-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 1/18
ThefirstillustrationfromSpiegelderPhilosophen,afamousseriesofalchemical
images.Forthefullseries,clickhere.
SomeRemarkson
theStudyofWesternEsotericism
WouterJ.Hanegraaff
UniversityofUtrecht
Theacademicstudyofwesternesotericismisoneof those new
developments in the study
ofreligionswhichmaystrikethecasualobserverashavingappearedalmostovernight,duetothefactthatitsgradualdevelopmentoverthepastdecadesis
easily overlooked.[1] Like any newcomer, thediscipline tends to
evoke curiosity as well assuspicion and such reactions are all the
morenatural because thevery term "esotericism" (likethe related
term "occultism") is a particularlyloaded one. In this article, I
intend to provide abriefintroductiontothecurrentstateof"thestudyof
esotericism" and to give special attention
towhyitisimportantforstudentsinthisfieldeventhose whose approach is
strictlyhistorical/descriptive to consider issues of
amethodologicalandtheoreticalnature.
What is understood by "WesternEsotericism"?
The substantive "esotericism", like the adjective"esoteric",
carries differentmeanings in differentcontexts, and this is a major
cause of confusion(not only among outsiders, but even
amongspecialists)about thenatureof thediscipline.Noless than
fivemeaningsmay be distinguished
incurrentusage,onlythelastofwhichreferstothesubject of the present
article.[2]First:"Esotericism" is commonly used by booksellersand
publishers as a synonym of "the occult" inthis case, it functions
as a generic term for adiffuse collectionofwritings concernedwith
theparanormal, the occult sciences, various exoticwisdom
traditions, contemporary New
Agespiritualities,andsoon.[3]Second:Theadjective"esoteric" (perhaps
somewhat more frequently
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 2/18
than the substantive) may be understood
asreferringtosecretteachingsandthe"disciplineofthearcane"withitsdistinction
4between initiates and noninitiates.[4]Third:Within the
discourse of the "perennialist" or"Traditionalist" school of
religious studies,
theesotericisametaphysicalconceptreferringtothe"transcendent unity"
of exoteric religions.[5]Fourth: In "religionist" approaches to
religiousstudies, esotericism tends to be used as a
nearsynonymofgnosis in theuniversalizing senseofthe word (i.e.,
covering various religiousphenomena which emphasize experiential
ratherthan rational and dogmatic modes of knowing,and which favour
mythical/symbolic overdiscursive
formsofexpression).[6]Fifth:Fromastrictlyhistoricalperspective,westernesotericismis
used as a container concept encompassing acomplex of interrelated
currents and traditionsfrom the early modern period up to the
presentday,thehistoricaloriginandfoundationofwhichlies in the
syncretistic phenomenon ofRenaissance "hermeticism" (in the broad
andinclusive sense of the word).[7]
Westernesotericismthusunderstoodincludesthesocalled"occult
philosophy" of the Renaissance and
itslaterdevelopmentsAlchemy,ParacelsianismandRosicrucianism
Christian and postChristianKabbalah Theosophical and Illuminist
currentsand various occultist and related
developmentsduringthe19thand20thcentury.[8]
BoundaryDisputes
Theacademicstudyofwesternesotericismwearediscussing here is
based upon the fifth and finalmeaning: it investigates a series of
specificinterrelated historical currents in modern
andcontemporarywesternculture,whichhavelargelybeen neglected or
disregarded by earliergenerations. However, the relationship of
thediscipline to approaches linked to the four
othermeaningsofesotericismisacomplicatedone.
1.Althoughthepopularandcommercialmeaning
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 3/18
ThisisthesecondimageintheseriesSpiegelderPhilosophen.Forthefullseries,
clickhere.
of the term"esotericism"isclearlynotsuitedforscholarlyends,
ithas infacta large
impactupontheinitialperceptionofthestudyofwestern
5esotericism among academics no less thanlaymen: again and
again, scholars of
westernesotericismareforcedtoexplainthatthestudyofpopularNewAgespiritualitiesconcernsnomorethanasmall
subareaof theirdomain[9],andthatthose who wish to study subjects
such as theparanormal or altered states of consciousnessshould turn
to other disciplines (such
asparapsychologyortranspersonalpsychology).[10]
2.Asfortheassociationof"esoteric"withsecrecyandconcealment,itisimportanttopointoutthat,although
there is obviously a significant area
ofoverlapbetweenthestudyofsecrecyinreligioustraditionsandthestudyofwesternesotericisminthe
historical sense of the word, these twodomains of study are by no
means equivalent.Secret traditions and initiations are not
restrictedto western esoteric traditions and,
reversely,manyaspectsofthelatterhaveneverbeensecretandarenotlinkedtoinitiatoryorganizations.Therelationbetweenthetwodomainsisinfactaquitesubtle
one, partly because the meanings
andconnotationsof"secrecy"withinwesternesoterictraditions
aremuchmore diverse than is usuallyrealized.[11]
3.The relationshipbetween
thestudyofwesternesotericismandthetypeof"comparativereligion"known
as perennialism or traditionalism
isproblematicforpracticalandorganizationalratherthan scholarly
reasons. The frequent
assumptionthatthetwoshareacommondomainofinterestismistaken: there
is hardly any demonstrableconnection between the perennialist
concept ofesotericism as the metaphysical point of unitywhere
exoteric religions are believe to converge,and thehistorical
concept ofwestern esotericismas a specific series of currents in
modern andcontemporarywesternculture.[12]Perennialismisamode of
interpreting not esotericism, but thephenomenon of religion as such
and whereasperennialist literature showsamarkedpreferencefor such
religions as Hinduism and Islam,
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 4/18
historical currents typical of western
esotericismplayamarginalroleinit.[13]
6Nevertheless, due largely to the existing lack ofclarity about
the meaning(s) of the termesotericism, scholars ofwestern esoteric
currentsfrequently find themselves scheduled in seminarprograms or
publication series together withperennialists. Experience shows
that suchartificialmarriagesdonotlast.
4.The relationof thehistorical studyofwesternesotericism to
"religionist" approaches ofesotericism is probably the most
problematic ofall,andneedstobediscussedatsomewhatgreaterlength. It
roughly reflects a division within thestudy of religion generally,
between those forwhom the study of religionmeans the
empiricohistorical and comparative study of specifichistorical
religions,and thoseforwhomitmeansthe study of a domain frequently
referred to as"thesacred."[14]Scholars belonging to the
lattercategory tend to be motivated by a latent
orexplicitdissatisfactionwithcontemporarywesternculture, and
particularly with patterns ofdesacralization and "the
disenchantment of theworld."[15] To them, studying the
sacredmeanscalling attention to a vital and importantdimension of
reality which they feel is beingthreatened by onesided
rationalization,secularization, and the mechanization of theworld.
Now, certain scholars of this persuasionpresent the sacred in
western culture as
closelyassociated,ifnotsynonymous,withits"esoteric"dimensionandaswesaw,theyperceivethelatteras
characterized by experiential rather thanrational and dogmatic
modes of knowing,
andmythical/symbolicratherthandiscursivemodesofexpression.[16]] By
calling attention to"esotericism"inthissenseofthewordtheyhopeto
contribute to a "new Renaissance" under
thesignofa"reenchantmentoftheworld".
Of course, scholars studying western esoterictraditions in
thehistoricalsenseof thewordmaypersonally share such hopes for
cultural renewaland a "rebirth of the sacred", andmayhope
thattheirworkwillcontributesomethingtoit[17]but
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 5/18
thedifferenceisthatwhetherornottheydosoisirrelevanttotheirunderstandingofwhat
7is meant by "western esotericism". When theyrefer to their
domain of study by the term"esotericism" they do not mean some kind
ofuniversal and transhistorical sui generisphenomenon (analogous to
"the sacred" inreligious studies), but a certain number
ofhistorical currents and traditions in westernculture that are
available for study regardless ofhow theyare evaluated.Asadomainof
inquiry,westernesotericisminthishistoricalsenseof
thewordlieswideopentoscholarsofallpersuasions:they may or may not
happen to believe in theexistence of "the sacred", they may
personallyregardspecificesotericbeliefsasprofoundtruthsorasinterestingsuperstitions,ortheymaysimplyseenoreasontoexpressopinionsproorcontra.
Theprimaryproblem in the relationbetween thehistorical study of
western esotericism and"religionist" approaches to esotericism
thereforehas to do with different ways of defining anddemarcating
thefieldof inquiry, rather thanwiththe methodologies used in
studying that field.Thispointisfrequentlymisunderstoodandneedsto be
strongly emphasized. Understanding"western esotericism" in a
historical sense (i.e.,according to the fifth meaning discussed
above)imposes clear limits upon the range of
historicalphenomenawhichareunderstoodasfallingwithinthepurviewofthefieldbutitdoesnotimplybyany
means that only one particular method
isconsideredvalidinstudyingthem.Thereisampleroomforvariousapproachestocomplementeachother
as well as compete with each other in aconstructivemanner,within a
general context ofmethodologicalpluralism.[18]
Towards Methodological Pluralism
andInterdisciplinaryResearch
I would suggest that two dimensions may bedistinguished in the
current emergence of theacademic study of western esotericism: the
firstone may be called "organizational", the second
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 6/18
one"constructive".
1. Research into western esoteric currents
hasbeengoingonfora
8long time but scholars in the field have eitherbeenworking in
relative isolation, or have
donetheirresearchinthecontextofanotherdisciplinethan"westernesotericism".Forexample,onemayfind
historians of medicine specializing inParacelsian traditions, art
historians specializingin the occultist backgrounds ofmodern
painting,and so on. Such scholars are de facto working,among other
things, in the field of westernesotericism but in practice most of
theirprofessional contacts (including participation
inconferencesorpublicationseries)arelikelytobewiththeircolleaguesinthehistoryofmedicineorart
history rather than with fellow specialists ofwestern esoteric
currents. The first,"organizational" aspect of the emerging study
ofwestern esotericism consists in creatinginstitutional frameworks
for bringing
suchscholarsintocontactwitheachotherandstimulateconstructive
exchangebetween them this resultsin "makingvisible" the remarkably
largeamountof research that is already being done in awidevariety
of academic settings, and making theresults more readily available
across disciplines.Organizational frameworksmay take the
formofinterdisciplinary conferences, professionalacademic
journals,monograph series, and so
on.Variousinitiativesinthesedirectionsarecurrentlybeing developed,
based upon the creation of
ainternationalnetworkofscholarscombinedwithacomputerizeddatabasewhichkeeps
trackofnewresearch.[19]
One major problem facing those who take suchinitiatives is the
seemingly trivial one ofterminology. I already referred to the fact
thatterms such as "esotericism" and "occultism" areparticularly
loaded ones, which tend to arousesuspicion and misunderstanding.
Indeed,experienceshows that it ispractically
impossibletousetheterm"esotericism"(evenifqualifiedbythe adjective
"western") in standard academicdiscussions, if one is not prepared
to take the
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 7/18
trouble of explaining it over and over again
ateachandeveryoccasion.Giventhisnecessity,onemightprefer
amoreneutral term,but experienceshows that such a one is extremely
difficult
tofind.If,bywantofabetteralternative,onesticksto"western
9esotericism" as the label for new institutionalframeworks, one
may find that some excellentspecialists hesitate or flatly refuse
to participate,simply because being associated with"esotericism"
may cause them to lose academiccredibility. I see only two ways of
dealing withthis unfortunate problem. One might choose toavoid the
term "esotericism", and opt for neutraland nonoffensive but
inevitably somewhatclumsy descriptions (for example, "hermetic
andrelated currents in modern and
contemporarywesternhistory").Or,alternatively,onemayhopethatcontinuedusageoftheword"esotericism"inseriousacademicdiscussionwilleventuallycauseit
to shed its questionable associations andbecome broadly accepted as
a neutral term.Obviously,
thisarticleisbaseduponachoiceforthesecondoption.
2.Whereasthe"organizational"dimensionmerelymakes visible the
amount of research that isalready being done in the field of
westernesotericism,the"constructive"dimensionaimsatdevelopingthatfieldintoagenuinediscipline.Anacademic
discipline is characterized by
theexistenceofgeneralquestionsandproblemareasof a comparativeor
systematicnature,whichareproper to the field in question by the
very factthat such questions and problem areas are of amore general
nature, they may prove to
berelevanttospecialistsworkinginwidelydifferentsubdomains of the
field and can therefore serveto bring them together for
collaborating
incommonresearchprojects.Thismakesitpossibleforthestudyofwesternesotericismnottorestrictitself
to empiricohistorical description ofnarrowlycircumscribed currents
andpersonalities, but also to develop interpretivetheories
pertaining to various dimensions
ofwesternesotericismingeneralor,atleast,largeand significant
subareas of it. Of course, many
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 8/18
ThisisthethirdimageintheseriesSpiegelderPhilosophen.Forthefullseriesofalchemicalillustrations,clickhere.
scholars working on aspects of westernesotericism from the
perspective of traditionalacademic discipines are already using a
widevariety of existing theoretical tools andinterpretive
frameworks, sometimes with highlyinteresting results.[20] In
addition to these, it ispossibletodevelopa
10theoretical dimension proper to the field
ofwesternesotericismassuch.[21]
Letme emphasize that the development of suchprojects is not by
any means incompatible withprecise historical and philological
study ofprimarysources,basedstrictlyupontheadfontesprinciple. Not a
few specialists working
onspecifichistoricalcurrentsorpersonalitiesfeelnoneedatallforinterpretivetheories[22],butpreferto"letthesourcesspeakforthemselves"asmuchas
possible. In my opinion, such predominantlydescriptive historical
research based upon solidtext editions is and remains the
indispensablefoundation of any serious study of
religioustraditions[23], including western esoteric ones,and no
research of a comparative or
systematicnaturewouldbeconceivablewithoutit.Mypointhere is merely
that in order for the study ofwestern esotericism to develop into a
genuineacademicdiscipline,thistypeofresearchmustnotbe the only one
questions of a comparative andsystematic nature deserve serious
attention (atleast by part of the scholars) in addition to thebasic
groundwork of historical and philologicalresearch.
Such a combination of historical and
systematictypesofresearchnotonlystimulatescollaborationbetween
scholars whose research is focused ondifferent periods and
subdomains of the field italsoopens theway
tomutuallyfruitfulexchangewith entirely different disciplines in
thehumanities and the social sciences. Thewritingsof FrancesA.Yates
are an excellent example ofthis possibility: although they were
intended ascontributions to Renaissance historiography andare not
overtly theoretical, their phenomenalsuccess and influence is due
largely to the factthat they broached general issues which were
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 9/18
ThisisthefourthimageintheseriesSpiegelderPhilosophen.Forthefullseriesofalchemicalillustrations,click
here.
recognized as highly relevant to problemswhichoccupied scholars
in other disciplines.[24] Thisquestionof relevance is important,not
leastwithrespect to the tension, just alluded to, betweenhistorical
and systematic approaches. Everybodyknows examples of excellent
historical researchwhich remains devoid of interest to
anybodyoutside a very small and narrow circle
ofspecialistsandsotoo,thereisthenolessfamiliar
11phenomenonofgrandspectaculartheorieswhich,atcloserexamination,appeartolackanybasisinhistorical
fact.[25] The former is a case of highquality at the expense of
relevance the latter acase of (seeming) "relevance" at the expense
ofquality. Undoubtedly the former type is to
bemuchpreferredoverthelatter,foritdoesproducereal and lasting
contributions to scholarlyknowledge which may be picked up and put
tofurther use by others the latter, in contrast,merely produces
errors and confusion.Nevertheless, the ideal should obviously be
acombination ofwhat is best in both: research ofthe highest
possible quality, which is not onlybased upon solid and precise
historical researchbutalsospeaks to issuesofmoregeneral
interestinawaysuchastomakeitsrelevanceevidenttothereader.
Conclusion
The realization that there may in fact be
arelevancetothestudyofwesternesotericismhasrecentlybeengaininggroundinacademiccircles.The
very idea of studying esotericism seriouslyand from a neutral
perspective would
havesoundedbizarreandpotentiallydangeroustomostacademicsnomore
thana
fewdecadesago,[26]]andsuchreactionsarestillnotuncommontoday.Ithasbecomemoreandmoreapparent,however,thatthetraditionalneglectofwesternesotericismasadomainofhistoricalinquiryhasledtoseriousgapsinourknowledge,withpredictablynegativeeffectsupontheunderstandingofourownculturalheritage.
The same point may obviously beformulated in a positive manner as
well: it hasbecome clear that serious research into westernesoteric
currents may often throw a fresh new
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 10/18
lightonoldquestions,andmayoccasionallyturnout to be the "missing
link" which makes asolutionpossibleatlast.[27]
That the present academic climate is morefriendly to the study
ofwestern esotericism
thaneverbeforemaybeexplainedbyacombinationofcultural factors. One
of these is the continuing(although diminishing) influence of the
1960scounterculture upon the development
ofmainstreamacademiclife:aninfluence,
12however, which I feel is very much a mixedblessing for the
future development of
thediscipline.[28]Abroadly"postmodern"Zeitgeist,instinctively
critical of the "grand narratives" ofmodernityand therefore
sympathetic towards therecovery of "suppressed alterities" is
mostcertainly another.[29] But although the study
ofwesternesotericism isnow indeed in theprocessof coming into its
own, the discipline still has alongway to go.As I have argued
elsewhere, itsemancipation will be accomplished when
thestudyofwesternesotericismnolongerrepresentssomething resembling
an academic "counter'Counterculture'culture" but will have
beenassimilated as a normal part of the academicmainstream.[30] The
necessary conditions forsuch a development are now in existence but
tousetheopportunitiestotheirfullestpotential isatask awaiting
contemporary as well as futuregenerationsofresearchers.
This articlewill be published inTheosophicalHistory
inspring,1999.
Notes
1Onthehistoryofthediscipline:AntoineFaivre&KarenClaire Voss,
"Western Esotericism andtheScienceofReligions,"Numen 42 (1995),
4877 Wouter J. Hanegraaff, "Introduction: TheBirth of a
Discipline," in: Antoine Faivre &Wouter J. Hanegraaff,
eds.,WesternEsotericismand the Science of Religion: Selected
Papers
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 11/18
presented at the 17th Congress of theInternational Association
for the History ofReligions,MexicoCity 1995 (Gnostica: Texts
&Interpretations2),(Peeters:Louvain,1998).
2Cf.AntoineFaivre,"QuestionsofTerminologyproper to the Study of
Esoteric Currents inModernandContemporaryEurope,"
inFaivre&Hanegraaff,WesternEsotericismandtheScienceof Religion.
Whereas Faivre distinguishes
fourmeanings,Iproposetosplituphisthirdone.
3 Faivre, "Questions of Terminology," 1. Cf.Christoph Bochinger,
"New Age" und moderneReligion: Religionswissenschaftliche
Analysen,(Gtersloh: 1994), ch. 8.1 and Wouter J.Hanegraaff,
13New Age Religion and Western Culture:Esotericism in the Mirror
of Secular Thought,(Leiden:1996/Albany:1998),385388.
4 Antoine Faivre, "The Notions of Concealmentand Secrecy in
Modern Esoteric Currents sincethe Renaissance (AMethodological
Approach),"paper read at the conference Rending the
Veil:ConcealmentandSecrecyinReligions,NewYorkUniversity,April,1997seeAntoineFaivre,''TheNotions
ofConcealment and Secrecy inModernEsoteric Currents since the
Renaissance (AMethodological Approach)," in: Elliott R.Wolfson
(ed.), Rending the Veil: Concealmentand Secrecy in the History of
Religions, SevenBridges Press: New York & London 1999,
pp.155176.
5 See for example Frithjof Schuon, TheTranscendent Unity of
Religions, revised edition(Wheaton/Madras/London: 1984) and
WilliamW. Quinn, The Only Tradition, (Albany: 1997).Cf. the
discussion in Wouter J. Hanegraaff,"EmpiricalMethod in
theStudyofEsotericism,"Method & Theory in the Study of Religion
7:2(1995), 110 and id., "On the Construction of'Esoteric
Traditions'" in: Faivre &
Hanegraaff,WesternEsotericismandtheScienceofReligions,2628.
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 12/18
6 See the examples ofGillesQuispel and PierreA. Riffard,
discussed in Hanegraaff, "On
theConstruction,"pars.3.1.1.and3.1.2.IntheUnitedStates, this fourth
type is linked in particular
toapproachesinfluencedbyMirceaEliadeandCarlGustavJung.
7Thebest introduction andoverviewofwesternesotericism in this
sense of theword is AntoineFaivre,Access to Western Esotericism,
(Albany:1994). As an innovative syncretism of variousolder
traditions, the origins of
Renaissance"hermeticism"reachbacktoantiquity.Seeforthecontinuities
between ancient, medieval andmodern traditions: Antoine Faivre,
"Ancient andMedieval Sources of Modern EsotericMovements," in:
Antoine Faivre & JacobNeedleman (eds.),Modern Esoteric
Spirituality,(NewYork:1992)and thecollectivevolumebyRoelof van den
Broek & Wouter J.
Hanegraaff(eds.),GnosisandHermeticismfromAntiquitytoModernTimes,(Albany:1998).
8
ItwillbenotedthatwesternesotericisminthissenseremainslimitedessentiallytothecontextofChristian
culture (but extending to its postChristian development since the
Enlightenment).ElsewhereIhavesuggestedthattheconceptmaybebroadenedsoastoinclude
14parallelphenomenainJewishandIslamicculture,so that
"westernesotericism"mightbeperceivedas a broad domain of study
common to theReligions of the Book (Hanegraaff, 'EmpiricalMethod',
121124). Such an extended usagewould constitute a further, sixth
meaning of"esotericism".
9Seemyobservationsonthispoint,inWouterJ.Hanegraaff, "The New Age
Movement and theEsoteric Tradition," in: Van den Broek
&Hanegraaff,GnosisandHermeticism,359361.
10 Obviously I do not intend to suggest
thatscholarsofwesternesotericismcannot, incertaincases at least,
make use of the results of suchdisciplines in interpreting esoteric
currents. See
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 13/18
forexampletheworkofDanMerkur,Gnosis:AnEsoteric Traditions of
Mystical Visions andUnions,(Albany:1993).
11Foradiscussionofthesevariousmeanings,seeFaivre, "The Notions
of Concealment andSecrecy."
12 Obviously I do not mean to deny that
the"concordance"ofdifferenttraditions(intheformofdiscoursesonaphilosophiaperennisorpriscatheologia)
has been a major concern in manyhistorical forms of western
esotericism, nor
thatsomeofthelatterhavehadaninfluenceoncertainimportant
perennialist authors. These points ofcontactbetweenthe
twomeaningsofesotericismwould constitute a highly interesting
subject ofinvestigation.Mypointismerelythatperennialistauthors
study (what they consider to be)metaphysical Truth,whereas students
ofwesternesotericism study a certain number of
historicalcurrents(regardlessofwhethertheirteachingsareconsideredtrueorfalse).
13 Ren Gunon considered his beliefs to beembodied most clearly
in Hinduism, andconverted to Islam. He showed little interest
inhermetic traditions,andpositivementionofsucha central
westernesoteric currents as Christiantheosophy is limited to only a
few lines in hiswhole voluminous oeuvre (Antoine Faivre, "Lecourant
thosophique (fin XVIXXe sicles):Essaidepriodisation," in:Accsde
l'sotrismeoccidentalII,Paris1996,9394).Similarly,
15Frithjof Schuon almost completely neglectswestern esoteric
currents in the historical sense(cf. S.H. Nasr, ed,, The Essential
Writings
ofFrithjofSchuon,(Shaftesbury&Rockport:1986),1920,233261).
14HereandinwhatfollowsIamneverreferringto the sacred in the
Durkheimian sense of
theword(onthedifference,seeW.E.Paden,"Before'The Sacred' became
Theological: Rereading theDurkheimian Legacy: Method & Theory
in theStudyofReligion3:1(1991)cf.thediscussionsofDurkheim and
Eliade in Hanegraaff, "Defining
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 14/18
Religion").
15 On this point, see Wouter J.
Hanegraaff,"DefiningReligioninSpiteofHistory,"in:JanG.Platvoet
& Arie L. Molendijk (eds.), TheDefinition of Religion:
Concepts, Contexts &Conflicts,Royal(Leiden:Brill,1998).
16 An excellent example is the French scholarPierre A. Riffard.
See esp. his L'sotrisme,(Paris:1990).
17 For example, no less than three
thoroughlyhistoricalarticlesinFaivre&Hanegraaff,WesternEsotericism
and the Science of Religionsignificantly end with expressing hopes
forcultural renewal:ArthurVersluis, "Alchemy andChristian
Theosophic Literature," 141144 JaneWilliamsHogan, "The Place of
EmanuelSwedenborg in Modern Western Esotericism,"250 Garry W.
Trompf, "Macrohistory inBlavatsky,SteinerandGunon,"294.
18ContraKarenClaireVoss,"TheUniversityasa Space of Possibility,"
Rencontrestransdisciplinaires 12 (1998), 100101. Thisarticle is a
particularly clear example of themisunderstandingreferred
tohere.Defending themerits of an empiricohistorical
methodologyagainst "religionist" methodologies (see
my"EmpiricalMethod" and "On the Construction")must not be
confusedwith dogmatic attempts
toimposesuchamethodologyastheonlyscholarlyvalidone.
19 For further information on thisnetwork/database project,
contact WouterHanegraaff (address: Dept. of the Study ofReligions,
Faculty of Theology, P.O.Box 80105,3508 TC Utrecht
email:[email protected]).Asforconferences,seeespeciallythe
16innovative section on western esotericismorganized in the
context of the
fiveyearlycongressesoftheInternationalAssociationfortheHistoryofReligions(IAHR)thefirsteditionwasorganized
at the 17th IAHR congress (Mexico
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 15/18
City 1995 see the proceedings: Faivre
&Hanegraaff,WesternEsotericismandtheScienceof Religion) and
will be continued at the 18thcongress (Durban, South Africa, 2000).
A newmonograph series calledGnostica, concentratingon text
editions, has been started by Garry W.Trompf, the late John Cooper,
and Wouter J.Hanegraaff(publ.:Louvain:Peeters).Atrilingualjournal
ARIES has circulated on a limited scalesince 1985 preparations for
a new formula andformat, to be published by a major
academicpublisher,arenowinanadvancedstage.
20 Some recent examples: contemporary literarytheory applied to
the study of kabbala (AndreasKilcher, Die Sprachtheorie der Kabbala
alssthetisches Paradigma: Die Konstruktion einersthetischen Kabbala
seit der frhen Neuzeit,(Stuttgart & Weimar: 1998)) Michel
Foucault'sarchologie du savoir applied to Renaissancemagic (Gary
Tomlinson, Music in RenaissanceMagic: Toward a Historiography of
Others,(Chicago&London: 1993)) psychoanalysis
andalteredstatesofconsciousnessresearchappliedtovarioustraditionsofwesternesotericism(Merkur,Gnosis,
op.cit.) anthropological theories of"magic" applied to ritualmagic
in contemporaryoccultism (T.M. Luhrmann, Persuasions of theWitch's
Craft: Ritual Magic in
ContemporaryEngland,(CambridgeMass.:1989)).
21 Suchprojects shouldbe sensitive to the
everpresentdangerofuniversalizingattheexpenseofhistorical
uniqueness. Any attempt to makestatements about esotericism "as
such" is indeedvulnerabletothesametypeofcriticismwhichisvery
legitimately addressed by historians atgrand theories of religion
"as such" (AntoineFaivre, L'sotrisme, Paris 1992, 4 cf.Hanegraaff,
"Defining Religion,"
Introduction).Someparticularlyrelevantexamplesofhownonessentialist
theoretical approachesmay affect
theinterpretationofhistoricalmaterialsmaybefoundinthemodernstudyofJewish
17"mysticism",adisciplinefromwhichthestudyofwesternesotericismhasmuchtolearn.SeeMosheIdel's
plea for what he refers to as a
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 16/18
"phenomenological"approachasanalternativetoGershom Scholem's
"philologicalhistorical" one(Kabbalah: New Perspectives, (New Haven
&London: 1988), esp. ch. 2), and Joseph
Dan's"contingental"approach('InQuestofaHistoricalDefinition of
Mysticism: The ContingentalApproach', Studies in Spirituality 3
(1993), 5890)andcf.mydiscussionofScholemandDanin"On the
Construction," par. 3.3.2. AntoineFaivre's muchquoted definition of
westernesotericism in terms of four intrinsic and twoextrinsic
characteristics (Access, 1014) has farreaching implications for the
conception of thediscipline I have myself used it, in
slightlymodifiedform,fordevelopingageneralandnonessentialist theory
pertaining to the specificproblem of the secularization of
westernesotericism (New Age Religion, Part III).
Theseareonlyafewexamples.
22Ontheinevitabletension(but,inmyopinion,acreative one) between
the systematic and
thehistoricaldimensionofthestudyofreligions,seemy observation in
"Defining Religion,"Introduction.
23 In thecaseofcontemporarycurrents thismayobviously be combined
with sociological andanthropological research techniques
(participantresearchetc.).
24 The Wirkungsgeschichte of Yates' oeuvrewould be an
interesting research topic.
Mostobviousisitsrelevancetotheinterpretationofthescientific
revolution (for the debate on thecontroversial "Yates thesis", see
H. FlorisCohen,The Scientific Revolution: AHistoriographical
Inquiry, (Chicago &
London:1994),169183)butithasalsoservedasan"eyeopener"tospecialistsinsuchdivergentdisciplinesas
the study of Romanticism (M.H. Abrams,Natural Supernaturalism:
Tradition
andRevolutioninRomanticLiterature,(NewYork&London:1971),154163)andtheanthropologyofreligion
and magic (Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah,Magic, Science, Religion, and
the Scope ofRationality, (Cambridge UP: 1990), 2429).
Thestudyofwesternesotericismwillalwaysbe
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 17/18
18indebted to Yates, even if her work is
nowcriticizedonmanypoints.
25 The former type refers to a phenomenon
sowellknownastoneednofurtherillustrationonecharacteristicexampleofthelattertypewouldbeEric
Voegelin's theory of "modern gnosticism"(cf. Hanegraaff, "On the
Construction," par.3.2.1.).
26 See the pertinent remarks made as early
as1976byPaulOskarKristeller,whoadmitsthatin1953 he had still felt
somewhat embarrassed athavingtoreport twocasesofexorcismdescribedby
Marsilio Ficino: '... grce l'oeuvre deThorndike, de Miss Yates et
d'autres, nous
nesommespluspouvantsquandnousrencontronsdesidesscientifiquesbizarresoudesconceptionsastrologiques,
alchimiques oumagiques chez lespenseurs des sicles passs. Si nous
dcouvronsdesidesdecegenredansl'oeuvredeFicin,nousne lui en faisons
pas le reproche, mais nous leplaons simplement dans une vaste
traditionintellectuellequi avait tngligeet vite
troplongtempsparleshistoriens,etquiestreprsenteparunelittraturetendueetdifficilequiaencorebesoin
... d'un grand effort d'tude etd'exploration' ('L'tat prsent des
tudes surMarsile Ficin', in: Platon et Aristote
laRenaissance,(Paris:1976),63).
27OnthischangewithrespecttotheRenaissance,seeKristellerasquotedinnote26cf.alsoBrianCopenhaver,
"HermesTrismegistus,Proclus, andthe Question of a Philosophy of
Magic in theRenaissancem," in: Ingrid Merkel & Allen G.Debus,
eds., Hermeticism and the Renaissance:Intellectual History and the
Occult in EarlyModern Europe, (Washington: 1988), 79.Although the
"Yates thesis" (cf. note 24) is nolonger accepted in its original
strong form,Renaissance magic is now generally takenseriously as an
important dimension in thedevelopmentof thescientific
revolution.Togivean example from another historical period, seehow
the factor of western esotericism, and its"hermetic" component in
particular, affects
theinterpretationofRomanticism(foranoverviewofthedevelopmentinAngloSaxonresearch,seemy
-
7/29/2015 SomeRemarksontheStudyofWesternEsotericism
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Hanegraaff.html 18/18
"Romanticism and the Esoteric Connection," inVan den Broek &
Hanegraaff, Gnosis andHermeticism).
19
28 Cf. my observations with respect to thepopularity of Frances
Yates's oeuvre, beginningwith her book on Giordano Bruno published
in1964(Hanegraaff,"Introduction," ixxv),and
theneedforthestudyofwesternesotericismtomovebeyondthe"Yatesparadigm."
29 Cf. my review of Gary Tomlinson,Music inRenaissance Magic,
forthcoming in ARIES 22(1999).
30Hanegraaff,"Introduction,"xv.