Western Esotericism: A Brief History of Secret Knowledge

by Kocku von Stuckrad, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

A controversial issue of public debate during the recent years, esotericism can be described as the search for an absolute but hidden knowledge that people claim to access through mystical vision, the mediation of higher beings, or personal experience. In Western cultural history these claims often led to conflicts with more established forms of scriptural religions and with reductionist interpretations in science and philosophy. In this highly readable book Kocku von Stuckrad describes the impact of esoteric currents from antiquity to the present and pursues the continuities and breaks in a tradition that significantly influenced the formation of modernity. When Hermes Trismegistos reveals wisdom of an absolute quality, the unveiling of hidden knowledge in Jewish Kabbalah is transformed by Christians, Renaissance thinkers speak of an 'eternal philosophy,' or when in the 'New Age' people try to get in contact with a source of superior understanding--in every case the dynamic of concealment and revelation is at stake and the ways this hidden knowledge can be made accessible for human curiosity.

Genres: History, Occult, Esoterica, Nonfiction, Religion, 21st Century, Cultural

167 pages, Bound, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Kocku von Stuckrad is Full Professor of Religious Studies and since 2013 the Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has published extensively on topics related to the cultural history of religion in Europe, method and theory in the study of religion, discursive study of religion, the diversity of knowledge systems, esoteric and mystical traditions in European intellectual history, the history of astrology, religion and (philosophies of) nature, as well as on religion and secularity.

Professor von Stuckrad served as President of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture (ISSRNC) and was a founding board member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE). Currently, he is President of the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG). He was co-chair of the Critical Theory and Discourses on Religion Group and is currently the co-chair of the Religion in Europe Group of the American Academy of Religion.

Reviews

[Electric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe die deutsche Ausgabe gelesen. Wissenschaftlich fundierter, sehr kompakter Überblick über die verschiedenen Diskursfelder der westlichen Esoterik. Insbesondere liegt das Augenmerk auf dem Zusammenspiel und der gegenseitigen Beeinflussung von Esoterik und "seriöser" Wissenschaft. Leider wenig inhaltliches zu den einzelnen Themen, eine Einführung auf der Ebene der Entwicklungs- und Wirkungsgeschichte: man erfährt zwar wer die Kabbalah im Christentum verwendet hat aber nicht was die spezifisch christliche Kabbalah ausmacht, um nur ein Beispiel zu nennen.

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, if a little dry. Great resource for anyone wanting to learn how esoteric beliefs were responsible for much of our civilization. Further remarks are here: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gut gemachte, leicht lesbare Einführung in das weite Feld "Esoterik". Krankt letztlich methodisch an ähnlichen Vorwürfen wie bei so vielen anderen dieser und vergangner Generationen (Faivre, Hanegraaff). Für die Krktik, siehe M. Bergunders Aufsatz "Was ist Esoterik?" Im Übrigen ist das hier ein kenntnisreicher und verlässlicher Einblick in die Materie.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good stuff, aside from the overly scholarly and intimidating introduction and the perhaps overly uncritical "esotericism in modernity" chapter. von Struckrad is obviously a serious scholar so the book is at its best discussing people like Giordono Bruno.

I love reading about esoteric movements and practices less so in the expectation of finding secret knowledge that will change my life, but in understanding the human drive for that secret knowledge in another way, and exploring its signs and traditions in my own writing. This book mostly satisfied that desire, though I recommend skipping the first chapter and generally tuning things out once Freemasonry is mentioned. As I said, the writer is a bit too scholarly and impartial to say "and then a bunch of cosplayers came about and appropriated all these symbols for no real purpose."

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Academic, dry, and sometimes tedious but very informative.

[Johanna Hilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introductory read to Western Esotericism. The book journeys chronologically from the most significant ancient concepts to contemporary esoteric ideas drawing a relatively all-encompassing picture of such a complicated topic. The amount of names was at times overwhelming, as was the language perplexing, but overall a nice and informative read.

[Essi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compact if anything!

[Thomas Lambrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een chronologische diepteanalyse omtrent de Esoterie