fifteenth century, when Marsilio Ficino translated the Greek Corpus Hermeticum into Latin. The question, then, is if the term “esotericism” has any utility for understanding the original context of the Hermetic treatises, in the first centuries of the Common Era. The present contribution aims to give a summary account of research into ancient Hermetism, and consider the Hermetic treatises in light of the six elements of Faivre’s conception of Western Esotericism. These six elements can serve as heuristic tools to single out certain salient features of the treatises, but do not really help us gain a deeper understanding of them or the greater phenomenon of Hermetism. However, recalling the work of Hugh Urban, it will be suggested that we should use “esotericism” as an analytical term designating a social strategy, characterized by the creation of a closed social space, a claim to possess a superior faculty of knowledge, and rites of initiation to obtain this faculty and become a new human. The advantage of this second approach is that it permits us to compare the social strategies operative in the Hermetic treatises with those of other esoteric traditions, including those that do not have any historical affiliations with Hermetism.
3 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the essential relationship between secrecy and mystery that characterizes the tradition of western esotericism does not obtain for Hekhalot literature, and that the discourse of esoterics in Hekhaot literature relates to restricted knowledge of proper ritual speech and action (secrets) rather than to paradoxical truths about the divine (mysteries).
Abstract: This paper explores the rhetoric of secrecy in Hekhalot literature, a corpus of Jewish mystical and magical writings from late antiquity. I argue that the essential relationship between secrecy and mystery that characterizes the tradition of “western esotericism” does not obtain for Hekhalot literature. Instead, the discourse of esotericism in Hekhalot literature relates to restricted knowledge of proper ritual speech and action (“secrets”), rather than to paradoxical truths about the divine (“mysteries”).
2 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: New Age can be seen as an aspect or a stage of development of Western esotericism as discussed by the authors, although not part of it in its strict sense, New Age derives some of its content and key features from it.
Abstract: New Age recognizes as esotericism all that is still occult within the individual and what is possible to be unveiled and achieved by practices, procedures, and studies. Although not part of esotericism in its strict sense, New Age derives some of its content and key features from it. Often seen as a commercial simplification of a much deeper understanding, New Age can be understood as an aspect or a stage of development of Western esotericism.
2 citations
01 Jan 2015
2 citations
Dissertation•
05 Oct 2015
1 citations
01 May 2015
TL;DR: The authors analyzes the linguistic and historical development of the esoteric and esotericism concepts, processes that evolved an incipient "historical consciousness" among the esotericists, influenced by the romantic historicist flow.
Abstract: This article is divided into two parts. First, it analyzes the linguistic and historical development of the esoteric and esotericism concepts, processes that evolved an incipient “historical consciousness” among the esotericists, influenced by the romantic historicist flow, which formed a new type of esotericism in times of science, democracy and modernity. Second, the article explains the process of disciplinary transformation of the study of esoterica, esotericism and esoterology until the imposition of the academic category of “Western Esotericism Studies”.
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: The concept of "going native in reverse" was introduced in the early 20th century by Pearson as discussed by the authors, which describes a situation when a researcher so to say turns into "aborigine" which means that his identity changes and the researcher adopts the worldview and lifestyle of the culture he studies.
Abstract: To start an article dedicated to “going native in reverse” we should first answer the question: what does “going native in reverse” mean? The concept of “going native” came from anthropology and describes a situation when a researcher so to say turns into “aborigine” which means that his identity changes and thе researcher adopts the worldview and lifestyle of the culture he studies. It is considered negatively in classic anthropology because through such transformation the scholar loses his objectivity, loses the distance needed for academic research. However, when we speak about an adaptation of anthropological principles to contemporary social reality, or, to put it in other words, when a researcher tries to study his own contemporaries in a setting of his native culture, the situation becomes completely different. Nobody can have a distance in such a situation, so we believe that it is a casual case when Christians study Christianity or Muslims study Islam. In democratic societies, where the freedom of religion and the freedom of ideas are fundamental components of human rights, all religious and non-religious worldviews should be considered equal in legal terms. Therefore, if it is acceptable for Christian scholars to study Christianity, it is only natural that those who participate in different esoteric groups can try to use their critical thinking and study the history of their groups as well. The same applys to a number of new religious movements like Wicca and Thelema. Nowadays more and more people involved in these groups participate in academic activities related to the study of religion in general and particularly in the study of their movements. This situation – when an insider receives higher education to become a scholar of his movement – is what is called “going native in reverse,” the concept, which was developed in J. Pearson’s article dedicated to this problem. But why is this issue especially important in the context of the study of Western esotericism? Why it seems to be even more important here than in many other cases? The reason is simple: From the beginning of the 20 century, both science and humanities have had a strong influence on the development of both Western esotericism and modern Paganism. At least six areas of academic inquiry have influenced the development of Western esotericism in the 20 century: Egyptology and anthropology, physics and chemistry, psychiatry and psychology.
Abstract: The article examines the theme of spiritual transformation in three poets (Lazzarelli, Augurelli, Mantuanus) writing in the context of hermeticism, alchemy and monastic spirituality. Building on current scholarship on Western Esotericism and religious pluralism, the article argues that: 1) whether it occurs in hermetic, alchemical, or hagiographical contexts, spiritual transformation is characterized by recurring linguistic features and motifs consistent with Antoine Faivre’s definition of esotericism; 2) the presence of spiritual transformation and its corresponding language outside of proper esoteric contexts, suggests approaching this theme as a discursive strategy, whose features correspond to von Stuckrad’s definition of ‘language of experiential knowledge’. In a dialogue with Michel Foucault and Pierre Hadot, the article suggests taking this phenomenon as part of the Renaissance rediscovery of philosophy as a way of life, and an instance of a broader notion of spirituality.