Western Esotericism (academia)
Encyclopedia
Western Esotericism is an academic field of research
, scholarship
, and education
that focuses on the history of Europe
an and Middle East
ern Esotericism
.
As an academic field, the study of Western Esotericism was greatly influenced by Michel Foucault
and the English scholar Frances Yates
, with works like Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition
of 1964. In the 1970s a specific research institute was established at the University of Amsterdam, now led by Wouter Hanegraaff
, with further institutes established at the Sorbonne
in Paris
by Antoine Faivre
, and the University of Exeter
in England, led by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
. Other universities pursue the study of these topics as part of History or other faculties.
Specific degrees that can be granted include:
, astrology
, Freemasonry
, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism
, Neoplatonism
, Renaissance magic
, German Naturphilosophie
, Gnosticism
, Kabbalah
, Christian Kabbalah
, Hermetic Qabalah
, the New Age movement
, theosophy
, mysticism
and numerology
.
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
that focuses on the history of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern Esotericism
Esotericism
Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...
.
As an academic field, the study of Western Esotericism was greatly influenced by Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
and the English scholar Frances Yates
Frances Yates
Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE was a British historian. She taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years.She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance...
, with works like Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition
Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition
Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition is a 1964 non-fiction book by British historian Frances A. Yates. The book delves into the history of Hermeticism and its influence upon Renaissance philosophy and Giordano Bruno....
of 1964. In the 1970s a specific research institute was established at the University of Amsterdam, now led by Wouter Hanegraaff
Wouter Hanegraaff
Wouter Jacobus Hanegraaff is full professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
, with further institutes established at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
by Antoine Faivre
Antoine Faivre
Antoine Faivre is a prominent French scholar of esoterism. Until his retirement, he held a chair in the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne, University Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Haute-Normandie, director of the Cahiers del Hermétisme and of Bibliothèque de...
, and the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
in England, led by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke B.A. , D.Phil. is a professor of Western Esotericism at University of Exeter and author of several books on esoteric traditions....
. Other universities pursue the study of these topics as part of History or other faculties.
Schools
The following Universities have academic chairs in the subject:- University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
- University of Sorbonne in France (École pratique des hautes étudesÉcole pratique des hautes étudesThe École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
) - University of ExeterUniversity of ExeterThe University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
in the UK
Specific degrees that can be granted include:
- MAMaster of Arts (postgraduate)A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, MPhil, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Western Esotericism, from University of Exeter. - MAMaster of Arts (postgraduate)A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and MRes in Religious Studies: Mysticism & Western Esotericism track, from University of Amsterdam - PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Religious Studies: Mysticism, Gnosticism & Esotericism Concentration, from Rice University.
Subjects
University courses in Western Esotericism may cover some or all of these subjects: alchemyAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
, Renaissance magic
Renaissance magic
Renaissance humanism saw a resurgence in hermeticism and Neo-Platonic varieties of ceremonial magic.The Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, on the other hand, saw the rise of scientism, in such forms as the substitution of chemistry for alchemy, the dethronement of the Ptolemaic theory of...
, German Naturphilosophie
Naturphilosophie
Naturphilosophie is a term used in English-language philosophy to identify a current in the philosophical tradition of German idealism, as applied to the study of Nature in the earlier 19th century...
, Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
, Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, Christian Kabbalah
Christian Kabbalah
The Renaissance saw the birth of Christian Kabbalah/Cabbalah , also spelled Cabbala/Cabala...
, Hermetic Qabalah
Hermetic Qabalah
Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition...
, the New Age movement
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
, theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
and numerology
Numerology
Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...
.
Academic legitimacy
Degrees in Western Esotericism usually focus on the history of esotericist currents. The aim of research in Western Esotericism is to discover the interactions between esotericism and society at large and to study the history and spread of esotericist currents and movements.Societies
- Association for the Study of Esotericism (North America) http://www.aseweb.org/
- European Society for the Study of Western EsotericismEuropean Society for the Study of Western EsotericismThe European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism is Europe's only scholarly society for the study of Western esotericism. Founded in 2005, the society promotes academic study of the various manifestations of Western esotericism from late antiquity to the present, and works to secure the...
See also
- BehmenismBehmenismBehmenism, also Behemenism and similar, is the English-language designation for a 17th Century European Christian movement based on the teachings of German mystic and theosopher Jakob Böhme . The term was not usually applied by followers of Böhme's theosophy to themselves, but rather was used by...
- EsotericismEsotericismEsotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...
- Esoteric ChristianityEsoteric ChristianityEsoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened",...
- Esoteric cosmologyEsoteric cosmologyEsoteric cosmology is cosmology that is an intrinsic part of an esoteric or occult system of thought. It almost always deals with at least some of the following themes: emanation, involution, spiritual evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence or higher worlds , hierarchies of spiritual beings,...
- Esotericism in Germany and AustriaEsotericism in Germany and AustriaThis article gives an overview of esoteric movements in Germany and Austria between 1880 and 1945, presenting Theosophy, Anthroposophy and Ariosophy, among others, against the influences of earlier European esotericism.-Knights Templar and occultism:...
- Esoteric Christianity
- GnosticismGnosticismGnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
- MysticismMysticismMysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
- Christian mysticismChristian mysticismChristian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
- German mysticismGerman mysticismGerman mysticism, sometimes called Dominican mysticism or Rhineland mysticism, was a late medieval Christian mystical movement, that was especially prominent within the Dominican order and in Germany. Although its origins can be traced back to Hildegard of Bingen, it is mostly represented by...
- Christian mysticism
- OccultOccultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
- TheosophyTheosophyTheosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
External links
- Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE)
- European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE)
- Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam
- University of Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism (EXESESO)
- Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism
- Esoterica. A peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the transdisciplinary study of Western esotericism
- MA in Western Esotericism from Exeter