Locations of Knowledge in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Esoteric Discourse and Western Identities(186 Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)

One characteristic of European history of religion is a two-fold pluralism—a pluralism of religious identities on the one hand, and a pluralism of various societal systems that interact with religious systems on the other. Addressing discourses of perfect knowledge in Western culture between 1200 and 1800, this book integrates the study of Western esotericism in a larger analytical framework of European history of religion. Viewed from a structuralist perspective, ‘esoteric discourse’ provides an analytical framework that helps to reveal genealogies of modern identities in a pluralistic competition of knowledge. Experiential philosophy, kabbalah, astrology, Hermeticism, philology, and early modern science are linked to knowledge claims that shaped the way in which Western culture defined itself.

Table of Contents:
Preface PART ONE: ESOTERIC DISCOURSE AND THE EUROPEAN HISTORY OF RELIGION Introduction 1. Europe and the Christendom Narrative: From Singularization to Pluralism The Secularization Theory Revisited Christian Occident? The Two-Fold Pluralism 2. The Polemical Construction of Tradition The Construction of Prisca Theologia Genealogies of Wisdom Jewish Perspectives Beyond Tradition 3. Conceptualizing the Study of Esoteric Discourse Approaches to Esotericism Secrecy as Social Capital Discourses of Perfect Knowledge PART TWO: SHARED PASSIONS Introduction 4. The Secrets of Experience: Wisdom beyond Demonstration Neoplatonism and Theurgy in Late Antiquity Experiential Knowledge in Suhrawardī’s Illuminationist Philosophy 5. The Secrets of Texts: Esoteric Hermeneutics The Readability of the Cosmos: Europe’s Obsession with Words The Textile of the Divine in Early Kabbalah Linguistic Ontologies in Christian Kabbalah Humanistic Philology: Universal Languages and the Quest for the Ursprache 6. The Secrets of Time: Astrology and Sacred History Critical Response to Ancient Traditions: Medieval Arabic Astrology Sharing Muslim Knowledge: Christian Astrology PART THREE: INTERFERENCES Introduction 7. Scientific Encounters “Occult Sciences”: The Science-Religion Divide Revisited John Dee: A Scholar Gone Mad? Natural Philosophy in an Apocalyptic Age 8. Visual Seductions The Problem of ‘Renaissance Paganism’ Image Acts and Visual Culture The Presence of Images as Visual Practice 9. Political Consideration Johann Heinrich Alsted: Hermeticism and Universal Reform Perfect Knowledge in the “Circle of Learning”: Alsted’s Encyclopaedia 10. Conclusion: Locations of Knowledge Writing Histories, Narrating Pasts Esoteric Discourse and Western Identities Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Kocku von Stuckrad, Ph.D. (1999) in the Academic Study of Religion, University of Bremen, is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Groningen. He has published extensively on European history of religion, esotericism, shamanism, and astrology.

Review :
"Von Stuckrad’s sophisticated and stimulating reevaluation of the place of esotericism in Western culture should be of great interest to anyone concerned with the complex religious, social, political, and intellectual developments that mark the transition from the medieval to the modern world...., this is an exceptionally interesting book eminently worthy of critical attention." - Allison P. Coudert, in: Religion 42:3, 489-492
"This volume will be of benefit to scholars interested in European religious and intellectual history, especially those focusing on esoteric traditions. For students of Jewish intellectual history, this study presents an engaging model for examining the “discursive unit” that Jews helped create through their direct and indirect engagement with the Christian majority. Stuckrad’s work demonstrates that Jewish texts and ideas are essential components of the discursive matrix of the West, and thus assume a central rather than marginal role in the study of European intellectual history. The comprehensive bibliography and index, as well as the rich footnotes, further enhance the value of Stuckrad’s contribution." - Hartley Lachter, Muhlenberg College, in: H-Judaic (August, 2011)
"Von Stuckrad’s sophisticated and stimulating reevaluation of the place of esotericism in Western culture should be of great interest to anyone concerned with the complex religious, social, political, and intellectual developments that mark the transition from the medieval to the modern world. The dialogue he proposes between modern theories and ancient, medieval, and early modern texts raises important questions and offers further evidence that the nineteenth and twentieth century divisions between religion, magic, and science and between science, philosophy, and occultism have outlived their usefulness." - Professor Allison P. Coudert, Paul and Marie Castelfranco Chair in the Religious Studies Program, University of California at Davis