Esotericism and the Academy

Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, History
Cover of the book Esotericism and the Academy by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Wouter J. Hanegraaff ISBN: 9781139209113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: January 19, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Wouter J. Hanegraaff
ISBN: 9781139209113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: January 19, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Academics tend to look on 'esoteric', 'occult' or 'magical' beliefs with contempt, but are usually ignorant about the religious and philosophical traditions to which these terms refer, or their relevance to intellectual history. Wouter Hanegraaff tells the neglected story of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have tried to come to terms with a cluster of 'pagan' ideas from late antiquity that challenged the foundations of biblical religion and Greek rationality. Expelled from the academy on the basis of Protestant and Enlightenment polemics, these traditions have come to be perceived as the Other by which academics define their identity to the present day. Hanegraaff grounds his discussion in a meticulous study of primary and secondary sources, taking the reader on an exciting intellectual voyage from the fifteenth century to the present day and asking what implications the forgotten history of exclusion has for established textbook narratives of religion, philosophy and science.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Academics tend to look on 'esoteric', 'occult' or 'magical' beliefs with contempt, but are usually ignorant about the religious and philosophical traditions to which these terms refer, or their relevance to intellectual history. Wouter Hanegraaff tells the neglected story of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have tried to come to terms with a cluster of 'pagan' ideas from late antiquity that challenged the foundations of biblical religion and Greek rationality. Expelled from the academy on the basis of Protestant and Enlightenment polemics, these traditions have come to be perceived as the Other by which academics define their identity to the present day. Hanegraaff grounds his discussion in a meticulous study of primary and secondary sources, taking the reader on an exciting intellectual voyage from the fifteenth century to the present day and asking what implications the forgotten history of exclusion has for established textbook narratives of religion, philosophy and science.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Free French Africa in World War II by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book How Voters Feel by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book The Social Life of Hagiography in the Merovingian Kingdom by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Clowning and Authorship in Early Modern Theatre by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book European Labour Law by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Performing Operas for Mozart by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Opera by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Reading the Past by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Anthropology of the Brain by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book Ibsen, Scandinavia and the Making of a World Drama by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book The Habsburg Monarchy, 1618–1815 by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Durkheim by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
Cover of the book A History of Virginia Literature by Wouter J. Hanegraaff
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy